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I can't say I'm a neatnik . . . I have lots of "neatness" issues, but I do try to keep paint under reasonable control (on or off the canvas). If you never paint anything larger than a 22x28", that's kind of in the same category as being able to eat in polite company without getting food all over yourself and your dinner companions . . . the larger the piece, the more likely you are to drop paint. Richard's 30x56" is definitely in the latter category. How about this? I paint one day a week in a gallery with nice carpeting. I use a couple of old bed-sheets for a drop-cloth, and they've "saved" me more than once!
Years of doing commercial work imposed "neatness" on me under duress. For some strange reason, clients just aren't very understanding when you drop as much paint on floors and furnishings as you use on the project itself!
As for Freud, I suppose there's a "romantic bohemian ambience" that attends the condition of his studio, and certainly the fame and prestige he enjoys will make that seem "kewl" . . . But! If you paint portrait commissions from life sittings in your own studio, that nice Oriental rug and snazzy easel (sans gobs of paint spills) will speak more highly of your ability than piles of old rags and painty handprints on every surface one touches. . . JMHO.
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