I have only had my own studio for about 6 months, and I can't see how I managed to survive without one. Not so much about "where did I paint before" as I have only been painting for 18 months or so, but where did I escape to before.
My studio is definitely sacred. It is the room I enter as soon as I make myself a coffee in the morning. I spend any avaliable time in there, and I tend to be creating a pattern of habits already. It is the only place in the house where family leaves me alone, and time flies by when I am there.
I have a radio which I turn on using the "sleep" function, so it turns itself off each 60 minutes. That way I can monitor how long I am there. I have organized my things. However it is not always tidy. I think I am more creative in unorganized surroundings. I think having the studio really helps me stay focused on my creativity, and I can switch off from all other daily duties.
A question about north facing windows: I am in the southern hemisphere, and my studio has 3 sides of windows, northfacing being a bit smaller than the 2 large 2 metre east and south windows.
Is this an ideal situation? There is so much talk about north facing windows, and I actually have a blind on the north window and use the large east/south ones more. I have ample light really, and tons of sunny days, so I haven't really come across any problems yet. I paint with the east window behind my left shoulder.
