My studio is very precious to me. As I walk into it, I feel a sense of sanctuary, a place of calm amidst chaos. It is a log cabin that exudes good light. It has glass in the two front doors and in the front facing window and glass in the side window. It is not huge 3.5 x 2.5 metres. What I appreciate most is that I have electrical sockets, a consumer unit and this means I have heating and lighting when I need it. I painted the inside light cream colour and the roof inside is white. I wanted the inside to be as bright and light as it could be to be conducive to any work made or photographs taken. An exterior photo is below. The cabin sits in my garden just a few yards from the back door of the house. This photo is an aerial view from a bedroom window. As you can see it has plenty of windows for light.
I previously mentioned it being a place of calm amidst chaos. The inside is usually very cluttered and messy.
No matter how hard I try to tidy up within a few days it reverts to type. When I become overwhelmed by the clutter and there isn’t sufficient space to work I do put things in drawers and put as much in order as I can. Usually enough space to complete the next piece of work. I have accrued lots of materials and equipment over the years and I must confess to being a bit precious about materials. I discard very little and if necessary banish stuff to the overloaded shed.
The interior structure consists of shelving to the right of the doorway. I have two separate plastic cabinets each with three drawers. I keep in these an array of materials. In the first I have acrylic paints in the bottom drawer. Tubes and tubs in various colours. The second drawer consists of fabric paints and inks.
The second cabinet holds printing materials from brayers in different sizes plus several sets of cutting tools for lino and wood. The next drawer holds an array of plaster of paris mod roc. This I have used for sculpture. Thetop drawer holds large brushes household painting ones. I buy soft ones that are silky for a smooth surface finish. This drawer also holds sponges and cotton wool balls and various odds and sods including drawing and painting sets.
The large storing shelves to the right hold large tubs of gesso, a breathing mask, two framing tools, a glue gun, four vessels with different brushes in. One for watercolour use and the others for oils and acrylics. At the moment I also have an electric mitre saw on top of the trolly I use for printing. Other contents are included on the list drawn up in my sketchbook below.
Over the years I’ve accrued a lot of materials and I’ve shared these with a lot of people. When I create work I do this in a range of ways. I can have three main easels on the go at any one time. I have the largest easel on the back facing wall with the light on it. I work often sitting when working on this. The second easel I erect on the right of the doorway. It is a bamboo easel and folds from back to front. I always work standing up on this easel due to the permanent height of the base the work stands on. The third easel is a desk easel so I use this on the table. I would also work on this sitting. The actions I take in the space can often be quite exciting. From the conception of an idea and beginning to visualise this in your mind provides hope, fear and excitement. The main thoughts are about executing the work well but before I get to this my decisions around materials, size and surface are crucial too. Time also plays a part. I ask myself if I can complete in the time I have in the studio today or is it going to take several days? Is there enough natural light, particularly when the daylight fades earlier as winter approaches. Once the basic concepts and ingredients are in place the work begins and I can get totally absorbed in the making. Sometimes I enjoy the solitude and quiet and on other days I might have the radio on or a good cd. I love all types of music from classical to some rock and pop. I do set time aside for studio work and I try to spend whole days like a 9-5pm. In this way I can be quite disciplined. I do like to have two or three works in progress particularly if they are paintings that need to dry in between layers.
Whilst the majority of the work takes place in the studio I do also enjoy working outdoors drawing and sketching. Since Drawing 2 in particular my drawing continues to improve and I really enjoy drawing on the go. I’m not afraid of anyone coming up to me now or asking what I’m doing in local parkland.
Endless Possibilities 