Virtual Studio Photo Tour

Since all my Twitters and Facebook blurbs have been about cleaning the studio..I figured I'd show everyone how good it looks. Especially since classes start week after next..it won't stay this way for long!

As you come in the front door, I have a receiving counter with some of my binwork on it and in front of it. I use the cabinet to store supplies. I even cleaned out each drawer and cabinet this week! Next to the counter is Smokey the chinchilla's abode. He has been a family pet for over a year, but was getting lonely up in the gameroom. He has made an occasional visit to my students and loved the attention so now he will be a permanent resident of the studio.

Next view is of the incredible bin storage my husband and kids made for me a couple of years ago. This is probably my most prized possession in the studio! It is beautiful and holds and absolute ton of paper, matboard, artwork, frames, etc.

The desk and bookshelves are why this portion of the studio is still referred to as the library, even though I took it all over last year for art only. Yes, all 3 bookshelves are art (books or supplies) or education related. No, that is not all of my books by any means (can you tell I love to read?)! In this photo you can also see the cool drying rack my engineer husband and I devised last year while wandering Home Depot for several hours. This has been a lifesaver with the increase of students over the past year! No more artwork spread out all over the desk, counter and floor! Okay..sometimes it's still spread out everywhere, but not nearly as often. That computer is my secondary computer (ie..I'm not sitting at that one right now!) I use it to scan in my artwork and update my blog, but the monitor is not as good as the one I play World of Warcraft on..um.. I mean work on normally.

Next is the working part of the studio and classroom. You can see my worktables and easels. I generally have 2 or more paintings in progress on, under, or around the easels. Under the two tables is lots of storage for canvases and supplies. The table with the basket of paperwork is one of the tables my students use. The windows overlook my vegetable garden outside and the great north lighting is ideal for painting but not so much for trying to take a picture of this room. This picture was actually taken after I painted this morning instead of before so the painting on the easel doesn't quite match the next picture.

These are the other 2 student tables and another cabinet of supplies. I have it set up to where all students sit along the outside of the tables and face me while I teach. The blank wall behind the easel gets full of mini-posters about the lessons I am teaching and art examples. Between the 3 tables I've learned I can sit 7 kids and 6 adults comfortably with room to spread out supplies. During the Spring Session we always do acrylic self-portraits on 20" x 16" canvas and this project has been my guide mark on room needed!

I got to thinking about the lighting when I was describing the layout so I ran down and took this picture of the flexible track lighting my husband and I installed last summer. It is very bright and angled perfectly to be at either my easels or sitting on the outside edge of the tables. I do have issues at night when I'm trying to work from my usual inner side of the tables but I rarely sit down to work so it's not a problem often.

So there it is...my home studio & classroom. Feel free to ask any questions!

Clean Studio Leads to Painting in Progress

That may be the last time I promise a post on a certain subject. Every since I said I'd post on how I regained some of my inspiration, I've been procrastinating on blogging...not a good thing!

Anyway..that post will come..its in my head! Until then, I need to get back to regular blogging.

My kids went back to school this week and I've been rearranging and cleaning my studio furiously all week. I finally cleared a path to my easel today and was able to work a little on Reflections. I forgot to take photos of the studio in the daylight, but I will tomorrow. It looks good!

Reflections is still very much in the beginning stages. I'm going to start posting a lot more "work in progress" so you, gentle reader, (who used to use that line?) can see how my paintings evolve. At this stage, I have primed the canvas with flexible modeling paste tinted with a little blue acrylic. I use a palette knife to create some surface texture. After allowing that layer to dry for at least 24 hours, I sketch in my painting with acrylic paint heavily thinned with water.

My goal at this point is to have the basic composition in the right place and all the major line up so I can see the direction of the painting's movement. Reflections has some corrections on it (hard for you to see though) because I didn't like some of the water lines that went straight across the background. I added some curves to the incoming waves.

Other news...my little art students continue to grow up! Last year I had a large amount of Kindergartners and 1st graders. Quite a few moved on up and my 2nd-4th grade students started to grow by word of mouth. Due to this shift in age, I've changed my Wednesday 3-4pm class from a K-1st to a 2nd-4th grade class. Class start in just over a week so contact me ASAP if you are interested! Click here for class schedule.