I thought it was time to have a little fun instead of doing a review or talking about artwork & color combinations. I finally have an art studio all to myself. Come on in, I’ll make you a mocha latte and show you around.
So, up until a few weeks ago I did all my artwork in the living room. As my stash of art supplies grew, I began running out of space. I had to admit that I wasn’t as efficient as I needed to be without my own art studio, I needed a dedicated space. I didn’t want to watch videos, for instance, because it might bother other family members. Since I got Anna Mason’s painting course for Christmas, I finally admitted I really, REALLY needed to pull the trigger and move all my stuff into a spare bedroom.
I love how I now have a bunch of space! It’s great to have a huge working surface. I actually usurped the kitchen table! We bought a large stainless steel island that takes up that space instead. The kitchen table just collected dust and junk, you know how it is, lol. Now it’s my huge painting table. What a treat for an artist. I can lay out all my supplies, keep all my ever expanding palette collection close and have space to have both a light box and my laptop on the desk at the same time. It’s heaven.
The sign above my desk tells me everyday to just relax, not stress about it and JUST PAINT. Much like the name of my blog, it helps me keep my worries in perspective. All I really have to do is put brush to paper to be successful. Over thinking it all just wastes precious time. I use a large butcher’s tray to keep everything I need immediately organized and in one place. I use the hexagonal lazy susan/turn table organizer (bought from a craft store) to organize all my palettes. I can’t believe how my palette hoard collection has grown in the past six months! It’s frightening. But that’s for another post, lol. Stay tuned and I’ll explain all my palettes. There’ll be lots of paint porn, I know you love it.
As you can see, on the desk is my new love, Hahnemühle’s Diary Sketch Black. I’m using it to plan out a few large projects I’m working on. It makes such a difference to have a dedicated art journal. Not for making finished art but for planning out what I’m going to paint, what I want to say and points I don’t want to forget to mention. In the near future I’ll be rolling out several related posts. This journal has thick pages, the left side is lined and the right is plain. It’s so handy! One project will be up mid March and the next project will go live sometime in April-May. As I said above, stay tuned for some exciting stuff, including giveaways!
In the picture above, you can see my new toy. I just bought a camera mount so I can start doing time-lapse and other videos. It’s kind of exciting (and totally intimidating, lol). The middle picture shows the one thing almost all artists have, an Ikea rolling cart! I got mine from a craft store, we don’t have an Ikea on the Island. I’m just glad I could find a turquoise one. It’s so convenient to have all my supplies so close but NOT cluttering the desk.
The only thing I’d still love to add is a little shelf under my “Just Paint” sign for some knick-knacks. I learned from my good friend Tracey Fletcher King that fun do-dads make for a fun and unique space. A shelf would keep it all organize together and as I collect fun stuff from friends, I’d have a place to put them at eye level. Speaking of friends, my last photo is of my Friend Art Wall. I love having these beautiful pieces of art up. I find it inspiring to see all the creativity and color right there on my studio wall. I still have to put up a few pieces of my own for balance but I haven’t gotten around to finding frames. The friend art took priority, I know what my pieces look like, lol.
So that’s my art studio, hope you enjoyed the tour. I’d love it if you stopped by again but right now I gotta get back to painting, I’m so behind! Later Gator.
If you’re interested, here are the artists involved in my “Friend Wall”…
Friend Art:
- Tracey’s Art (left)
- Denise’s Art (upper middle)
- Sal’s Art (bottom right)
- Robin’s Art (upper right)
- Ellen’s Art (bottom middle)
Learning: Time-Lapse videos
Road Testing: My new Nostalgie Sketchbook by Hahnemühle
Planning: The next giveaway in March for my subscribers!
Loving: Well, obviously my new office, silly!
Michelle Hotchkiss
Looks great! I seriously need to reorganize my space, but I seem to be lacking that skill, it’s all a disaster in short order. I do love the butcher’s tray idea.
Sal Scheibe
Wow, this looks so pretty! I so need to invest in some sort of lazy Susan. Two of them I think! Your place is so neat! Mine is ridiculously messy with paint splatters all over my desk. LOL. Love the art wall. Looks so good!
victoria
Such a beautiful and uplifting post. Your studio is gorgeous and full of creative magic! So lovely to see into your world! Everything looks fab! Thanks for sharing!
Beverly Wong-Kleinjan
Great set up, Jen! Enjoy!