A View from the Easel
Artist studios in Arkansas, California, Maryland, Oregon, and Germany.
CHICAGO — The 79th 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.
David Penne, Annapolis, Maryland (link)
A garage is attached to my house where I’ve set up shop to draw and paint pictures. The garage measures 10 feet x 22 feet, not exactly huge (especially since it also serves as storage space for garden tools, Christmas decorations, bicycles, etc, and is also a workshop for household projects, and is also my office). But since that’s what I’ve got, it will have to do. It is what it is. I don’t know how it affects my artwork. It is handy, however, having a studio place attached to my house. Someday, since the garage doesn’t have any windows, it would be nice to cut a few in. And it would be nice to get some heat in there for the winters. But for now the garage pretty much serves its purpose, a place to keep busy.
Elena Erenberg, Santa Monica, California (site)
My studio is a light-filled, tall, magnificent space. It’s my dream studio with great storage. I am a mixed media artist with vast collections of materials and images. This studio has plenty of room for my found and fabricated creations with lots of skylights. It is on the second floor of what was previously a small Spanish-style bungalow. My work encompasses collage, assemblage, unique book objects, handmade paper, and assembled jewelry.
Vicki Ross, Bentonville, Arkansas, (site)
Hard to believe I have been able to carve four workstations out of a 14 feet x 10 feet room! From the left is a storage shelf and re-purposed baby changing station that can be used for water media and paper crafting. Under the north-facing window is a metal flat file with storage for full sheets of watercolor paper and pastel paper. On top are printer’s trays made from heavy metal that contain 2” pieces of every pastel set I own. The David Sorg easy is situated as a divider, and is on rollers so it can be moved out of the way if necessary.
In the corner is a Richeson Taboret with oil painting materials. I can spin the chair to use the iMac station, especially for photo reference. The computer sits on a turquoise steel office cabinet with tons of storage. Next is an encaustic setup. My flat work surface is 42″x42” and sits on a rolling unit with storage under. Next is a five shelf wire unit on wheels (although there is no place to move it). Then there is more storage and tools for encaustic. There are iPod speakers, stored pastel sets, and finished paintings too. Not shown is a double door closet outfitted with shelves. It is organized by medium and holds panels and watercolor pads, stretcher bars, and canvases for painting.
Anna Tishchenko, Hamburg, Germany (link)
I’m not living on my own yet, that’s why I transform my bedroom at my parent’s place into a studio every day. I can’t really complain about it except that the ceiling is way too low for certain adjustments of my easel. Some more space would be great too, but my room’s size is tolerable because of its coziness.
The floor is covered with desk pads to prevent it from getting extremely covered in paint splatters (which actually happens anyway). There are two large windows on the right side which create great lighting most of the time. My tools of trade are kept in a cluttered bookshelf next to the door.
Before I commence painting, I’ll browse the web for a while or read a magazine at my desk, whilst sipping some extra strong black coffee. The close presence of my Mac is really necessary for my painting process. When my blood pressure is increased enough I’ll start a diashow of my reference material, turn on my favorite album of L7, and start working. The music has to be really loud.
Phyllis Trowbridge, Portland, Oregon (site)
I have been painting and drawing the landscape outdoors year-round for over 25 years. After I bought my current house in 2012, I learned that it was less expensive to start from scratch and build a new studio rather than renovate the garage that used to be in its place.
The studio is a separate building that is about 400 square feet and it is in a symmetrical “L” shape that wraps around the back corner of my house. The light, mainly from three northeast facing skylights and the French doors pictured, is the best I have ever worked in, most days as good as the light outside. I use the space for drawing and painting, but also to prepare painting panels and canvases, as well as making frames and cutting mats. The walls right now are mostly covered with drawings I have been doing everyday as part of a self-imposed “drawing per day” project I began on January 1 of this year.
Usually my outdoor painting and drawing stuff lives in my car, but in this photo, it is temporarily piled up near the entrance on the right hand side of the photograph. The studio was completed last August, so I have been working in it for almost a year. It feels like it has always been here. I love it.
