More with Less
Combining endless curiosity with an eye for detail, I create miniature art using a .15mm pen nib. Often drawing inside only an inch or two, I’m inspired by the challenge of creating more with less. Crafted with non-toxic materials and minimalist canvases, my miniature art demonstrates how constraints can enhance creativity while encouraging sustainability.
With no formal art training, my journey as an artist has been as unexpected as could be. In middle age, I discovered drawing as a creative outlet during my career as a university instructor and adviser at Vanderbilt University. Following my own advice to students to be lifelong learners, I began honing my craft at the breakfast table as part of a miniature drawing challenge I noticed on social media. As a longtime proponent of design thinking methodologies, I found the restrictive scale resonating strongly with my belief in the creative power of boundaries.
I am best known for pushing the limits of pen and ink technology. As one art show judge noted, “It might be enough that Blake Gore manages to create detailed, realistic drawings of a tree or a building using the tiniest ink-drawing implement imaginable. Even that small, and without using a magnifier, he unleashes a delightful, slightly whimsical character to his drawings. His highly detailed bookstores are especially charming.”
An Ole Miss graduate from Mississippi, I now reside with my family in Southwest Virginia's New River Valley.
Awards
2022 Best in Show, Decatur Arts Festival, Atlanta, GA
2022 Award of Excellence, Tephra Fine Arts Festival (formerly Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival), Reston, VA
2022 Best in 2D, Carmel International Arts Festival, Carmel, IN
2022 Runner-up Best in Show, Sidewalk Art Show, Roanoke, VA
2022 President's Award, Crozet Arts & Crafts Festival, Crozet, VA
2022 People's Choice Award, Spring Jubilee, Pendleton, SC
2022 Runner-up Best in Show, Spring Jubilee, Pendleton, SC
2022 Runner-up Best in 2D, Art at the Market, Blacksburg, VA
2021 Sand Dollar Award, Boardwalk Art Show, Virginia Beach, VA
2021 Award of Merit, Neptune Festival, Virginia Beach, VA
