The 2mm portrait of the Queen, designed for the Diamond Jubilee, is believed to be the smallest ever portrait of Her MajestyAn artist has created what is believed to be the world's smallest ever portrait of the Queen. Graham Short decided to mark the Diamond Jubilee by engraving the image on top of a 2mm wide gold pin - a piece that took him nine months to complete.
The miniature masterpiece is so small that it cannot even be seen seen by the naked eye and is only visible by using a magnifying glass.
'No-one has seen the finished piece yet, so I'm quite excited about it,' said Mr Short. 'I don't know if the Queen will ever see it but I hope she gets the chance to.'
The craftsman, who lives in Birmingham, works late at night to avoid rumbling from passing traffic and wears a stethoscope to listen for his heart beat.
'I then work between beats,' he said, 'so that I'm perfectly still.'
The tiny pin that the micro-artist used is just 2mm across. He says he hope the Queen gets to see it at some pointHe added that the piece took so long because he had to start it over and over again.
'It probably took about 80 or 90 times before I ended up with the final,' he said. It's very intricate work and making the smallest mistake means I have to file it down again and start over.
Graham Short took several months to complete his work which is only visible under a magnifying glass'I often find people are more interested in how I do the work rather than the finished artwork,' he said.
Mr Short said he was first inspired to do a portrait of the Queen by his favourite artist, Rolf Harris.
He is so dedicated to the art he has regular six-monthly courses of botox around his eyes to stop his nerves from twitching and also takes beta blockers to slow his heart rate down to 30 beats a minute.
One of his pieces includes The Lord's Prayer which was copied onto the head of a gold pin. It took him 40 years to complete and he has been offered £1million pounds for the piece, however he has said it is strictly not for sale.
One of his pieces includes The Lord's Prayer which was copied onto the head of a gold pin which he refused to sell despite being offered £1m for itHe said one of his most difficult was printing the words 'nothing is impossible' on the tip of a Wilkinson Sword blade which has since been sold for £50,000 pounds.
'That was probably the most painful thing I have ever done. I cut all my fingers and ended up getting an infection,' he said.
In 2011, he also engraved the nib edge of an antique fountain pen belonging to broadcaster Stephen Fry, with proceeds of its upcoming sale going to support the work of English PEN.
Mr Short first started his work as an engraver 50 years ago and since then has become renowned across the globe and he has become known for producing some of the smallest engravings in the world.
source: dailymail
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