A FIRST FOR ME!

War Paint

This is the first painting I have completed in MY NEW STUDIO!  A few more tweaks and I think I will submit it for the next California Watercolor Association National competition.  Deadline at the end of the month, so if you haven't entered yet, get busy!  This is always a great show and will be exhibited in San Francisco this coming year.

This is a painting of my husband whose face is shaded by a hat standing in strong sunlight.  The reflections from his glasses create an interesting pattern.  I liked the torn tyvek surface so much I decided to do it again.  I think I will continue to paint more images on this type of surface.  It is accepting paint in a great way and I am able to paint in a vertical manner.

I was not able to transfer the photos from Dropbox for some reason, so I gave up wasting my time. I have been keeping busy!  I drove down to Paso Robles to jury the awards for the International Society of Acrylic Painters (ISAP)  The show is up and looks great.  If you find  yourself anywhere near Paso Robles, stop by Studios on the Park and check it out.

 I have also been spending my time setting up my very first studio outside of my home!  I was fortunate to fined a space in the Peninsula Art Museum building in Burlingame, Ca, which is about 15 minutes from my home.  It is filled with wonderful artists, several fabulous gallery spaces, a gift shop, library and art school!   The room is 17ft by 12ft and I had fun planning storage and work space.  It also is for some display of my work.  This is a view taken from the open door to the studio.  I am right across from the kitchen space, so easy access to water.  Lots of good light coming through the 3 windows and good overhead lighting as well.

Studio 21 from doorway

Work and storage tables

I found these basket carts at IKEA.  I was also able to buy just table tops which are inexpensive and fairly light weight.  I just placed them on top of two rolling carts.  I can reconfigure the two tables to be back to back for a different work space.  I can also easily move them into the middle of the room if I want to be able to work from both sides of the table.  I love the flexibility of this set up.  Also the storage capacity is amazing and for a visual person, I can see where everything is.  Doing mixed media means I have tons of "stuff" so I needed lots of storage.  I am using the wall behind the table as a pin up board but just using blue painters tape that doesn't damage the paint on the wall.  I can't believe I bought another easel but this one is perfect for the space and not very expensive.  I need to be able to work both vertically and flat plus have work in progress viewed upright from a distance.  

Rolling Cart and paper storage

I also found at IKEA a rolling cart that was perfect to have by my side as I worked with those materials that I needed for whatever current project I was creating.  Boy, did I get good at putting these things together!  Notice the rolled paper bin.  It is a pop up laundry thing from my new favorite shopping place!   In the corner is a very inexpensive plastic shelving unit from Costco and you just stick together without any tools!  So lightweight that I could manage it myself very easily.  

Flat paper storage

My biggest challenge was to figure out how to store large sheets of watercolor in a flat manner.  I realized that if I put two shoe racks together it would be just the right size for the 22 x 30 paper.  I used velcro strips that stick to themselves to tie the two units together and place the whole thing on some bricks to raise units higher.  A flat plastic storage container fits underneath now.

Cozy Corner

A desk made from two cast off file cabinets and a desk top were given to me by the facility as they were going to be thrown out!  Timing is everything!  A small folding bookshelf, folding table and a cozy chair complete the ensemble!!! You can see some of my display wall.  I will be participating in two Open Studio events during the year and people come through and visit the artists' studios all the time.  All the doors have large windows in them so visitors can peek in.  An open door means stop and chat, a closed door means privacy please.  I hope some of you in the area will come by and stop and chat!

Next week I am off to Reno, Nevada to teach and will be doing a demo on Saturday, August 15th for the Sierra Watercolor Society in Reno.  It is going to be a fabulous week.