Studio Tour – Feb 2022
Welcome to my Studio!
As an Artist, I am always interested to visit the working space of other artists. So I thought I would dedicate a few blog posts to my studio and plein air gear (portable studio).
I’ve set my studio up in the NE corner of my detached garage where it shares the computer, TV and some floorspace with a workout area. The building is insulated, heated, has high ceilings, and has two windows, facing North and East. It also has lots of power plugs and ethernet cable wired back to the house for reliable internet. The only issues, which are easy enough to deal with, are that the overhead lighting is dim and there is no running water or drains.
My challenges: 1) Working full time, I am always squeezed for time. 2) The space is a decent size, but you can never have enough room. 3) Poor lighting. 4) No convenient water supply on hand. 5) Sharing the space with bike on smart trainer that also needs the computer and TV.
So, my main goals were to organize into work and storage stations to be efficient with time and try to minimize wasted space. I needed room to step back from the painting and be able to look at references on the TV without having an easel in the center of the room. I needed a simple and flexible way to provide appropriate light on my painting and palette. I needed a big supply of water that was convenient, so I wouldn’t have to waste time going back inside to fill little water jugs.
Green – Exercise, Blue – Art (Fixed), Salmon – Art (on Wheels)
Painting Station: A kitchen is usually set up so that the fridge, sink, and oven form a triangle. Similarly, I have a triangle formed with my taboret, TV, and cycling station. By having the TV mounted to the wall on an articulating arm, I was able to move the wall easel and bike away from each other to make space. I use a tool cart on wheels as my taboret cart. This is perfectly suited and inexpensive (when on sale) compared to a wooden taboret from an art store. It stores just about everything I need for painting and my palette sits on top. Behind the cart, I have a 20” deep brush drawer built into the wall shelf that stores all of my acrylic brushes. Above the easel, and scattered throughout the space, I have desk lamps with 5000K LED or CFL bulbs so that I can control lighting on my painting surface and palette. Under the TV, I have a big watercooler jug with a handpump and a plastic bucket for waste water storage.
Prep Station: By moving my Tool Cart to the North, I can pull a cart out from under the built-in shelf and have a panel prep station ready to use. Above the cart, I have a bunch of tightly spaced shelves on drawer slides for placing wet panels, which allows me to have a large amount of surface for drying panels or canvases without taking up much floor space. I can also use the top of the cart for putting cradles on the back of panels or framing work.
Sketching Desk: Just South of my drying rack, I’ve recently built a small drafting table with an adjustable tilting drawing surface. Here, I can draw or paint in gouache or watercolor.
Second wall easel and taboret Station: This is a station that I set up for my wife. She will sometimes work on an acrylic paint-by-number while I paint. It is a fun way to spend time together. The station is a simple wall easel screwed to the storage shelf behind it with an old kitchen cabinet on castors as a taboret cart. It seems to work well.
Library: To the West, I have a shelf that holds most of my art library and many completed plein air panels. It is nice to have reference material on hand.
Space to display/critique work: I have little spots to hang or prop up work scattered throughout the studio. When I am on the bike, I will sometimes spend time thinking on how I could improve a piece or perhaps do it better next time by changing its composition or drawing.
Later, I’ll do a few blogs with more detail on my simple wall easel design, drying shelves, brush drawer, and drafting table.
