When trolling around the Detroit Tattoo Expo this past weekend, I previewed an upcoming art book that will be a must for your library:

Pint Size Paintings: Miniature Paintings by Big Artists.

In essence, Durb Morrison and the Hell City crew have curated a 224-page hardcover art book featuring paintings done on mini-canvases, specifically 2" x 3". Fine art from top tattooists like  Kari Barba, Aaron Bell, Zsolt Sarkozi, Nick Baxter, Guy Aitchison & Michelle Wortman, among so many, many others, are displayed in gallery format. With Volume 2 already in the works, Pint Size Paintings may grow to be the biggest collection of miniature artwork any where.

The canvases may be small, but there's nothing meager about the artwork. In fact, working on this scale was a challenge to many artists. I particularly like how Damon Conklin described it:

Miniature painting teaches the art of delivering only the lean nutrients of a piece ... graphic glorification of the lowest common denominator. No bones no fat no bullshit only the most important strokes of beauty.

The debut show of these mini- masterpieces will take place at Hell City Killumbus 2010 in May along with the book's release.

You can get a preview of the work yourself, including the ones below by Guy, Nick and Kari, on the book's MySpace photo page.

My guess is that the book will sell out fast, so it's probably best to pre-order it for about $30 from the Hell City Books online.