Studio!

Studio!

Here are a couple photos of my new/old studio. You can see that it's been finished, with plywood all around. I love this. It was cheaper than most of the alternatives, but still gave me wood. I love the feel of it, the smell of it. I love seeing the grain of the wood, too.

You might not notice that there are lights in the studio now... and you probably wouldn't notice that there are plugs in the walls, but for me, this is a big deal. No more extension cords, no more quitting painting when the day's light fades.

Right now, I only have the one oil-filled radiator, and believe me, it's cold out there. Even though I ran the radiator for an hour before I started painting yesterday, the temperature in the studio only reached 37 degrees. Painting for an hour or so in the freezing cold is one thing; painting for four or five hours in 37 degree temperatures is entirely another thing.

But I will get heat up there, and, more to the point, it won't be this cold forever!

In the spring, when it's warm and sunny, I will have an open studio day, and you'll all be invited.

Meantime, a friend who receives these blogs by email tells me that recently, the pictures are intruding into the writing, especially if she sends me a response to the painting. Is anyone else finding this? Please let me know!

Thank you for reading.

Closer to the Sky

This is my first studio, here at the Whalehead Road world headquarters of Jacobson Arts.

What you don't see is that when I moved my studio into this bedroom, there was a woodstove in here that took up about a quarter of the space. We sold the woodstove, but then, forced to clean the rug in Peter's office, he and I moved a huge bulk of his stuff into my studio.

That stuff? It never left.

Even before his stuff edged into my space, I had moved my painting to the basement. And honestly, it's not been a bad studio space. I have as much room as I could want, and if I'm ever low on inspiration, I can try on clothes, sort through poorly labeled boxes or do laundry. Also, the cats and their litter boxes add to the ambiance.

I never moved my desk, or computer, or any of that to the basement, though.

Ta-dah! While I was hauling my work from Maine to New York, a wonderful carpenter actually showed up, on time, and put stairs up to the second floor of the garage. It's not as big a space as the basement, but it has a skylight, two windows and it's all mine! There's room for my desk, the wireless connection works all the way out there, and it is as quiet and animal-free as I want. And greedy me, I am not sharing it with anyone.

Of course, I need insulation, electricity and some way to heat - but that is all doable.

I am a happy painter with my treetop studio!