A View from the Easel

CHICAGO — The 94th 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.

Raquel Paladino, North Port, Florida (link)

My studio is an intimate, light-filled space that offers me peace to create. A window looks out to our butterfly garden, furthering a sense of peace and contact with nature, and if that’s not enough the Gulf of Mexico is just a few miles down the highway.

I work with acrylics, inks, and oils that I brush, pour, and rub into paperon paper, canvas, or hand-crafted wood painting panels. I find the process of painting intimate and sublime. There might be chaos in the world but in my studio there is peace and it finds its way into each painting.

Olivia Alexander, Shellharbour, Australia (site)

Meg Moore, Brooklyn, New York (site)

I work and live in the same space. I built a supply table out of palettes and an art crate. Sheet metal is stretched over the top for a smooth work surface. Above, the pendant light hangs on one side of a wood frame nailed to each wall. Since the piece of wood came from an old frame, the edges were precut at 45 degrees, to easily kitty-corner the wall. The drop cloth is nailed to the wall so it can easily be rolled up and out for a quick access and clean. There’s a sheet of plexiglass screwed to the wall, to accommodate brush stroke overriding the paper edges (and the ability to keep my security deposit). Above the door, there’s storage for paper, wood etc. Behind the door hangs vertical flat files of completed works, a 7-foot ladder and a bicycle. The bookshelf contains art books, reference material, and one column of metal milk crates full of clothes that act as a dresser. Beyond the bookshelf is a nightstand of power-tools and a small bed.

I’ve always found it necessary to constantly live with the work in order to be as prolific as possible.

Joe Bussell, Kansas City, Missouri (site)

I’ve been in this studio for 15 years. When my spouse and I were looking for a studio and living space in the Kansas City area, we found two mid-century ranch houses across the street from one another. One became the studio and the other became our home. In the past, I worked in lofts, basements, and even had a studio on a covered porch, but this arrangement is the best and has met all of my needs.

Shana Stern, Austin, Texas (site)

My studio is the middle of the house. I can’t get anywhere without going though it or by it, which helps keep my mind on the art. It gets loads of natural light, but I’m most creative from 9pm–2am, so I usually end up dragging several lamps in.

I paint only with my fingers and I sit on the floor, canvas on my lap. All of my pieces dry laying flat — nothing would be worse than my cat prancing through and ruining them, so I have to block the openings with tall canvas. In the right corner you can see the back of a canvas which blocks the other opening into the studio. I have numerous carpets and tarps on the floor. I put new ones down often because I’m CONSTANTLY knocking over bottles of paint, mediums, and varnish. I stand up every day with it all caked on my hands, feet, face, and hair. Keeping the paint contained is a struggle, but I can’t create when things are neat and clean!

My dad gave me a small Bose speaker that is an essential part of my creative process. I paint each piece to a particular song or band and need my music as loud as it will go. (Although if painting at night when my son is asleep, I have to wear headphones.) I often sit in my son’s unwanted beanbag chair to take a break and assess my progress. The funny thing about the black and green chair in the photo is that I don’t use it as an actual chair: it just helps me prop the cat-blocking canvas up at night.

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