Drawing Inspiration

Today, in lieu of a new painting to post, I am giving a tour of my studio. It has been a work in progress for the past several years, but I realized today that I think I might just have everything where I want it, that is until I get a home with a separate casita on the property that I can transform into my studio. For now, this little room will make do.

I work on a large maple wood table which used to be a small dining table. I keep three things in front of me at that table: my light table, a clock and a large vintage poster of some far away tropical island, my getaway of choice. I'm constantly grabbing for the light table, but because space is limited, I chose to mount bolts on the wall and hang the table like a picture when not in use.

The clock keeps me from forgetting my appointments, or to check the laundry, or make dinner, etc. While I don't like to regiment my time too strictly, I do need something to remind me, or else I'll lose 3 hours in here and not realize it until my back and shoulders start nagging me to get up and stretch.

The vintage poster is just to keep my creative side inspired. I think if I work hard enough, some day I'll be able to fly to away to Paradise and never look back. ;o)

At the rear right of my work table I keep a small collection of lanterns and glass rock pieces. I like the idea of keeping bits of what inspires me most nearby, and these loose chunks of colored glass do the trick for me every time. The lanterns I keep beeswax candles in, and in the evening if I feel like journaling, meditating or just relaxing in a soft flickering glow, I light my candles. I keep various battery operated and beeswax candles and paper lanterns in several other corners of the studio as well for this purpose.

To the left of my work table is a book shelf with all my favorite reference books, trade magazines, and my CD collection.

To the right of my work table is a shelf where I keep all my small canvases and my CD player. Large canvases and stretcher bars are kept in the garage. Music is so important, though I don't play it all the time, in the late afternoons and the evenings when my painting energy is waning or when I just want to relax, I have a 3-disc CD player going with whatever does the trick. And, as you can see, I have more art and posters framed on my wall. In fact, every wall in my studio is covered with some of my art collection. I have some poster prints, but mostly framed original works of my own or other artists.

Along with the music, I have two of my favorite studio mascots: the Vorpal Bunny from Monty Python's The Holy Grail (it's little mouth opens to reveal sharp teeth. so cute.) and a battery operated grooving gopher from Caddyshack. I had always said that if I could have any Hollywood prop, I'd want one of the grooving gophers from Caddyshack. Several years ago they had a 20th anniversary release of the DVD or somesuch, and my hubby found a battery operated grooving gopher for me in a store. The music plays and everything. It is still one of my favorite gifts of all time. I'm such a cheap date.

My studio is not all that large, about 10"x12", the far wall comprised entirely of bay windows. For all my talk of candlelight and lanterns, I do not paint by candlelight. I'd like to be able to see past the age of 50, so that's out. I prefer natural light, which is what prompted me to chose this room as my studio to begin with. It's southwest orientation lets most of the daylight into the room, and the three bay windows give me even more angles of light to work with. I have blinds over the lower windows, and drawn woven shades over the top arches. The woven shades can come down over the entire length of the windows if necessary. Between the blinds and the shades and access to direct light most of the day, I have enormous control over the range of light I want in the studio at any one time. It's heaven, I won't lie. I adore this room for that very reason.

If I'm still working in the evenings, rather than an overhead light, which I've never liked, I use a cheap 3 bulb floor lamp and an architect's table lamp, both from Target. These work out well because I can maneuver the lights to my satisfaction, a luxury I never had with stationary lamps. That said, I avoid working from anything other than natural light. Even with bulbs that mimic natural light rays, it just isn't the same, and it affects the color I put to canvas.

Opposite my work table wall I keep a shelf with fresh flowers (a girl's gotta have her fresh flowers), battery operated candles (no smoke on original artworks, please), and completed/unsold small works. If I lay them anywhere else in the studio, they run the risk of getting bumped, dented, scratched and otherwise unnecessarily abused.

A closeup shows more inspirational trinkets which can't fit into my very full supply closet. I have on the opposite wall from my bay windows a long closet which I converted, thanks to Home Depot, with several shelves where I keep all my still life found objects, paints, various studio appliances and utilitarian items, some packing supplies, etc. The extra large packing boxes and bubble wrap, for now, are stacked neatly against the wall beneath the finished work/flower shelf.

What I need most, need right now and need to move between my table and an easel I keep in these rolling shelf carts. Everything from tape to pencil leads, Golden mediums, my palettes and office supplies. You name it, you can find at least one of it in these rolling shelves. I'm fairly certain Jimmy Hoffa is in there somewhere, too. They are lifesavers in every sense (except in Jimmy's case). My studio wouldn't be my studio without these little beauties.

The easel I prefer to set facing away from the bay windows, soaking up their glorious light and making the job of painting much less squinty. In the winter I paint large scale pieces in the house. But in the Spring, Fall, and early mornings of the Summer, I paint in the garage. With my rolling shelves and lightweight wood easel, I can safely and quickly transport my work area anywhere I want it to go.

As you can see in the photo above, I do keep a wall calendar and also a dual cork board/dry erase board attached to my studio door. I try to mark important appointments and dates on the calendar and board to remind me not to forget things I'll likely forget anyway. It's a lesson in futility, but at least I try!

At one point my hubby found a "Toxic Gas: Do Not Breath Vapors" construction site sticker and slapped it up on the other side of the door as well. But, then people who came to the house and didn't know that paint solvents stink assumed this was the room where all residents suffering intestinal distress were quarantined. So, the sticker had to come down. I try to keep a pretty open sense of humor, but I'll take it only so far. I taped it to my husband's lavatory door instead. He's yet to forgive that.

Speaking of ventilation, ventilation is important to me. A few years back I developed chemical sensitivities. I have been able to detox my system to the point that almost nothing bothers me any more, but I'm still wary of what kind of air I breath, especially in my line of work.

Where oils are concerned, I am very strict about only using Gamsol as a solvent. I wear gloves when I paint, and I don't leave the lid off the Gamsol when I'm not dabbing my brush into it. I keep all my paint tubes in airtight containers, and my wet paint palettes in the rolling cart drawers. The added bonus is that the small confined space keeps the paints from drying on the palettes too quickly. It's a win/win situation.

But, beyond saying goodbye to turpentine and Liquin, I want my ventilation. I'm a bit obsessive about it. I don't have a heavy duty exhaust system in my little tract home studio room. But, I do have fans. Lots and lots of fans. First, there is the overhead vent that blows heat/a.c. and a general fan through the house. I am fortunate that the vents face toward the bay windows which I keep open as often as possible. I often leave the studio room door open as well, with an oscillating fan blowing air toward the bay window from the rest of the house. If it's chilly, I keep a small ceramic heater near my feet beneath my table and easel.

At the window, while it is open, I leave this little gadget set to high exhaust. It's very powerful.

When I'm working on small oil and acrylic pieces at my table easel, I keep this small battery operated travel fan going to blow any paint fumes away from me and toward the window. The only thing left is to harness the power of a Category 3 hurricane. Suffice it to say, in between all my gadgets, no one has smelled a single hint of paint or solvent in my studio in the last two years. Nothing is set too high, so the air feels more like a light breeze, but it works. It certainly works.

So, there you have it. My current studio. Small but efficient and very creatively inspiring for me. :o)