Studio update

I am gearing up to get back to painting, after a soul-searching hiatus of considering what kind of art I want to make now. (More about my realizations on that subject in a future blog post.)

Today, while I am awaiting shipments of supplies from Utrecht and Dick Blick, I have decided to move my studio around, to reflect my updated intentions.

I have four large tables to work on (not an easel person), and I used to have them placed together in the studio, so that it seemed like I had a larger work space.

But I've realized that, when they are clumped like that, I can’t really get close to my large paintings while I’m working on them; if I have to get to the far side, I either have to lean over the entire table (which means I tend to get more paint concentrated on one side of the piece), or turn the painting, which in my excitement usually results in two big thumb prints on either side (!).

Also I am now tending to make large, “free-for-all” paintings sometimes, and smaller collages other times. A reflection of my Gemini brain; sometimes I want to fling paint, and other times I want to work small and precise.

So I decided to move the tables into two separate configurations, in two separate parts of the room, one for my “let the paint go where it may” side:


And one for my “let’s carefully compose” side.


This way, I don’t have to clean up entirely when I’m ready to switch modes; I can just move to the other side of the room.

We’ll see if this makes it easier to listen to exactly how I want to work, at what times, which is my real goal. Beyond sales and critical attention and everything else: to paint honestly.