Habitat

ArtistEnigma · #1 09-25-2001, 08:12 PM

What kind of elements do you tend to frequently intruduce into your studio? What type of items and such do you keep in the studio to increase inspiration, mood, etc.?

Brie · #2 09-26-2001, 12:43 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ArtistEnigma
What kind of elements do you tend to frequently intruduce into your studio? What type of items and such do you keep in the studio to increase inspiration, mood, etc.?

Elements: Order. When the contents of the studio are in order, there is nothing to distract me from painting; I find it easy to relax; I can think. I use tidying up as a good decompression procedure after a painting session. Renewing the palette, putting away cleaned brushes that had been laid out to dry, etc. is likewise a means to get in the right frame of mind before painting.

Items and such: A comfortable chair for thinking in. A small vase of fresh flowers for fragrance and morale. Silence, though preferably with an open window and the small sounds of the outdoors.

When I did commercial art full-time, I kept a lot of "toys" in the studio - Christmas lights, amusing objects, etc. I guess these were mainly to maintain morale during long hours on projects not of my choosing. Now that I spend most of my time on fine art, I find that I want as few distractions as possible. The excess objects are out. - Brie

CarlyHardy · #3 09-27-2001, 12:56 AM

I've begun buying paintings at eBay from new artists. I really love finding someone who is self-taught whose art has a naive quality and yet a strong sense of design elements. I just put these on a wall at the back of the studio for my own enjoyment. They are inspiring to me.

I also like to move things around a lot! It helps me to be more creative when my view has changed...except for the computer! I don't like for anyone to even touch it!
carly

paintfool · #4 09-27-2001, 11:52 AM

Pretty, girlee things.

It's really functional for the small space that it is because, i too, like organization and keep it as clean as i can but it's soft in color and decor. It's a very relaxing place. I find that the more relaxing the environment the better able i am to concentrate. I prefer the windows open as well. I live in a very rural area so the most that i will hear is the birds and crickets. When there are no crickets i i turn on my noisemaker to 'summer night' and wella! Instant crickets!
Cheryl

blondheim12 · #5 09-29-2001, 07:47 AM

I have toys all over my studio:
a rubber chicken hanging from a hook, Darth Vadar on my easel, Spider Man and Batman swing from the light fixture chains, Mr Potato Head, Plastic Horses, Kermi the Frog cup, Rocky and Bull Winkle, Natasha and Boris glued to the top of my computer monitor. All the toys I had a s a child have found homes with me here. It is a wonderful place!!!!
Love,
Linda

ArtistEnigma · #6 09-29-2001, 03:57 PM

I kind of have the same approach as sargent with his studio... try and make it as comfortable as possible, not only for you but for the models and subjects. I recently changed my studio so now I have my home theater system, tv, fountain, incense, dogs, and lights. I've found that if you make your studio some place that you feel comfortable in, it's easier to become inspired. Sure beats the kitchen.

Hrafen · #7 10-03-2001, 08:08 AM

I've got lots of bottles and vases and bone boxes and other little bits of stuff I use for still life drawings. I've also got figurines from Ghost In The Shell, Sandman, and Preacher. (I'll add my Darth Maul collection once I get to that stack of boxes in the garage - unpacking after moving sucks!)
Art books of course as well as magazines.
And a one eyed cat named Dodger. He's my girlfriend's not mine but he's decided that the studio floor makes for a nice bedroom. He loves the smell of charcoal so I have to watch that any charcoal sketches aren't left out for him to get at.

zorch · #8 11-20-2001, 01:43 AM

Our studio is in a constant state of flux, with stuff coming in and sometimes finding a permanent--or semi-permanent--home and other items getting boxed up and archived until I miss them. First and foremost: my books. Many thousands of various books line two walls of the studio, floor to ceiling. These are my source of inspiration as well as recreation. I also have lots of toys, mostly antiques like trains and tin windup things and airplanes that hang from the ceiling. A pinball machine. A carved chinese dragon. I've installed lots of shelves and counters on the periphery so that my computers can be along the outside and the entire inside floor plan can be devoted to painting space, an area for models to spread out when necessary, space for incomplete paintings to be viewed from a distance, two large garage type doors that can be pulled up or down to control the light coming through the large glass windows that cover the entire surface of my southern wall in the studio. A small loft that--unfortunately--is only accessible by ladder and which is a storeroom of sorts for the various items that need to be stored away...large rolls of canvas, lights, tools, etc. One very large wooden work table that is tall enough to allow me to work on a flat surface that is around chest high. Flat files, which I built and installed below the counters and which hold various papers, pads, etc. Carpet in that portion of the studio which doesn't get painted in; bare concrete in the painting area. There's never enough room and as much as I try to organize things, it seems to me that things are always in a state of comfortable chaos.

jenrou · #9 01-11-2002, 10:03 PM

I also am always moving things around, trying to get more organized. I have lots of books of all kinds, especially art, hats of all kinds on the wall, birdhouses on the wall, pretty bottles, flowers, (some silk- like big silk hydrangeas), stereo/tv/pc, baskets, art videos, family photos, some favorite prints or old works of mine. Just favorite things, plus two teddy bears my husband gave to me in our pre-marriage years. I keep too much!!!

Keith Russell · #10 02-20-2002, 11:41 PM

Greetings:

1,000 CDs, tons (literally) of books, magazines, etc.

One iguana (3 1/2 years old).

Incense (sandalwood, and variations.)

Action figures (kept in the box, hanging on the walls, lots of Spawn, Anime, and some Clive Barker).

Posters, art prints by other artists, and some original art by others and myself.

A drum set.

A fretless bass and amp.

3 digital keyboards.

Microwave, 2 sinks, a small darkroom, an electric grill.

Jack Daniels.

Keith.

Keith.

4vincent · #11 02-21-2002, 06:12 AM

Too many for me unfortunately

;

Along with the usual storage items of flatfiles, bookcases, shelvings of still life props, I have my woodstove (necessity), CD's, guitars, book/magazine reference, and prints/repos of work by artists of the past for inspiration.

Last, but not least, sitting on a shelf is a figurine of Snoopy and
Woodstock, that was given to me by the lady who had given me my first set of pastels and has since passed away.

Ken

ArtistEnigma · #12 02-21-2002, 06:22 AM

I wish it were warmer here. I'm going to have to buy more heaters for my studio.

**pampe** · #13 03-14-2002, 08:04 PM

I am just now building a studio and plan feng sui elements to be incorporated...plus those kinky little crystal bugs stuck on the windows....pictures of friends, incense, STEREO!!!, comfy chair.....

all your suggestions anr wonderfully timed for me

THANKS!

Pam

CarlyHardy · #14 03-14-2002, 11:00 PM

Pam, I love your cat on the fence!

Yesterday I bought some little bottles...pretty see thru colors...and one has a bottom that makes it sit sideways!...Just some pretties for my shelves and a still life in the future!

A studio has to have a homey feel...it's taken me a year to give my studio that feel! I used to go to a studio of a friend and wanted to tidy up the entire time I was there....but he on the other hand just kept adding more stuff everywhere! But it was a delightful place to explore...you never knew what could be discovered by moving a book or a box!! And everything had a story attached!
carly

artbabe21 · #15 03-21-2002, 12:53 PM

Like Paintfool said------'girlie things'------I am lucky enough to have a fairly large studio with different areas for different mediums, though easel area is prominent. I have antique hat collections on the wall, old toy collections on shelves, overstuffed chair where I journal my art & life, an old jukebox exactly like the one Fonzie used to hit on Happy Days{that was before paintfool's time} an old rocker, just many other creature comforts that make it my own! One needs to be surrounded by things they
are fond of in their space!!
Cathleen~

Salute to our Partners