Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Small but Effective

OK, here it is. In the first photo is of course some guy
in the studio acting like he's retired. The next photo is
the closet storage area. Large metal rack to store matt board
and backer board plus portfolio cases, easels, photo reference,
and anything else I can cram in there.
The next photo shows what I always dreamed of having.
Flat files, 4 five drawer units. Creates a work surface
and stores piles of paintings, some matted, some not.
Different types of watercolor paper, extra palettes, sketch books
and again, whatever I can cram in there.
Shot from the door of the dining room. Most of the time
the door is closed and I have music playing to cover other
disturbing noises. My wife and I are both retired and we
have two kids and 8 grandkids living within 7 miles of our house.
Hence the closed door. Actually, it's a lost cause when the cookie
crumblers show up. I love em anyway. Most days are quiet, especially
in the winter time.




7 comments:

TheChieftess said...

Love those flat files!!!

David Westerfield said...

I always find it inspirational to see other artist's studios. Unfortunately for me, I only have room right now for my flat files unit in the garage--where it's not doing me any good.

Roger Seddon said...

Nice slippers

loriann signori said...

It's great to get a peek into your studio PB. It just struck me...no easel... does a watercolorist always work flat? When I do my underpaintings it is always on an easel. I wonder how it is to "be flat."
What's your music of choice?

It's so nice that you have your family nearby.

Double "D" said...

Chieftess, I couldn't function without those flat files.
I feel very lucky to have them. Hey are you back or still traveling?


David, That is frustrating. Our grandson lived here for a few years with our son because of illness. I finally got the room for my studio about 5 years ago. The flat files were a retirement gift from my lovely wife.


Roger, thanks. The slippers keep my feet warm in the winter time. If you noticed out the studio window there is snow on the ground. We had a windchill of -20 degrees Fahrenheit today.



Hi B, I have a couple of easels which I use outside.
They can be upright or flat. The piece on the table is still wet. I take the paper and a waterproof board and use a sloppy wet sponge and wet both sides of the paper. I continue wetting it for about 5 minutes. This technique is used when I want color to move on the paper. I move the paper side to side going from tilting to vertical to keep the colors mixing with each other. When it becomes just damp, in this case I take a flat brush with a very sharp edge and lift some areas of color depending on what I'm doing. The humidity is so low right now that the paper dried way to fast and I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Now today, I'm puzzled about what to do with it. It seems I've lost my color sense and ability to focus and make good decisions, Very frustrating. That's how being flat is.

My music of choice is not what you might think.
I've got Springsteen, Dylan, Toby Keith, Buddy Holly, Ryan Adams, from 50's through present day, I've got bits and pieces of everything. I guess you could say, I'm not high brow.

Till later my friend B,
Your painting buddy

p.s. Does a watercolorist always work flat. No, just depends are the technique being used. I don't like to work vertical because I have a hard time controlling my hand. I usually work with the table at about 35 to 40 degrees, this helps to keep the color from pooling in one place.

Suzanne McDermott said...

Dear Gramps,

I hope the closed door keeps the crumbs out of harm's way. Glad to see your working space. You can see mine at http://diaryofastudio.blogspot.com/ Don't hate me, I suffered to create it! Disadvantage: slab foundation in winter and single pane windows because it was made on the shoestring approach. I wear furry lined boots in winter which work pretty well and have developed system of makeshift curtains.

Jala Pfaff said...

That's more than one grandkid per mile. ! :)