No artist's workspace is quite the same as any other's. Artists are of course creative by nature and can adapt whatever they can find or afford to buy or have on hand to suit their own needs and desires, and in fact just as their artwork is a pleasurable challenge for them and reflects their own personalities, interests, and inventiveness, the setting they make for themselves to paint or draw or sculpt (or etc.) in is also an enjoyable challenge to put together, and the resulting "studio" tells us at least as much about the artist as his or her artwork does.
Many artists have to make all sorts of compromises when it comes to making a work space for themselves, though if they have plenty of money they will need to compromise less or even have the "studio of their dreams," perhaps in a separate small building in the yard. Or they might rent a space somewhere in a building where other artists have their studios and go there as if "to work." This would be a good place to get to know other artists, and also to escape the inevitable distractions at home.
There are so many different kinds of workspaces for artists -- My own "art space" is right here where I'm typing this. It doesn't look like an artist's studio. Actually, it just looks like a mess. It's in what used to be the "living room."
In front of me is a roomy keyboard table (which has a lot more on it than the keyboard, including my electric tea warmer) and immediately behind this little table is a taller wooden dining room table holding my computer monitor (among other things). The clipboard that I use for drawing is directly behind the keyboard, leaning against the taller table that has the monitor on it.
To my right is an old metal folding dining room table bought for $2 at a rummage sale. On it are shallow cardboard boxes with the tops trimmed off which contain many of my art supplies -- mostly pencils of all kinds, Conte crayons, and pens, but also rulers, a couple bottles of ink, and other odd things. There are also a couple of boxes on the table holding stacks of my drawings, and a cookie can with a lid that has erasers (mostly kneaded) in it.
Underneath the table are a couple of plastic "art boxes" with handles (one broken) that I used to bring with me to art classes. And there are topless cardboard boxes containing other art supplies, including paper that is not in tablets. I have art books on bookshelves that are built into the wall, and also on the floor and in a short bookshelf that's just to my left as I sit here at the computer (where I also usually do my drawing -- and reading). A large Hewlett-Packard printer box (we don't have the printer, but somehow we got the box) is what I keep my tablets in. It's across the room. A regular clipboard is my easel and my drawing board...It's the same clipboard I used in college for notetaking.
I love to see artists' workspaces, just like I like to see where writers write. Just below are several videos I looked at today showing artists' studios. Some of the videos are very short, some a little longer (but you needn't look at the whole video in some cases, which I mention). The workspaces are all quite different from each other and I'm glad to say that just about all of them are a mess, just like mine! That's something we can't avoid, I guess. I would much rather be in a messy studio than a very tidy one, though -- I am much more relaxed and it's a lot more interesting and stimulating environment (at least for me).
VIDEOS - ARTISTS' STUDIOS
Aaron Kramer's studio
TIME: 1 MINUTE, 33 SECONDS
Left click gently once on one of the arrows to begin
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A Painting a Day Artist's Studio (Hall Groat II)
TIME: The first 2 MINUTES, 50 SECONDS are about his STUDIO -- After that he talks about his painting of a bowl and some lemons; so you can stop looking after 2 minutes and 50 seconds if you're not interested in his painting.
Left click gently once on one of the arrows to begin
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Jamaica Street Art Studio, Bristol
(Several artists have studios in this building)
TIME: 6 MINUTES, 52 SECONDS
Left click gently once on one of the arrows to begin
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Scott Hutchison's art studio
TIME: 4 MINUTES, 21 SECONDS
Left click gently once on one of the arrows to begin
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Cheap Joe Miller of Cheap Joe's Art Supplies Studio
TIME: 1 MINUTE, 43 SECONDS
Left click gently once on one of the arrows to begin
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Barbara Wurden's Art Studio
TIME: 6 MINUTES, 26 SECONDS (You only need to watch the first two minutes, when she shows us around her studio (I really like the greenhouse roof!); after that she starts cleaning up the studio and the music is loud and terrible -- I had to turn the volume almost to "off" before I watched the rest of it. At about five minutes into the video she shows how she puts canvases directly on the wall to paint on them (doesn't use an easel).
Left click gently once on one of the arrows to begin
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John MacGowan's Studio Tour (in Newport, Rhode Island) part 1 of 3: The library area
TIME: 3 MINUTES, 32 SECONDS
Left click gently once on one of the arrows to begin
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John MacGowan's Studio Tour, Part 2 of 3: The palette Area
TIME: 2 MINUTES, 55 SECONDS
Left click gently once on one of the arrows to begin
Mr. MacGowan is obviously an art teacher, so if you do oil painting, you might learn some things here.
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John MacGowan's Studio Tour, Part 3: The easel Area
TIME: 3 MINUTES, 18 SECONDS
Continuing the part above, which seems to cut off abruptly, but actually he is changing to the next subject - the easel area. The easel isn't really an easel. He does what the last artist (mentioned above: Barbara Wurden) does -- He attaches the canvas directly to a wall.
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October 21, 2008
Artists' Studios
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