Tea Party and Hydrangeas / 18x24 / Oil on Linen PanelThis is my first painting in my new studio--finally! :-) I'm trying to create a softer look but am still tempted to go back into the flowers a bit. I want this painting to be about the tea pot, though--and not the flowers--so I've decided to leave it the way it is for a few days. I'll probably find a few things to touch up, but I think it's mostly finished at this point.
This is my new studio. It's 14x28, and this is the west end. I'm in the basement, but the good news is that the previous owner installed 9 ft. ceilings. What a bonus! There's a 9x4 storage closet with shelves for panels and frames beyond the sink.
I've got three fluorescent fixtures in the studio with a mixture of warm and cool bulbs in each. Each fixture is on a separate switch, as is this bank of four recessed lights. There is another bank of four recessed lights at the other end of the studio, plus an additional three over my desk. I'm sure the contractor thought I was a bit wacko with all the lights and switches--you might, too--but since I'm in the basement I wanted as much flexible lighting as possible. The under cabinet lights are also on a separate switch.
One of the things I did in my old studio area was rip apart a cardboard box and nail it around the lights over my easel. That way I could have plenty of light to paint with and still keep it off the still life set-up. I've purchased some black-out roller shades and am planning to install them in the new studio on the ceiling around my easel--the idea is that I can raise and lower them as needed. The first painting worked okay with the spotlight on the set-up, the east end lights on and the west end lights off, but I know it will be better with the shades. I'll post a photo when I get that accomplished!
This is a good view of my painting and set-up area. In the far corner (hidden by the easel) are a couple of old bookcases full of still life props.
Several years ago I purchased a couple of hospital bed tables and have used them for a variety of things. They are really versatile since they raise and lower plus roll. I've used them for still life set-ups as well as my palette, as you can see here.
I plan to put a couple of 8 ft. long ledges (1"x3") on the back wall so that I can get wet paintings out of the way. I'll post a photo when I've got that finished so you can see. Also, for those of you who gave me all your wonderful flooring suggestions, it's hard to tell what I wound up with from this photo but this is the garage flooring from Lowe's. It comes in 20"x20" tiles that interlock, so it was easy to install (no glue) and added some comfort plus warmth to the cement floor. Best of all is that I'm not worried about messing it up. If worse comes to worse, I can easily replace a tile.
This is the east end of the studio with my desk, file cabinets, etc.
This is the other corner of the east end. I plan to install a hanging system on this wall so that I can showcase framed paintings.
Thanks for taking the "tour." This studio has taken fourteen years of dreaming, three months of construction, and way longer than I thought to actually make the move. I've been busy!
