Visiting artist's studios is always interesting. Each is as unique as the artist themselves. It is as much a creative fingerprint as the artwork that comes out of it.
Every little corner tells a story. For another artist, the array of paints or materials says much, sometimes, too much. I clearly remember visiting one artist, and being shown around his warehouse studio. When we walked past his painting corner where he still had his palette laid out. I stopped out of curiosity. I was immediately given a dark look, so I tactfully moved along. Palettes can one of the most closely guarded secrets a painter has.
When visiting a studio, you also stand a good chance of seeing works in progress. That is also very revealing about an artist's process.
But if you're not there to snoop on an artist's work process, there is the general ambience to soak up. So while this is the internet, and we can't site down for a tea or coffee and have a chat, I'll open a small window into my creative space.
This current studio would rank with one of the smallest studios I've had, but one of the most comfortable. While warehouse studios might sound impressive, they are very cold in Winter, and worse still if you're living in them. Often with a warehouse studio you have to fit it out with basic amenities just to make it barely liveable. This requires a great deal of time. Time that could be better spent on artwork.
With the studio, I have a small green courtyard to look out on in Summer. I can then retain some amount of sanity, and not feel too guilty for being inside for most of the season. In Winter, I have a fireplace in the corner to keep me cosy. It is such a luxury after some of the cold spaces I called work and home.
The above photo is of the ice flowers that grew on my Berlin studio windows. That was one the coldest Winters of my life. Nature was being creative with the freezing temperature -20C and I was being creative with keeping the studio warm.
Necessity is the mother of invention, and Nature is the mother of creation. So out of necessity, I invented a new life in a new studio, and I survived Mother Nature to go on to create. So a big cold studio space, or a small warm one? Sometimes less is more.
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Yes, sometimes less is more. Keep it simple is what I believe in. Are you an artist ? I guess you have to have your studio set up in some unpleasant situations. Thanks for this post.
Hi Carolyn!
Yes, I'm a living breathing professional artist. =)
Hmmm... no you don't have to have your studio in unpleasant places. Its more of a question of budget. The more comfy a studio, the more it will cost. I had always dreamed of a large warehouse studio. So when the opportunity presented itself, I lept at it. But when I signed up, that was Summer. I gave little thought as to why, the largest studio in the building was the least favoured. I found out some months later. ;-)
I survived... several Winters, and learnt. Perhaps I'll write about these adventures in another post.
Please do. I will be waiting to read your new posts. What kind of art do you create? I would love to be an artist, but I don't have any sense of direction. So, I stick with writing, which I love so much.
I mostly paint in oils with figurative themes. If you take a look at my profile you will see what I am producing.
Steemit is exercising my writing muscles. ;-)
Kitchen :) till this time, and still, I never had place called studio, and in all apartments my studio is in kitchen :) I'm joking that one fine day when I will have my studio I probably will make kitchen in it and paint there :) Nice post, thanks for letting us in your paradise.
Hi @jungwatercolor! Where ever you can get the job done.
I started out in the corner of the living room in my apartment. Currently my studio is my bedroom. Perhaps one day again, I'll have a studio AND a separate bedroom. Oh the luxuries! Mind you, I do enjoy waking up in the middle of my creative work. It keeps me focused and inspired. =)
Well I like how you think :) It's not so bad to wake up and at the moment see the work in progress, I will think about it.
It makes me want to get out of bed and start. =)
Upvoted. I'll be resteeming this now :)
Thank you for the resteem @flowerlover! =)
Thank you Leo, for letting everyone have a look in this very special place!
Looks like we have a lot in common... I see you use a glass palette, as I do. Have a lot of paintings in my studio too, but most of them by fine colleagues like you. I like to have these treasures around me and my studio is the place where I spend most of the day after all.
Haha... ice on the window! He, remember the 600year old building, where I had the museum? Big house, but most of it thick walls.. studio was 20 square feet and a real refrigerator. Even in summer.
Can't wait to come for a visit!
Well, when you do get down here, you will get to see it first hand.
A glass palette is easier to scrape back. I built a base for the easel with wheels. This allows me to better use my limited space. It helps greatly when I switch between sitting or standing to paint. I'm quite pleased with the set up I have now. Its taken me a few years to optimise my painting environment.
Yes, I remember the old Spital. But your current studio is cosier I hope. =)
How are the renovations going BTW?
Yes, my current studio is a lot cosier... oups almost added a photo, but then I remembered what you told me. Good thing you did. As I myself got annoyed a time or two, when someone just slaps something onto your page without context :-b
Optimising painting environment, that's great. I also have a lot of things I built to fit my needs. Wheels on easel and palette thingy too :-)
Renovations look like they'll go on forever... but the feasible hydra as you once called it so fittingly has lost a few heads and they didn't grow back ;-)
Glad to hear it. Last time you took me on a tour of the house, large portions of the looked more than spartan. You can always add a photo of your studio. It is in context. ;-)
Thank good, a lot has been taken care of since then. The café is in good shape, as you know and there are no more holes in the roof or else where... back yard is no longer a jungle either.
With your consent, here a look at my self built easel for my works on glass. Hard to see, but there are actually two pieces on there... just noticed myself that the one to the right is the very beginning of one you might have seen a few days ago...
Now THAT is an easel. It certainly looks sturdy an large enough for any size artwork you care to place upon it. So far in my career, I have built two easels myself. I rather enjoy building practical things I can use. I have noted that you have a nice set up for digital references. I have a similar arrangement, with my computer desk just off to the right in the photo. Working from digital references is so much more time and cost effective. Although, the sad part is, in the future, when our work hangs in museums, there will be no preliminary sketches for the art historians to fawn over.
Hehe.. Leo! Shouldn't you be painting!?!
Great post. My studio is a mess. I need to clean it up a bit.
Having a messy studio drives me nuts these days. I need to be able see things and find them. Mind you, I have seen some artists who keep their studios as clean as a hospital operating theatre. That clean and tidy, I am not. ;-)
Happy cleaning @offgridlife! =)
Less is more indeed ! love the studio tho, and damn, those ice flowers!
Oh yes, the ice flowers! There were more of them. All of the windows were covered with them. They were beautiful to look at.
From reluctantly waking up in the morning until bedtime, my feet to my knees hurt from the cold. This went on for months and did it for three Winters. What made it harder for me, was I grew up in the subtropics. Never had I experienced this sort of cold. It really gave me respect for our ancestors and made me realise how cushy we have it today.
Oh wow! True tho, must have been a very hard time during those winters ..
It was, and never was so glad for Spring as I was then.
I surely believe that!
Nice. I appreciate the background you give with the photos, and I love your work. New fan. Followed on instagram & twitter as well (:
Thank you @kcturtlemo!
I post reasonably regularly to those networks as well. I'm currently busy with a new painting. I'm hoping to have it out this week. So guess you'll catch it on one of the social media sites. =)
Thanks for the resteem!
Creativity needs chaos, I believe in this quote.
Chaos finds its place on my canvas in the early stages of development. The chaos forms the foundation for the resulting order. It kind of sounds like fractals. ;-)
You have well played with chaos, now I really enjoy connected with you becuase we will have a great conversation here. Have soe cool effects I try in photoshop and my 3d designs, I am by profession a 3d artist.
Do you work freelance with your 3D work or are you employed with a company? What projects are you working on?
Yes I work as freelancer, I make 3d designs for interior designers and architects.
Habla, blah blah blah blah blah, Español for my bunghole...
Que?
You do not want to face the wrath of my bunghole!!