I'm lucky enough to be able to use an enclosed two car garage at my house so that I can spread out to work on my artwork. The room was enclosed from the get go when we built the house and served as the kid's playroom. Well, they're up and grown so now it's mine (insert evil "hee hee hee" here). To the left in this picture you see part of the sliding glass door. We live on 10 acres abounding with deer that sometimes like to come within three feet of that window and just stare in at me as I work. This particular wall is covered with OPA (Other People's Art). I have a Kentucky Antique store find in the upper left hand corner - haven't a clue who the artist was but I love the depiction of an artist at work. To the right of that piece is a painting my dad did of me in my little room. Of course it has a place of honor due to the sentiments of the piece. That's my little bed. I still have the headboard to it. It had little drawers in the headboard where I hid candy as a child. He's painted me on my knees praying which I'm not sure where that came from - I'm a lay on my back in bed and pray to God thru the ceiling kind of gal but again, I like the sentiment. The piece below also has an honored space. It was painted by my youngest son, Lucien Scott Croy, when he was in high school. He is colorblind and doesn't paint much anymore. He prefers to work in charcoal and now, over 10 years later, has a one man showing of his work at the Playhouse in Memphis, Tn. But let's not get me to bragging too much right now - you can check out his work for yourself on his facebook page. Anyway, this painting was one of the first completed paintings he did working with his colorblindness. The painting is of an atrium which used to be in a building in downtown Memphis. It had green trees and a fountain with blue water and cream colored walls on the shops surrounding the atrium. I particularly love this picture just because of the reds and oranges he "saw" that he painted in the green tree leaves, the yellows and greens he "saw" in the water and the green cast he gave the cream colored stucco walls. Its' colors serve to inspire me to create my own surprising colors for the underpaintings of my artwork. Below that painting is a palette shaped table (a really cool 40% off Hobby Lobby find) and two portfolios full of more OPA's. And the stools you see were given to me by my art friend Lori Tooker. I took off the cushions and reupholstered them using the cloth of old aprons that I've used that were covered with paint. They look like abstract paintings on canvas on the seats of the chairs. There's a cool re-use for you. Old aprons for upholstery!
And before we leave this little corner and it's ideas, here's where I get onto my Jane's Perspective Soap Box about OPA's! ARTISTS SHOULD BUY FROM OTHER ARTISTS!!! It's not shameful. It's encouraging to other artists that you admire their work enough to purchase it. And you help support other artists by buying their work that you admire, appreciate, need to own to inspire you, or just because it's something that you know that you cannot do - no shame in that - you can't be successful (or shouldn't be successful) in every painting style. For example, abstract art is not my forte - I tend to overwork them - but I have a great appreciation for someone who can do abstracts well. So I buy wonderful pieces of abstract art when I can. I also sorta suck at collage style pieces so I buy those also. Then sometimes I just have artist friends who would gladly give me or trade me a piece which I have known to do but many times I insist on purchasing that piece. I am always on the lookout for pieces by artists I know and love and have been fortunate enough to purchase originals, or prints, or just small pieces or studies when I couldn't afford the larger works, that made me one of their collectors. Buying from other artists - as Martha Stewart would say, "It's a good thing". Trust me.
