Preferably something other than murder

[Stevie]

I am easily distracted when I paint, and my noisy neighbors are keeping me from getting anything done.

I've blotted out the annoying sounds from next door with music - but I find even my own music often to be distracting. I've got a couple of those nature-sounds CDs, but a person can only listen to the same rushing rapids for so long. The hum of a fan drowns things out pretty well, but having a fan going in the studio, as Martha Stewart would say, is a very bad thing.

Does anyone have any tips for blotting out unwanted background noise? I'm desperate here. They've even started playing ZZ Top! With all respect to the Texans out there... ZZ Top?!? Who the @#$% listens to ZZ Top? What year is this?

... sorry, I need to take a deeeeeep breath. Please, any tips for drowning out unwanted noise would be appreciated.

[Rod]

Good set of quality ear muffs might do the trick,
Rod.

[llis]

Stevie: I know exactly what you mean, but for me it is the distraction of the phone and people at the door. I have taken to painting in the early morning hours. Hey...even the birds are asleep at that time of morning. It is wonderful to paint in the studio and watch the sun come up and then the birds start to sing. It starts my day off really great and then when all the chatter begins to come alive, I just take a nap. lol

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Phy...llis
Sounds like Lizz.
P.S.
Visit the Virtual Cafe Guerbois Today! (http://www.artistnation.com/members/paris/cafe)

[loenart]

I can abide noise, what I don't enjoy is being watched. Precludes any outdoor painting. I always admire people who can set up and paint anywhere, even in heavy traffic areas.

In Newport Beach, close to where I live, artists paint right in town with hundreds of tourists looking over their shoulders (I think I even saw ZZ Top down there one day http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/wink.gif).

Of course, in Newport Beach there are people who not only watch painters, they become paintings (Pageant of the Masters).

A sidebar, the galleries in N.B. had a beef with people selling on the street directly to the public, cutting the galleries out of the action. I think they managed to get an injunction against the culprit...but that's another story.



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Michael Loen

[Gisela]

Stevie,
My studio is in the inner city and most of the buildings don't even have the space of a drive way in between. I have some obnoxious Hell's Angels wannabes next door. Now that the weather is nice, they are spending all their time outdoors, and their get-togethers usually end up in drunken brawl. At least you don't have to listen to 'Born to be wild' a hundred times a day...LOL! I use those soft foam rubber ear plugs...sounds like we have the same neighbors!

Gisela

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http://www.artistnation.com/members/paris/gisela

[Stevie]

The earplug idea is a possibility. But I have very delicate, very chic, easily irritated little ears that have in the past kept me from wearing those insertable foam walkman headphones. But your situation, Gisela, sounds to me to be a lot noisier - makes me feel kind of guilty about complaining about my lot.

In the words of John Lennon: "Imagine there's no riff-raff..." Ahhhhh, to dream.

[Painter]

K-mart or Walmart have many (3 or 4) http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/smile.gif different varieties of ear plugs. The wax plugs you shape are good, and the foam plugs also. This is why I paint at night.

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God Blesses!
Ched

[Stevie]

The problem is that I've turned my tiny little yard (a few acres less than eight... 7.9 less, I roughly calculate) into an ultra-greenified bird haven, and if it weren't for the jackanapes next door blotting out the birdsong, I'd actually be able to pretend that I was in a pleasant rural area.

Which is why murder is the obvious solution. Earplugs are fine, but then it becomes an arms race. I get small earplugs, the neighbor gets a more powerful amp. I get bigger earplugs, the neighbor gets an even more powerful amp.... and so on. If I were to soundproof the walls, the neighbor would have no choice but to jackhammer holes through the side of the house. I am quite frustrated that no one will give me the moral green-light to take care of this problem with "extreme prejudice" (as they say in the Marines.)

[paintfool]

oooh do i feel sorry for you guys! Makes my little peice of the earth sound like heaven! I live in a very rural area & my nearest neighbor is eight acres or so away! I suggest you Move! http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/frown.gif if this doesn't work, you can out do them with your own noise until THEY move! Seriously, try to soundproof a bit. There are a lot of things you can put on your walls to insulate a bit. The egg crate foam rubber is the best but could get costly. A friend of mine is a musician & he simply put bed sheets up on the walls (to keep noise in!) & believ it or not, it works rather well! Good luck! Cheryl

[oleCC]

In our area.. there is a noise type law, that requires you do not disturb neighbors with loud noises after 10 or 11 PM...something like that. You might want to check with the local authorities ... if it were me however, I would have to MOVE....lol, rather than put up with the hassle http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/smile.gif Carol

[This message has been edited by oleCC (edited June 10, 2000).]

[paintfool]

yes, Carol is (as usual) http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/wink.gif suggesting the responsible out take on this but i did at one time have the type of neighbors that would simply find a way to retaliate if the law were to show up at thier door to qiuet them! Thank God those days are over! You, my friend are in an awful spot http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/frown.gif hopefully you will outlast them. A little prayer might be in order here & DO check on noise ordinances. Most communities have them unless you are in an area that is zoned for agriculture. Good Luck. Cheryl

[Stevie]

I'm sure there's a noise-after-10 law out here, but the thing is, I don't care if they make noise after 10. It's in the afternoon when all the little birdies are singing and I'm trying to work that the noise is annoying. I don't mind noise when I'm trying to sleep because it distracts me from the wails of my tormented conscience.

However, I take some comfort in the fact that, to this day, they have not played any Def Leppard.

[4vincent]

Stevie, I understand your situation; Several years ago I was in the same kind of situation. Now I live on some wooded acres with a little land to "sound cushion" around me. Other than moving or soundproofing, that's about it. (Phasers on full would be good though) I did somewhere see a type of soundquieting "earmuff" headset with built in earphones for music, in maybe Damart catalog or the like. Possibly for use by farmers driving tractors, etc. Don't know if this will help. 4vincent

[W. Collier]

Stevie:

I have trouble sleeping at night (no, it's not from a guilty conscience). http://www.wetcanvas.com/ubb/wink.gif Sudden noises wake me up since I sleep lightly. For unrelated reasons, I got a portable HEPA filter in my room & it works like a charm, drowning out all disruptive noise. It's got 3 settings, getting louder as it filters harder. This might be a solution & it would also keep the air in your studio continually filtered.

I've never seen one, but I've heard about some electronic gadgets that make "white noise". I'm not sure how loud they are, but I thought they worked like a radio with a volume setting. I saw this in a magazine once, but I can't remember where. Maybe Radio Shack would be a good start?

Good luck,
Wanda

[arlene]

Yes that's what they are are round white machines that have white noise, sort of like a fan. You can make it as low or as loud as you want.

My mom's been using one for 25 years to drown out my dad's snoring. Well it doesn't do that, but it seems to soothe her.

Try radio shack or any of the appliance stores. Or try kmart, etc.

[linart]

Stevie, 7 plus acres is no small thing...if you own it, plant a fast-growing wind-block-type hedge. Or, instead of ear-plugs (this message is full of hyphens!), try a walkman. You could just 'get into it', or you could get revenge....'Sound of Music' soundtrack played at a trillion decibles on super-kahuna speakers aimed directly..Or all of the above

[ReNae]

Stevie - beings u like plants, why not plant some fast growing evergreens on that side of the property??? Or if possible, move your studio to the other side of the house. These are not easy solutions, but for peace of mind u could give it a try.

Warmth,

ReNae

[paintfool]

Sandi, i could be wrong, but i don't think that bamboo grows in Canada.....Cheryl