When I started working as a professional it was important that I maintained a home studio, preferably separate from my living quarters if possible.
It's amazing, as artists, that we find ways to pack ourselves into even the smallest spaces. From closets, to garages, guest bedrooms and even odd-shaped nooks, we manage to carve something out for ourselves.
Every apartment or house that I looked at, it was always down to, "What's the largest room...because that's gonna be the studio." In most cases it was the master bedroom. As modern houses go, there's usually an expensive bath attached to it and that just doesn't make any sense to me. Finding a well-balanced floorplan is very difficult. But my wife and I got incredibly lucky.
In the Pacific Northwest, real estate gets snatched up quick. The place we landed had an evenly spaced floorplan throughout. Even the one odd-shaped room was a great candidate to house a library of books and will, someday, I hope to be transformed into a writing and meditation room.
The north-facing lower floor studio is very good size for not being a custom build. Sure, I'd love more space, more ceiling height but there's so much else I enjoy about the house I can't really complain.
I had, at one point, thought about renting a studio but because I practically spend 80% of my time in my studio, it didn’t make sense. Besides, in most cases you either have to share space, deal with jacked rent or some other B.S. that may force you to leave at some point. And yes, I suppose if we ever downsized to a smaller house (CROM FORBID!) in a smaller community, that might make sense.
But for now, this is the space.
It'll be going through changes to maximize its usability and my patterns for usage. For instance I built a flat file for paper storage to sit in the fireplace that I never use.
It gives me a chance to advance my woodworking skills while creating custom pieces for the space.
For me, being able to see all these work areas makes me think of the projects that are going on in them. What you can see on the far far left of the main image, are just a hint of the oak flat files that I recently restored.
This is essentially my stand-up desk for water media. Watercolor, acrylic, and gouache, generally take place here. I can stop in mid-stroke and move onto something else and not feel a need to clean up. Though...I do prefer having a clean studio.
Here's the drafting table area where I do most of my comic and illustration work. I try to keep whatever project I'm working on self-contained. I don't go to far afield and pile on other projects until I finish the one in front of me. It's a way to stay organized and not have my focus pulled away. My reference cabinet to the right is an ongoing project. I pull out a drawer on my oak1960s Hamilton drafting table to use as a small shelf to go through any pulled reference. It's super-handy.
Because I don't want to deal with the changing light during long periods of drawing, I've located this and my computer station away from the north-facing windows.
That blue light is actually a "happy light" it's better than caffeine and non-addictive. Because we get so few days of sun, it's a nice supplement for helping stabilize my mood and ability to push through some insomnia-afflicted days. The Wacom is a 22HD on a swivel arm. I have a little scanner on a folding table that my grandfather made when I graduated high school.
Lastly, my oil painting area, closest to the windows. I had the easel custom build for the height of my studio while sitting on rubber mats. The realization of the easel outlasting my life became real when I uncrated this beautiful beast. I had been using an aluminum student easel for years and threw down the gauntlet for this upgrade. I wanted to push myself to commit to painting A WHOLE LOT MORE...and I think it's finally working. But it was intimidating at first.
So...in conclusion, if you want to build a better studio and a better life take note of your successes and failures. My acting teacher said it best: AFFECT THE SPACE TO DO THE BEST WORK. (though I may be misremembering it exactly)
Why do you create?
When do you create best?
What do you need to do your best work?
How does space effect your mood and ability?
These things take time to answer and implement. But as part of your daily practice, they will evolve and become self-evident.
Good luck in finding the change you seek.
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