A View from the Easel

The 115th installment of a series in which artists send in a photo and a description of their workspace. Want to take part? Submit your studio — just check out the submission guidelines.

Fernando Holguin Cereceres, London, England

My studio is in a building with many self-contained artist studios. It has no natural light, but has good quality artificial light, enabling me to work at any time of day — with grey skies or at night. It is very quiet, and it is small but very efficient.

I manage to work on canvas as large as 2.5 meters high by five meters long. But I regularly use different sizes, from 30 by 30 centimeters to 1.7 by 2.5 meters. I make the most of the high ceiling, as I work on groups of paintings at a time. The larger canvases are stapled directly to the plaster board walls, while the smaller canvases are stapled to wooden boards or stretchers and placed on an easel, which is on the wheels to move it around. Sometimes I place the same board onto a set of trestles or directly on the floor. Then, I can hang the same board on the wall or place it away for drying while I work on another canvas.

I have written snaps of my mind on the ceiling as reminders of my work’s purpose and my small contribution to society and the global art scene.

Evan Woodruffe, Auckland, New Zealand

I work in an open-plan studio with 14 other artists, each space divided by tall partitions. As I use a lot of fluid color and drawing techniques, I work on the floor and table, only using the walls to get proper perspective and to check progress.

When I work on large, loose canvas during winter, I layer carpet, pillows and an electric blanket on the concrete floor to keep me warm while I paint and draw. These works get stretched when completed. Although floor space is at a premium, I have several bags of scrap fabric for collage, the necessary freight boxes; and I’m a complete materials-nut, so I have shelves and drawers filled with brushes, paints, markers, airbrushes, and all sorts of random ingredients!

Alonzo Pantoja, Milwaukee, WI

In this photograph (the main wall of my studio where most of my work is produced), there is a painting that I am currently working on. On the left, there are images of artists that I am looking at, as well as a couple of drawing studies. Most of my work is done in layers, and I use tape to isolate shapes. For some odd reason, I have started to collect the already used tape, and so that is on the bottom left in a pile on the floor. On the right side are my tools and different materials, such as acrylics, spray paint, fabric, glues, and gloss mediums.

My “painting wall” is the biggest wall in my studio and in the center. The right wall has three large windows that allow natural sunlight, illuminating the entire studio, especially in the mornings. This is why I tend to come in during the mornings and use the natural lighting. All the brushes and paints are easily accessible and in the open, and I am able to get one without having to open a drawer of some sort. I am pretty organized, and everything goes back almost immediately after I am done using it. Even the layout of my studio is set up in a way that I can complete tasks most efficiently. My desk is in the center, with all four walls surrounding it; each wall has its own function.

Carole d’Inverno, Brooklyn, NY

Here is a photo of my studio. The works shown are part of the “Transumanza” series, an abstracted rendering of current and historical facts. All works are vinyl paint on paper, or board. The large scroll is called ‘They Longed for Safety,” and it is 3.8 by 12 feet.

Anna Timmerman, New Orleans, LA

My studio is in the front room of my house. I work full time as a horticulture agent, so I work mainly at night. I use a few big clamp lights to light my work table and the wall that I pin work up on. It’s not ideal, but it works, and I am able to get a few hours of studio time in in the evenings or early in the morning if I set an alarm for 4:30 am.

I pin the paintings on the wall facing my front door (not pictured) so that when I get home, I see them in the natural light so that I can plan and make adjustments later. I work with acrylic using pigment dispersions and dry pigment from Guerra Paint & Pigment. I have a large fan that I use to dry layers quickly, since time is short. I don’t have the internet, so I have a lot of art books, pages printed from the internet, and exhibition cards to look at in the space. My work table is one that I built out of an old door. I can work on pieces up to 4 by 4 feet and always tape my paper flat on the surface. There’s a flat file built in underneath. To the left is my turtle table. There are three rescued box turtles in there. My dog, Gary, is on the couch usually.