Here's my latest miniature art work: a small corner shop of the type that used to be everywhere in Australia. There were tens of thousands of these small grocery / milkbar / newsagent type shops in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, in all Australian cities and towns. I would estimate that 80-90% of them are gone now, replaced by supermarkets and convenience stores.
This particular shop was in Footscray, Melbourne, near the corner of Barkly Street and Summerhill Road. I only had a single black and white photo to work from. The photo is from the mid-1960s, and the store was demolished in the 1970s.
I set myself a challenge to see if I could make a miniature from a single photo. First I ran the photo through some online software to colorize it - here's the result. It's far from perfect, but it gave me a good solid base to work from and a way to interpret what colours I should be heading to.
![]() |
Colorized. |
Then I had to do some research to try and locate the old logos and brands, so that I could replicate these all accurately.
Finally I had to make a representation of the interior, full of 1960s-era groceries: Persil, Cornflakes, bags of sugar and lots of point of sale for brands like Peters icecream, Marlboro cigarettes, Nestle chocolate, Coca Cola and Vita Brits.
This one was a fun one to build.
![]() |
Comparison of the original photo (left) and my miniature (right). |
Cheers,
Dave
Thank you Downunda!
ReplyDeleteNo video of this one? Pitty, would love to see how the concrete is dealt with and the brickwork.
ReplyDeleteHi Petrik, sorry, no, I didn't video this one :(
DeleteI'll see what I can do for the next. Cheers, Dave
These are absolutely incredible. Love them all. Well done 👏👏👏
ReplyDeleteHi Dave, can these be purchased ? Do you customise pieces to order ? Thanks
ReplyDeleteYes, I definitely do sell commissions. You can always get in touch with me via the Contact Me section on my website.
Delete