STUDIO | BEHIND THE SCENES
“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” – Scott Adams
MY STUDIO MUST HAVES
♥ Beautiful things that bring me joy
♥ Crystal vessels to hold my brushes and supplies
♥ Scented candles | oil diffuser
♥ A crystal chandelier
♥ Black & white film playing in the background
♥ Antique tables in lieu of traditional work tables
♥ If I could control the weather - moody skies and thunderstorms
STUDIO UPDATE!!
See below on how I filled this space ♥
The best part is filling it in!!
No one likes moving, let's be honest. But am I the only one who hates moving out but loves moving in?!?! I LOVE figuring out where to place the furniture and setting up a new space ♥
Setting up my new studio was no different!!
This is an antique table that I purchased 25 years ago. It served as many different pieces in various rooms of our home. It now sits proudly at the window base, soaking up the light of the day. The chair is part of a garden terrace set I bought at auction. My plan was to paint it and sell it, but turns out I loved it too much to part with it! The table sits out in our back patio, while the chairs (2) have multiple uses. Here is where I sit to research new techniques, take online courses and create social content.
Table in the making!
So if you've been following me, you've definitely heard me go on and on about a fab red table I got for FREE!! I was so dang excited to set it up in my new studio, only to find that the top was way too large! It was an oval shape, and even removing the leaf didn't help. All that did was make it perfectly round, which was a lot of wasted space that I couldn't reach. I pondered for awhile and decided to remove the legs from my current table. It was MacGyvered so that the top to fit over the red pedestal base. ♥ Now all that needs doing, is to strip the top down to the bare wood and stain it a deep espresso colour, and paint the skirt red to match the base. I'm pretty happy!!
Can't avoid the clutter..
The one downfall of setting up a new space that's meant for working, is to keep the clutter down.
When I say "clutter", I say it with love and appreciation lol! I need those items pretty much on the daily, so it's best that they are in plain sight so that I have easy access.
It's the pretty things!
You've heard me say it time and time again... Surround yourself with things that bring you joy. If it's not useful, beautiful or doesn't bring you joy, ditch it! Only keep items that make your heart sing ♪♫
Beautiful storage
This cabinet was bought at a live auction on a hot summer night in August 1996. I remember the exact date because I went into labor in the early hours of the next day ♥ So yes, this cabinet holds a very special place in my heart.
It's an old chimney cabinet. When chimneys were no longer used for their purpose, these cabinets were made to fit into the space. They created a "built in" look, and they housed quilts and blankets. Today, mine is the keeper of supplies that aren't used regularly. This way I can close the cabinet door, and keep them all tucked away neatly.
What every studio needs!
One of the issues I had in my former studio, was not having a surface to accommodate a large painting. I was forced to keep it to a max of 2' x 3' and even that presented challenges!
While designing this space, I decided to keep one of the side walls clear of colour. While I have that beautiful robin's egg blue elsewhere, this wall is left intentionally white, with just a hint of blue to bring it all together.
Now I can paint larger than life canvas'!
I want to find an old carpenter's bench to lay against the wall as a means to hold up the canvas. I'm always sourcing something or other!
Vintage boxes
I'm always on the lookout for beautiful vintage boxes, that keep hold of items that can otherwise be fugly to look at!
In this box, I have mark making tools, such as trowels, scrapers and a variety of tools, which no one needs to see!
See the finishing details below!!
It's done!!
Finally finished and it didn't disappoint!! ♥
So the floor.... remember how I said I didn't want to install it now? Well, turns out I'm liking this look! The area rug next to the raw plywood gives it a true artistic feel!! Plus, I don't have to worry about dropping paint on it! It's going to stay this way! Funny how things turn out. You think you want one thing and turns out you wanted something entirely different ♥ This applies to life as well, but that's an entirely different conversation!
Chandelier is UP!! I broke down and bought a plastic ceiling medallion. No judgement! I just couldn't, for the life of me, find a plaster one that wasn't ridiculously expensive. So yeah. You can't tell by looking at it, I made sure to get a simple one!
Adorable lighting
How sweet do those sconces look? Although they don't provide proper light for painting, they sure do look gorgeous! The light they give is a subtle, romantic one and I love the vibe they bring to the studio ♥ And they're on a dimmer!!
Behind these doors....
Ooooh.... this was the most exciting part of the big reveal... What's behind these beautiful doors? Well, we all know it's a water station BUT what does it look like??
Details, details, details!!!
I feel it's important to have your personality spread out in your favourite space. For me, these door handles not only say "Linda", they joyfully scream "Linda"! Every time my hand touches these beauties, a happy sensation washes over me. It's the little things. ♥
Et Voilà!
This is the most stunning water closets of all time ♥ From the quartz countertop to the sleek and clean lines of the white subway tiles.
There's a light and an outlet if I need them, and though it’s not visible, there’s also crown molding in there. Feeling so grateful!
This beauty has a lovely drying tray for my basins and brushes, and the faucet has a pull out spray so that I can keep the sink clean. I don't want to use it, of fear of dirtying it! I keep repeating to myself... that's what it's for.... that's what it's for....
UPDATE: it's crazy messy and covered in paint ♥ As it should be!
The quartz countertop is so stunning! Easy to maintain and with my Bar Keeper's Friend cleanser, I'll never have to worry about stains! And did I mention those tiles!?
See below, life before the move and glimpses of the renos!
I'm moving!!
There is one great thing about being an empty nester, and that's MORE space! Don't get me wrong, I miss my babies who now have babies of their own! But this extra space is considered highly desired real estate!!
My current studio is beautiful and was perfectly set up for my needs, at the time when I designed the space. Now that I've branched out, it's no longer working for me. Sooooo, here we are! Right in the midst of renovations! I'm waiting for the cost of lumber to decrease, so that I can put the flooring in... we'll see how that plays out!
For the record, I could have taken up the entire basement for my studio! But I don't have a walkout, which means it's the usual dark space with small windows. I'm like a flower, and need the sunlight! So I decided to sacrifice the luxury square footage of the basement for the sunny, bright space upstairs! It's double the size of my current studio so that's good, right?! We'll see how long this works and maybe I'll be fortunate enough to move up from this studio, to a chic stone walled studio in the downtown core of Kingston! If you're gonna dream honey, dream big!
So much planning went into this and I've repurposed bits here and there. The sconces that will go here were ones that I bought at least 5 years ago! I bought them with the intention of using them in my ensuite. Fast forward and the ensuite hasn't changed lol and those sconces will no longer work for what I want. Soooooo, voilà! New home!
Every artist studio or space or area, really should have a water station. I can't tell you how many times I've used my ensuite sink to wash my brushes, which meant it was always dirty (insert rolling eye emoji here) and for the bigger jobs, like cleaning out my palette (after I've collected all the paint, you don't want to run that down your drain for many reasons!) I had to walk down two flights of stairs to the basement and use the washtub. Yes, my washtub is extremely colourful and is NOT used to wash my delicates lol!
CURRENT STUDIO..... no longer!!
Here are photos of my before studio
I began with this lovely space, which was great for my needs at the time...
Everything had a place and was in its place - for the most part.. until..
... the branches of my "branching out" took over!! I have a table top easel which I am so thankful for! But I do need a wall space for the large works I'm doing. My new studio will have a dedicated wall for exactly that!
When I moved into this house, all the rooms were taken, and so I set myself up in a small area in the........ basement. I was happy to have my own space though, really. There's something to be said to be able to get up and walk away from the mess!
As this was the smallest room in the house, each square inch was utilized to its full capacity!! Believe me, I couldn't turn around without hitting my backside against something! At that time, I mainly did design work for The Artist Club magazine, (which has since folded) and was on a very small scale, so this worked out great.
Today, I often work on canvas' as large as 4 feet x 5 feet and they seem to be getting bigger and bigger!! (Insert hyperventilating emoji here!) And this all means that my paint tubes/jars are larger, my tools are larger... I often feel as if I'm working in a dollhouse!!
In my new studio, I'll have a dedicated (! ♪♫ !) wall for larger pieces! Better lighting, although the crystal chandelier will still hang overhead.
I love getting into my painting clothes, putting an old movie on and grabbing my brushes. When I shut that door, I shut the world out. ♥