Branching out.... into a new studio!

[caption id="attachment_1026" align="alignleft" width="300"]Getting Moved In Getting Moved In[/caption]   [caption id="attachment_1027" align="aligncenter" width="300"]Setting Up Shop Setting Up Shop[/caption]   I'm wildly excited about my new art studio!  I moved some of my art supplies in a few weeks ago, and spent a fantastic Friday night getting it organized.  It was so fun to bring in boxes of my things and slowly start transforming it into a working space. [caption id="attachment_1028" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Getting Organized[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1031" align="aligncenter" width="300"]A comfortable place to sit and read art books! A comfortable place to sit and read art books![/caption] [caption id="attachment_1030" align="aligncenter" width="300"]Oh yeah....blank canvases are like candy to an artist! Oh yeah....blank canvases are like candy to an artist![/caption] This space will give me the room to work BIG!  The studio in my home was not really conducive to working on large canvases - and now I have space to spread out and go large!  One of the first things I did was to hang up a triptych I have been working on to see how it would actually look side by side.  I was amazed that even in my former cramped corners I had still lined things up well for this project. [caption id="attachment_1029" align="aligncenter" width="300"]It's looking like it will work... It's looking like it will work...[/caption] A new piece has begun to take form.  I was hired by a woman from Connecticut to do a commissioned piece for her.  It is also a triptych...and I have had so much fun getting it started!  Can's wait to see how it turns out... [caption id="attachment_1033" align="aligncenter" width="554"]A new commission piece starting to form.... A new commission piece starting to form....[/caption] While I am letting one dry, I can turn around and add layers on another one.  So fun!  So free!! [caption id="attachment_1034" align="aligncenter" width="225"]Step One....Inks Step One....Inks[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1035" align="aligncenter" width="225"]Step 2.... Adding some acrylics Step 2.... Adding some acrylics[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1036" align="aligncenter" width="225"]Step 3.... having fun with circles Step 3.... having fun with circles[/caption]   In addition to having more space to paint, I am also thrilled to be a part of an artist community.  I am the 9th artist who has studio space in this building.  You can find samples of their work here!  I am very excited and honored to be among such talented artists!  

For The Love Of Art...

Art.  I love it.  I love making it.  Love looking at it.  Love reading art books.  Love reading art blogs.  Love trying new techniques and finding new supplies that delight me. I love creating in my studio....such a place of peace and therapy for me.  When the world starts to feel like it's closing in I can escape to my little art studio and paint out all of my frustrations, angers and overwhelm.  When I have something to celebrate it's a place of private haven where I can relax, bask in my joy and paint brightly colored pieces expressing my love and radiant life. The funny thing about my love of art is that it is all about exploring.  I can explore with a new medium.  A new class.  A new photoshop trick.  A new color.  A new friend.  A new style.  I can constantly invent and reinvent.  If I don't like it I can paint over it.  I can shade it.  I can chuck it and start something new.  Then come back to it later and breathe new life into it. And I love, love, love the art supplies.  I'm like a kid in the candy store when I walk into a Hobby Lobby or a Michaels.  I want to have one of everything....and two of the things that sparkle!! Right now, apparently I am obsessed with learning everything I can about not just making art, but the business of art.  I am taking three e-classes - Hello Business Hello Soul, The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design, and Bloom True by Flora Bowley.  I am finding my way as I learn new things about WHY art is speaking to me - heck its not just speaking to me - it is shouting at me to pay attention!!!  And I am loving it!  Loving it all!!!

My Art Studio

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Last fall I traveled halfway across the United States searching for some inspiration and attended the Art & Soul Retreat in Portland.  I addition to the many mixed media classes, one of the workshops I took was called "Creating Your Dream Art Studio".  During the class I was introduced to your wonderful magazine, Studios.  I thought I had died and gone to heaven!  After looking through many back issues I found a color scheme that literally jumped off the page at me.  I came home, selected paint colors, and the rolled up my sleeves.  

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My 12 year old son got into a bit of mischief, so for his punishment I decided some manual labor was in order.  I had him take every single item out of my "hobby room" and take it to a spare bedroom across the hall.  Once it was empty, I painted it, and began to systematically reorganize, store or throw away all of my supplies.  I ordered all of the back orders of Studios and Where Women Create that I could find, and combed through them looking for creative storage solutions, fun ways to display supplies and the best ways to set up a studio for a real "working" artist.  

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One of my favorite parts of the studio is my "standing" table.  I realized that I never shut the door to my supply closet.  So I took the door off of the hinges, and laid it across to high drawer towers from the Container Store.  I keep my paints and brushes handy and do all of my mixed media painting standing up on my makeshift work bench.

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I also found that I love having my creative and colorful supplies visible, but get overwhelmed by too much clutter.  Grouping my markers, colored pencils, sprays, and pastels in small colorful containers all neatly organized on a desk shelf keeps me in a great creative frame of mind.  I have all of these supplies at a table that I can comfortably sit at while working on the detail of pieces.  

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My personal motto adorns the glass top table - Do Something Creative Every Day.

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Space is a premium in this small room that used to be a nursery, so finding a way to display my many art books without giving up valuable floor space was a challenge.  Then I found a vertical shelf that keeps all of my inspiration at my fingertips, taking up no more space the the size of one large book!

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Lastly, I LOVE my drying rack.  I find that I enjoy working on several projects at once - and would chafe at the delay that drying paint requires.  The drying rack lets me shelve something while I work on the next thing, keeping my creative juices swirling and the collage and paint pieces coming.

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Please enjoy - thank you!