Created by
Cat
'XVI' a modern 'miniature' (16cm x 16cm) by Cat Northfield in Birmingham
'XVI' a modern 'miniature' (16cm x 16cm)
Measuring 16 × 16 cm, 'XVI' reimagines the 16th-century limning (miniature portraiture) tradition through a contemporary lens. Executed in oil on wood using Old Master glazing techniques, this particular miniature presents a modern sitter in 7/8 profile—her bright orange and yellow hair and body modifications (stretched ear lobe, septum piercing) set in deliberate chromatic tension against a cobalt and ultramarine blue ground inspired by the National Portrait Gallery’s Elizabethan collection."
Size: 16cm (W) X 16cm (H)
Meet the Artist
Meet the Artist
Birmingham, United KingdomI'm an artist specialising in oil paints, and classically trained in portraiture. In 2025 I received a gold award in 2025 in classical oil portraiture from the Realist Academy of Art in Warrington, England.
I love creating expressive portraits, that are concerned with both who the person is, and the story they carry beneath the surface. Colour, expression and atmosphere are key for me.
I offer a variety of portrait styles and sizes, ranging from bold, gestural brushstrokes to painstaking traditional glazing techniques, and from 15cm x 15cm to A1 or larger.
Recently, my work was selected for the extended longlist in the Jackson's Art Prize 2026 which was a real highlight. I've exhibited in galleries across Wales including MOMA Machynlleth, Queen Street Gallery Neath, and Mid Wales Arts Centre. My background includes a distinction in Art Foundation from Coleg Ceredigion (where I was also awarded 'Student of the Year', and in 2024 I received joint third prize in the Gwenllian Ashley Art Prize.
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