Studio Tour

This is the second corner of my "new" studio.   

Here's my moveable easel and my two rolling art paint bins.   The one on the left holds all my oil paint and the one on the right holds all my acrylics.   Both bins were Fred's  Dollar Store finds and I'm able to categorize my colors drawer by drawer.   The artwork on the easel are small oil paintings in progress and the artwork on the wall and below  in the wooden divider are my "Do-Overs".   These are thrift store artwork "re-purposed" in the style of the artist David Irvine.  I just love the humor of re-directing art that has been cast away into something fun.   Here's one of my favorite "Do-Overs".   I call it "Savvy?"   Just the idea of a stoic iconic boy in blue in the classic style with his "friend" no doubt whispering some trouble making scheme  over his shoulder.  

Next to this corner between the two front windows is my writing and inspiration area.   My books are full of history of art, or how-to's for painting techniques, and some are just for ideas or to use as a resource.   If I do nothing else for the day in the studio I hope to be able to just lose myself in art by pouring through these books.

Above the books is one of my largest paintings from a show I did after I returned from a trip to Italy.  I have chosen not to sell this piece yet.   It still reminds me of the day we saw the Sistine Chapel and Coliseum in Rome.   It was a rainy day but as I took the reference photo the clouds just broke up to reveal some clear blue sky.   And speaking of large artwork the next two corners of the room have two 4' X 5' canvases ready for one commissioned piece and a piece for my next showing in Gatlinburg, Tn. 

In this picture you'll see I  have a  tv stand on which I've placed my lights that I can roll anywhere I need it in the studio. On it's shelf are all my paint brushes in cases or boxes by size and palette paper and wooden and plastic pallettes.   The easel in this photo was a give away by an artist friend who had it made specifically for large pieces.   The Coke machine is non working and has been a sorta thorn in my studio side for years - too heavy to move, too broken to use or sell.   So it's just décor at this point. 👎

This corner shows two things, the other 4' X 5' canvas which I have now hung directly on the wall and will paint on it at that location and a desk I found at the Goodwill for $3.50 that holds my glass pallet and more painting supplies like mediums and paper towels and  palette knives.   It rolls wherever I need it.  So that totals three areas in which I can paint.   I just roll the palette and light tables to whichever canvas I choose to work on allowing me to let one piece dry as I work or prep  another.

The final wall of the studio has all the odds and ends from papers, sketch books, markers, pastels, old photos of past shows and artwork, extra tubes of paint, colored pencils, and watercolors.   It also holds all the memorabilia from the gallery I owned in the early 2000's and teaching materials for my workshops.   The paintings above are just some of my favorites, a Beale Street palette knife piece, a painting from my trip to Italy, a portrait of my husband and a portrait of my sons.   Smaller pieces on easels are a portrait of my youngest son, a landscape where we used to go camping a lot, a small Do-Over and a wooden plaque that my oldest son made for me one Christmas.   Fun pieces like this will surround me and keep me from being lonely as I work.   Art can be a rather lonely profession but if it's in you to paint you'll suffer more from not releasing your creativity than you would bottling it up cause you don't want to be alone.