Amy Bennett combines two mediums of art – painting and miniature sculpting – with amazing results. Using cardboard, foam, wood, paint, and glue, she first assembles miniature models, constructing within them a tiny fictional scene. This scene is then translated onto canvas – zooming in on the dramatic scene she created beforehand.
Relying on her 3D models allows Bennett to manipulate the setting, offering complete control over lighting and composition, as well as a vantage point to achieve a certain dramatic effect. Her recent models included a town, neighborhood, lake, theater, doctor’s office, and church.
“My earlier paintings are more explicitly narrative,” explained Bennett on her website. “Similar to memory, they are glimpses of a fictional scene that might move the viewer to consider the moment before or after the one presented in the painting. I am interested in storytelling over time through repeated depictions of the same house or car or person, seasonal changes, and shifting vantage points.”
The narratives she creates, using both models and painting, are eerily silent – a sort of horror scene that unfolds in front of the viewer’s eyes. Peek inside her miniature worlds in the gallery below.
