Small Windows


Altogether, there are twenty-four paintings in the series (not all shown here). They were painted over a period of six years.


The images themselves are journal-like, inspired by objects from my immediate surroundings at the time. There is no particular narrative or theme: they are simply fragments from my everyday life.


I began the “Small Windows” series in London in 2011. I had just finished the "Doorwedge Chronicles" http://www.christophercroft.com/collages/doorwedge-chronicles which are tiny collages on wood panels. I was actually thinking about scale and painting some small works that looked (in reproduction) like much larger images.


Each of the little wooden panels measures 18 x 20 centimetres. The proportion of 9 to 10 seemed to work well as either a horizontal or a vertical format. I enjoyed the process of making the panels myself and preparing the painting surfaces with the acrylic ‘gesso’. Each of the wooden panels has five coats of gesso. After each coating was dry I sanded the brush strokes flat with fine sandpaper. The final coat was polished to give a smooth surface. When they were finally prepared, they felt like precious objects. It seemed appropriate to invest a concentrated effort into the consequent painting of each image.

I called the series “Small Windows” because, well firstly, they’re not miniatures but they are rather small. Secondly, 'windows' because each painting is a framed, close-up view on part of a much larger world.