The other day, I had a complete rejig of my studio. It was well overdue and I’m so happy with how it turned out, I thought I would give you the grand tour.
I am incredibly lucky to have a huge, sunny room all to myself. I could never have dreamed of such a space in the England, but the rent in the French countryside is much cheaper. Having always worked in box rooms or corners of bedrooms, it’s the ultimate luxury, but it took some getting used to. In the early days, I found it quite intimidating! I am very happy now, though, in this wonderful place to work.
I have divided the room into several smaller areas, which makes it feel so much cosier. I have two desks: one for drawing (photo above), one for admin (below). It’s great to be able to physically separate these activities.
Since I started painting the view from my window, a painting area has naturally evolved there. I have several stools which I move around to use as a coffee table, seat or place to hold my palette as needed.
I’m still dreaming of a vintage plan chest, but in the meantime, I organise my work using cardboard envelopes on a cheap shelving unit from the DIY shop. I’ve used this “system” for a while and it does the job very well. I categorise my studio work by place and year, and I also have categories for client projects and regular life drawing sessions and online classes I go to.
Underneath, I have a selection of art books and picture books to inspire me. The shelves provide an extra surface next to my desk, whilst also separating my workspace from the sofa area and making it feel more intimate. A wooden chest marks the threshold of the admin corner and contains fabrics for sewing.
Against the mantlepiece I keep framing supplies and on top I have a small collection of books and shells.
Well, that brings us to the end of our tour. I hope you have enjoyed looking around!
Now for some news: I’m going to London in September to study for one intensive term at the Royal Drawing School! They are the brilliant school who run the Drawing Year, which I had been hoping to apply for for since graduation, but the right moment never arose to spend a whole year in London. But 10 weeks is feasible for me now, and I’m so excited to realise that long-standing dream, at least in part!
I did one of their online courses during lockdown and loved it, so I’m thrilled to be able to attend in person. The courses I have chosen are: Drawing Space (perspective, architecture, things I am bad at and scared of, hoping to progress a lot), Drawing at the National Gallery (what’s not to like?) and Enduring Images (exploring recurring symbols in art, taught by Katy Papineau whose work I love). CAN’T WAIT! Of course, I’ll tell you all about it here when the time comes.
That’s all from me, thanks for reading, see you next time!
PS. If you live in London and fancy meeting up, give me a shout.
PPS. Out to See has reached 1000 subscribers! I can’t believe it, thank you so much for being here. I have just turned on pledges, which means you can decide in advance to become a paid subscriber if I should ever release paid content here. So far this is just a possible idea for the future, maybe next year, if ever. In any case, the free version will always be available and there will never be any pressure to upgrade.
How exciting! I hope you love your course. Your studio is the stuff of dreams!
Wonderful news… happy to see your hard work is paying odd.