[Chris Saper]

Hi Mary,

Here are some general thoughts on studio:

If you have the abliltity to get natural northern light, get it. If you are a morning painter, go for western exposures, or a late afternoon painter, eastern exposures.If you paint in the evening,or under widely varying natural conditions) you need to have a sufficient amount of color-corrected light bulbs. They come in all sizes, shapes and fashion, including banks of long tube-shaped bulbs.(More catalog opportunities!)In any case, the idea is to maximize the number of consistently lit painting hours.

Everything that can be made movable, should be...easel, taboret, file cabinets, etc. Almost any piece of furntiture can be mobilized by adding rolling wheels.

Unless you have huge amounts of space, try to get everthing possible to multi-function. For example, is you need flat files, have them built into a model stand or taboret. My husband built me a "vertical" flat file, only 12 inches deep, that pulls outward on a hinged base, under the bookshelf. If you have filing cabinet needs, shorter lateral files (on rolling wheels, of course)work better than traditional filing cabinets, as they can serve as model seating, display areas, places to set up still lifes, etc.

Depending on your window configuration, you need to preserve "backing up" areas, empty space corridors that let you get away from your work. Big format painters...30 x40 and up need lots of space...16 x 20 painters need considerably less. By having everything movable, you can move things out of the way when you paint, if necessary, to give yourself room. Move then back when you are not painting. You also need to try to find a lighting direction that minimizes glare. If you have room, a luxury option is a movable upright mirror, for you to check your work, or to keep your model from being bored.

With respect to windows, tall windows do better with blinds that are mounted upside down, rather than pulling up from the top. If you don't have that option, vertical blinds work better than tradional pull-up blinds, because you can better control the light direction.

I do not have room for a model stand; however I bought a used hairdresser's chair for quick studies, which lets me elevate the model to my standing height, is extrememly comfortable for the sitter, doesn't take up much room, and was very inexpensive. A good alternative if you have room, is a bar-height (comfortable) chair and bar-height cocktail type table; then you can set up interesting poses. Two chairs gives you a client meeting area.

If you work from photos, its a tremendous help to have a color-corrected light clamped to, or next to your easel. By placing your source material over the light, you can tease out a little detail from photographic shadows.

I'll have to add a flooring installment, once I figure out some options... I am in the process of designing a studio, and am learning as I go. There is very little available on studio design, I am discovering.

Best wishes,
Chris