A Place to Create

I often get asked about how and where I work on my art, and I thought I would share in the designing, and building of my studio. For years I shared a studio space in the basement of my husband's office building, and was so fortunate not to have any overhead, and a great artist friend to share it with me.
But it left a lot to be desired, as it was not heated in the winter and had no windows! I had always dreamed of my own creative space.

In anticipation of my husband's retirement, we started designing a barn, with a garage level for his tractor, kayaks, etc., and the second floor devoted to a studio space for me.

There were several things I really wanted, and one of them was a ventilation system over my encaustic work area to take out the toxic fumes from the wax. And of course, lots of windows and  counter top work areas.

We had the perfect spot on our property to build it. Across our creek there was a flat area surrounded by woods with a beautiful view of the creek. The first photos are of the setting before construction.

Fall

Summer

I couldn't resist putting this photo of mama deer and her babies in, and was worried that we wouldn't have them after the studio was built, but as you can see they did come back.

Now back to the construction. The framing has begun for the second story. I had to climb that ladder you see and take a look. It was hard to imagine at this stage, but I was already moving furniture in.

We really had to challenge our balance to use that "bridge" across the creek to get the the other side.

More to come on my next blog post.

New Oil and Cold Wax

These are two new paintings I recently finished using oil paint mixed with Dorlands cold wax. I am using traditional oil paints and not the water mixable type. Although I have heard they work equally well, I have not tried them.

Inside The Box
12 x 12
Oil and Cold Wax on cradled board

 
 

untitled
12 x 12
Oil and cold wax on cradled board

 I have built up 4-5 layers of the wax and oil mixture. When the layer is dry, but not completely, I begin to scratch and draw into the surface. At this point I may add more marks with graphite (as I did in the painting below, Inside the Box) or oil bars. This may end up being my final layer or I may put several more over this and enjoy the way the scratched layer shows through. I can draw with graphite or oil bars at any point in the layering process.