New Studio Space!

Marilyn — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:19:53 +0000

Most of the remodeling that we have been suffering through for the past 4-5 months is nearly over -- except for finishing a number of details, and getting my new attic office fully functioning -- another month maybe for the latter, and I'm giving myself until the end of 2010 to complete all the detail work. The contractors are mostly done, though, and we have some new spaces, new lighting, and I have been able to convert my former office/studio into a full-time, full-space studio. Woo-hoo!

It's a little Martha Stewart looking, since it was my former office, and I didn't really change the decor; I'm just working on finishing it the way it started, and making it work as a studio.

I have some previous office furniture to sell, and once that's done, I will have a empty space in front of the front windows, and I will be able to create my encaustic table -- the door table-top you see in the picture above, to which I will add 2x4 legs on casters and a couple of storage shelves underneath -- maybe with a cutout for my knees, so I can do some drawing on it.

I'm also thinking of creating a floorcloth out of painter's canvas, so I can stop getting paint all over the floor.

So, I continue to make adjustments as I work in my semi-new space. See a small gallery of photos of my studio, with some changes in progress:

[nggallery id=53]

Studio Space – Does it Matter?

Marilyn — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 06:37:10 +0000

The David Hockney version of my studio/office in a cleaned up, but still half-painted, state. (view larger image here.)

I love seeing other artists' spaces, and got just such an opportunity when Farrell Brickhouse posted pics of his friends' palettes on Facebook a while back. They have now been reposted on Sharon L. Butler's blog, Two Coats of Paint, so you can see them, too. I'd love to have so much space. Last weekend at the encaustic workshop at Majestic Ranch, I got to work in a large, airy well-lit studio, on a large table with plenty of space for all my tools, palette, painting panels, and miscellaneous extras. It really helped my workflow. Back at home, as you can see from these two pics, things are a bit more crowded. And this is just my space for drawing and working in encaustic. I also have an easel or two for painting in oil and acrylic, a couple of taborets, storage space under my table, and loads of art supplies, tools, canvases and paintings, etc. shoved into the closet and various other locations in the house and garage. When we bought our current house, I thought I could try working in the back half of the garage, but for various reasons -- absence of heat in winter, cool in summer, air and light all year round, and only one electrical outlet; plus presence of mosquitoes and other bugs, a much too-low ceiling beam, and the occasional flash flood pouring across the hard cement floor -- I gave up on that and moved my studio, bit by bit over time, into my office, where I also do my digital freelance work. So I get half-a-room for art, which still isn't too bad. What is your studio like? What challenges do you have to overcome to work in your space? Or, have you been able to build, buy or rent the perfect studio for you? I'd love to see pictures, so please post a link! Or if you'd like me to post yours here, send me your pics and I'll post as many as I get sent.

Marilyn Fenn » studio space

New Studio Space!

Studio Space – Does it Matter?

The David Hockney version of my studio/office in a cleaned up, but still half-painted, state. (view larger image here.)