Studio Changed

Studio Changed.

 

Yesterday my friend, Annette, helped me put up my picture shelves. She was in charge of the level and held the shelves steady while I wielded the carpenter's pen that I had bought. It's a felt tipped marker pen with a very long steel nib to be able to mark screw holes even through wood.

Then I showed off my prowess with a drill. The walls in this house are of very coarse sandstone with pebbles in it. I was very lucky though and only glanced off a pebble in two holes. I suspect that the plastering was done by an apprentice because it is so uneven but it wasn't too bad on the level of the lower shelves which is how we managed to get three shelves in a row.

The wall higher up was more uneven and wavy. There was no way to line up the upper shelves that would look good. So those three are on different levels. Annette chose the positions. She used to be a window dresser in Edinburgh, Scotland, so she is an expert at this kind of design.

There is space at each end of the wall to hang framed portraits using picture hooks. That will be a permanent display so I will take my time planning it. It will include the portrait of Roger and the one of Bryn that can be seen on the wall behind the sofa in the photo below. 

I am so happy to have the picture shelves. I will be able to work on a number of portraits at once and have somewhere safe to put them while the paint dries. 

Gucci is on the top shelf and there is a portrait below her that is only sketched as yet. I have been struggling to work because my paintings were behind obstacles set there to protect the canvases from cat claws. No problem now. I have a lot of catching up to do before the Open Studio weekends starting on Friday 8th September. 

After the shelves were in place it was time to put the sofa out for it to be collected this morning early. When Annette had helped me with that she had to leave. I was tired but determined and I made the new IKEA sofa. It was finished at 9pm and I made myself a coffee and put my feet up. 

I put the green cover on it this morning for some protection from the animals. 

Doesn't it look neat? It is very comfortable and takes up a lot less space even though the seat is actually slightly larger. 

Studio changes

Studio Changes

I live in a small Victorian terrace house, known originally as a two up, two down. There is a front room and a kitchen downstairs and, when it was first built, there were two bedrooms upstairs. The toilet was in an outhouse. It wasn't even in the garden, but two houses down the hill. Near the toilet was the coalshed. 

By the time I bought the house, the back bedroom had been divided to make a bathroom. It was badly designed and I changed it the moment I had some money to spare. 

But I am really writing about my studio. The whole house is 11ft wide inside. In the photo above, you can see most of the width of the front room which is my studio. The door on the left leads to the kitchen and the stairs go up on the right. The length of the room is 13ft from the front window to the wall under the stairs, so it is 10ft free space. You can't use under the stairs for anything but storage without banging your head. 

Originally the front door was next to the window, but a former owner built a (very) little vestibule to help keep the draughts out. I added a stable door which is wonderful for talking to people at the door with no chance of the dogs getting out. (Jasper tends to toss a ball over the door for visitors.) Below is a photo of Jasper in front of the stable door. The dogs' leads are hanging on the wall by the front door. My front door is very yellow. 

The drawers to the right of Jasper, hold my paper and other art related stuff. The cupboard on the left of Jasper is my Butsudan. I am a Buddhist and chant every morning and evening. 

The dark coloured wall is recently tiled with cork floor tiles to protect my paintings from condensation. I have bought some picture shelves so I can change my art quickly and easily. They arrived today and I haven't put them up yet. I have to get the drill out from the tiny cupboard under the bottom stairs. I also bought a new, smaller sofa to replace the one in the top photo. It is an IKEA one, and it is the smallest sofa I can find. 

One of the nicest things about this house, is that the front window is nearly north facing so I have great light for painting until the sun creeps round on midsummer late evenings. 

An even nicer thing is my lovely neighbours.