Monday 3 June 2013

My Art Room

I hesitate to call it a studio as it doubles up as a spare room even though we do have a another couple of spare rooms for visitors but I always like to have plenty of everything... a mind set  which is now leading me into trouble in my room as well!! It is small, though I like to think bijou is a better word and sounds more artistic!! Read on to be enlightened.......

My room has had two beginnings the first when my older son moved out and I exchanged contracts quickly before he had chance to change his mind (thankfully he still hasn't felt the need to return!!) and the second after my younger son moved out and I took overall possession again after his girlfriend who had been living with us had used part of it for her clothes rail.......as the space isn't very big it was a bit of a squeeze to fit me in as well so when they left just over a year ago, it underwent another face lift and I have been in there ever since.

I had felt lonely being there when the rest of the family were elsewhere in the house and had started to paint downstairs again, the conservatory being a favoured location (still go in there from time to time as it gets lovely and warm when the sun is shining and I find myself invited in there) but now the house is quiet and I am no longer in fear of missing anything I can retire to my room quite happily and paint and get messy to my heart's content!!

I suppose the reason for me writing this post is that over the weekend I had a good sort out... well managed to throw a whole plastic bag of stuff away but more importantly,  in the process, managed to clear most of the bed which normally fulfils the function of a desk extension... it is a 3/4 size bed and was absolutely full of mount card, paintings, books, and goodness knows what else....... I usually wait until we have someone coming to stay before I have this kind of sort out but it was even getting on my nerves and obviously enough for me to feel I had to do something about it!! Not only did I have no desk space, there was no space on any other horizontal surface in the whole room and I realised it was going to stop me painting as I couldn't face the mess and there was nowhere to paint anyway!!

The trouble is I get so engrossed in what I'm doing I am really oblivious to what I am dumping where... heaven forbid I should actually put something away in it's rightful place!! I  probably do have enough storage space... well would have if I didn't have quite so many provisions... I have drawers full to bursting of paper, (watercolour, smooth rough, 140lb,300lb, Bockingford, Arches, Saunders, Fabriano, Hahnemuhle, full, half, quarter imp, acrylic, cartridge, pastel........etc etc)  in the divan drawers of the bed (in fact they are dropping off their rails under the weight!!), I have drawers and drawers full of old paintings which I know I should  get rid of but they are so much part of my journey I am reluctant, every so often I do part with a few but generally I keep hold and cannot really understand why I am so reluctant when they are all so terrible!!

Then of course I have mount card, books, DVD's, mount cutter, brushes, canvasses, easels, watercolours, painting boards, charcoal, pastels (oil and chalk), pencils coloured and watercolour, acrylics, gouache, oils (yes I even have a small unused selection of oil paint), files of reference photos, glue, glitter, you name it I have it...and am sure I will have forgotten something, but I think you get the idea in fact the phrase "All the gear no idea" springs to mind!!!

So I am a bit of a hoarder and no, before you wonder I didn't have a deprived childhood, I didn't go short of things I just have this predisposition to keep and get things "just in case" and of course I can't resist a bargain!!! So I am doomed whenever I visit Ken Bromley's and I find they have a deal on something or have something reduced because it may be slightly damaged... I may have no immediate need for it but who knows when I might need that very thing in the future!!

I am currently taking myself into needing a good camera and it is one of the next things I will put money towards when I have done a few more workshops and maybe sold one or two more paintings, my son has just got one and I am sure it is just what I need as well!!

Here are a few pics of my now very tidy art room, believe me this is tidy!!!





11 comments:

  1. Hi Judith, isn't it funny how we all like to look at other people's "studios". It's a bit like peeking through your window! Mine is also the spare bedroom, but my grandchildren have to sleep on a new spare mattress I have bought as there is no room to fold out the sofa bed which I bought especially for them! They don't mind at all which is the main thing! My worst fault is that I love to have everything within reaching distance, so computer is behind me, Ikea bookshelves to my left and 2 camping tables to my right with a coffee table underneath. This way, the only time I have to get up from my seat is to go and change the water! Lazy or what!! Maybe I will be brave one day and post some photos! Or maybe not! lol

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    1. I am just the same Sue!!! Have nearly tipped myself over several times trying to reach something I should have got up for!!! And my chair has wheels only so I can generally wheel myself about to wherever I need to be!! I agree about the water too... there is a loo and washbasin right outside the room and even that is too much trouble to go for... I usually get several large containers full of water and keep another even larger one for emptying the dirty stuff into!!

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  2. Its very tidy - I'm also in the spare room whihc usually looks like a bomb has landed. In major tidy up at moment due to house move - decluttering!!

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    1. It is tidy now Margaret but you should have seen it before... I would have been too ashamed to show an photo of how it was!!

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  3. Een werk kamer hoort rommelig te zijn want dan kan je alles vinden en vaak als alles netjes is ben je alles kwijt maar voor het moment voelt het even goed lieve groetjes Danielle

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    1. Thanks Danielle, I will try and keep it tidy but I know that within a couple of days it will be back to normal!!

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  4. Very tidy space... I like your colorful taboret and the rack looking thing holding your paintings... I too love looking at other people's studios... I should tidy up my area... so I have room to paint :-)

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    1. The rack is great Elaine, I bought it to display matted paintings at exhibitions but have found it makes a marvellous dumping ground for all the paintings I don't put in the drawers when I want to quickly clear things away, it holds so much, very useful. The coloured taboret is actually on wheels so that is also a useful piece of kit, the trays all come out and can be stacked and of course another space to pile things up on top!! As you can see there isn't much room to wheel it about in my small space... but can see it would be great in a larger area.

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  5. Since moving into my shed I *try* and tidy up before I lock up of a night now. Having the smaller space makes me more conscious that if I don't I'll have nowhere to paint. Rest of the house however - yeah, I'm still working on finding the tidy gene for that ;)

    I loved this peek into your studio. I'm so behind on my blog reading from where my PC was playing up but I knew I remembered spotting a post from you about your art room in my sidebar :) So nosy I just had to come peek.

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  6. Just caught up with this, I am ashamed to say! Love peeking at other people's studios, as mine is still in the throes of being 'sorted'. Insulation done, lined, painted....then noticed a trickle of water running down the wall........husband not a happy bunny. Said he would deal with it while I am away next week! Can't wait to have my own 'studio' !!

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  7. Have to add an extra note, as was having problems getting the last one to appear! My studio is actually an old shed - in case it sounded rather grand! But anywhere would do, as my art stuff is all over the place at the moment....

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