Dream studio details...
 

Say you had the chance to design your dream studio. It's a given you have north light, now what else you would have?

IE. How many windows and where on the wall? How much reasonable square footage? etc. etc. etc....

I posted this on another site, so if I get responses there I will share them here too.

I'd follow Bill Whitaker's suggestions, like he outlined in our class: dark Leffel-green-grey walls and with several tall windows that had blinds that opened from the top.

As far as square footage, I don't think any amount is too much!

Hi Beth,

I

[QUOTE=Claudemir Bonfim]Hi Beth,

I

Once I found the ideal model, all other matters became, indeed, mere detail. Penetrating conversationalist with encyclopedic command of reported facts and supernatural overtones, gourmand, and -- dare I say -- contortionist non pareil.

As you can see, with this beginning, the barest, most pedestrian of easels, palettes, and lighting arrays become secondary. Who could not produce offerings from such an altar?

There is always something more to wish for, of course. Headroom. And some space for stepping back from the easel.

But I am less greedy and needful than in my youthful days. And I am willing to put up with the molting. Call it a fetish, but there it is.

Some practical suggestions:

Running water
Restroom w/shower
Stove
Refrigerator
Animals
Bed for napping
Bookshelves
Well stocked cupboard

I think I'm describing a guesthouse!

Beth, how is your puppy doing?

Jean

Steven, is this your studio?

I once came across an artist's studio that had an over-sized table made out of waist height large format filing cabinets which can come in very handy for those who have lots of paper goods that need to be properly stored away and protected. The large table top had countless uses for all sorts of needs..

Steven, no nudes!

;)

You are such an eloquent hoot!

Jean here is the little baby last month, she turns 5 months this next week and is twice the size of the picture it seems. Remember the Boston is 18 lbs.

Everyone one else thanks for the input so far!

Beth,

I especially like the window and the floor.

That Studio has room for many students or if the model brings relatives and friends that won

You know you are the only one to mention a model stand! A+

Do you guys think banked lights above the window are good or the system like Marvin's on the arm? I know both would be great, but I also know the light box Marvin uses is expensive.

A little off-topic but is your pup a shepherd mix or pure GSD? Enquiring minds want to know. He/she has a great face! I'm overly fond of shepherds.

Jean

You know, Steven, I don't think I've ever seen a depiction of an artist painting a nude angel. Is it religous/anti-religious/neo-religious/religious parody? Or did you just filch one of the stations of the cross that I don't know about?

I'd think artificial day-lighting would give you so much freedom in terms of scheduling your work around your life.

What is Marvin's on the arm system?

I think Beth is referring to the wall mounted boom arm assembly which holds my light fixture, not my arm, per say. To see a picture you can refer to post #19 on http://forum.portraitartist.com/show...0&page=2&pp=10

Thanks very much Marvin for the link! Have to study that thread very closely as a reference guide on a mini system I'm trying to put together.

For a minute I started to visualize you walking around your studio with tentacles spreading out of your arms ;) No, not really.

Beth thanks for bringing up the lighting subject :thumbsup:

Ah, would that it were. How that would lubricate the machinery of apologetics and evangelization.

But, no, the image is but one of the 20 4"x4" ceramic tiles that make up the structure called "Wimberley Tales." All twenty tiles run just over $1000. When I purchased my "The Artist" at Tree's Place (gallery) on Cape Cod only about three years ago, I paid about $35, as I recall. They are now individually priced at about $55. They have a magnetic backing.

There are numerous figures and scenes depicted -- The Dentist, The Doctor, The Lovers, The Harlot (my favorite, of course). I'm surprised not to be able to find a good image of the entire set online, but this will have to do -- it's a tiny image that I've greatly enlarged, hence the blurriness. But you can see the Artist in the uppermost room on the right:

If I were going to paint my walls a color based on the criteria of it's being named for an artist, I'd go with Van Dyke Brown! If not I'd go with a middle value neutral gray.

Yes, and agreed, but the interest is in the WHY. Why would you not choose a neutral color, and what color WOULD you choose?

There are so many advisories against Van Dyke Brown, that I've actually tossed any tubes of such that I had. Though compulsive, I never had enough to paint the walls of my studio.

I like Van Dyke.

Oops, sorry, Marvin -- I misread your post to suggest that you would not opt for a middle value neutral. My bad.

Back to my corner.

Jean she is pure German Shepherd, long fluffy hair and all. :)

Hi Beth,

Mine is 5 years old now and about 70 lbs. We have two females in the house right now, not a good idea. Two female shepherds will fight to the death over dominance so we have to keep them separate. They are wonderful animals, beautiful, smart, loyal. Yours has such an amazing face! It will be fun to see her grow up, be sure to post updates for me (or e-mail them to me direct so we don't "clutter" up the forum with animal posts)!

Jean

My experience exactly.

Somebody has to be the bad guy, and I've got nothing to lose . . .

So, everyone, it's Shepherd. S-h-e-p-h-e-r-d. Think sheep herder.

Oops! And I know better my fingers just missed the h. I will correct it as the noble SHEPHERD should not be maligned by bad spelling.

Jean

Hi Beth,
Good luck setting up your studio. I am just getting mine together and yesterday installed lumichrome lighting over my north windows - just started with two bulbs instead of Marvin's five. I also have a lumichrome over my easel. So last night I was happy as can be working away in my studio, listening to my tunes and working on a commission (Heaven on Earth!!) when everything went black.

I blew a fuse. Seems that while I got the windows I wanted, two north facing, the stationary sink, hot and cold water, vaulted ceiling for my "future" portfolio, etc., I did not get the proper wiring. I was fuming when I called the builder and left a less than pleasant message on his VM.

Patty, sorry to hear about your blackout.

The Lumichrome lamps are only forty watts each, so having three on is using only 120 watts worth of power. If your wiring can't tolerate that little, your contractor really screwed up so you were more than justified to blow your fuse.

I know. and from what little I know, looking at the electrical panel, they went as cheap as they could. But the contractor is meeting Jack at the house tomorrow, hopefully to fix the problem. the time it has taken to get the studio set up has been so frustrating. It seems, anymore than a day or two and I feel all disconnected if I am not drawing or painting - geesh can't these non-artists get that about us???!!

HI everyone,

I am just doing a little filing and housekeeping, so I moved this thread into the Studio section.

Chris can you come over?

Pat can you stand the glare from the lights?

Marvin does the "soft" box type fixture you have help with glare.

Steven... OK, OK we got it, but isn't Shepherd spelled with an "a" and no extra "h" in German? JK

It may be. But we won the war.

Hi Beth,

German shepherd in German is: deutscher sch

Just did a major makeover of my studio space. It's not a "dream studio", but more like a "miracle studio" because it's a miracle I have'nt lost my eyesight working up there. First I'll post the original "lighting" setup. Mind you I work in the wee hours of the morning. One is of a lightbulb near the door to the attic, and one is of the Ott-light brand that connects to the easel. That was it. Next is the improvements.

Based on Marvin's suggestions, I purchased fixtures from Home Depot and ordered the Lumichrome (sp?) 98 CRI lights from healthlighting.com. They look pretty good, but I have'nt had the chance to work under them yet. I'm currently going on two hours sleep, and don't expect to work tonight.

The pastel I'm working on is on a Best Halley easel that my wife bought me a couple of years back but never really broke in. There's my table with my pastel collection. Some Giraults, Rembrandts, Polychromos, Unisons and Schminke. The other pic is of a open file cabinet I built from MDF board. I was'nt looking to do anything fancier and I did'nt want to spend too much on material.

There's a ton of junk around the room that had been stashed away that I still need to organize. It's a decent sized area, but the ceilings are about 6 1/2 feet in the middle of the room and I can't extend my easel. Better than what I had before, so I should'nt complain.

A much needed improvement, Jimmie. I often envision you shivering in your attic with blankets wrapped around you and a candle next to you, suffering away in your passion to create great art art

Jean