About this time last year we started thinking about a new space for a studio and for The Landscape Atelier. The south side of the historic square in our little town was being renovated, and a 4000 square foot, north facing brick storefront was available. The building is close to a hundred years old and in its time it has been a grocery store, a clothing store, movie theatre, and most recently a flooring store.
This is what is looked like in April 2013.
Now, almost a year later our new space is almost ready! It includes an exhibition space, studio, kitchen and full bath.
We are really excited to welcome our first group of students to our new space in March!
For the longest time, Steve has wanted to build me a drawing table. I resisted and I really have no idea why. But, finally I relented and of course he made it bigger than we discussed- but I am so glad!
The surface is 38" x 72". I use a sketchbook in the studio for thumbnails, so there is room for that plus now I also have a place to make my more finished drawings, work on my drypoint plates, and a place to lay out drawings and color sketches that I use as reference for studio paintings. The other nice feature is that it will fold down flat against the wall when I need more room.
He also made this handy taboret that holds my drawing supplies and room on top for an ink/watercolor palette.
Next up is my flat file which I am really looking forward to having. But, for now, I love my drawing table!
Next month my workshop group is coming here for a week. So, it's time to start thinking about cleaning and organizing the studio. We started a few weeks ago by putting in a new laminate floor. There are several other projects I am hoping to get done before the workshop starts, but the floor was the big project.
Here a shot from the entrance to the studio. The two tables on the left are 48 x 48 each and I couldn't live without them. Right now they are covered with printmaking stuff.
Here's a closer look at the library area. Steve calls it the "employee lounge"-that's his coffee pot on the table.
This is the the main painting area. My Hughes easels, the taboret, and the work tables are all on wheels so things can be moved around pretty easily when the students get here.
Here's some storage and additional bookshelves, and you can see the Constable Closet (for large canvases) on the left.
Looking back toward the north side of the studio, I have counter space and storage under the north facing windows.
Here's another shot of that. One of the projects on tap is a flat file which will go to the right of the cabinets.
We are doing more than growing tomatoes (upside down or otherwise) around here. I've been working on a whole new batch of paintings, including several for a new gallery (more about that later!). And, Steve has been working on the studio improvements in addition to his regular job as chief frame maker for Mountains Edges Frames. The Constable Closet has drywall .
And my bookshelves are in progress in the shop.
I also heard this week that Blackheath Gallery in London has sold two paintings!
This weekend Steve (my husband) started framing up the walls for the new storage area in my studio. There never seems to be enough storage in a studio and I'm sure I'll fill this one up immediately. There is one very special feature to this storage area, however- The Constable Closet.
A few months ago Steve and I were talking about John Constable and his famous "six footers" - the large exhibition pieces he painted for the annual Royal Academy shows. In many respects these huge canvasses had an extremely beneficial effect on his career and brought him to the attention of landscape painters and collectors in France (even as he was somewhat ignored in England) . About the same time as this conversation, my dealer in Chicago started encouraging me to paint some really large pieces and Steve enthusiastically supported that idea. Ever since then, he asks me on a regular basis when I'll be starting my first "six footer".
I've had a few mishaps over the last few months, with large panels getting dinged while sitting around in the studio. So, this weekend when we started working out the design for the storage area, he came up with the idea to include an area where I can store big panels. And The Constable Closet, named after the great man himself, was born.
Its a bit tough to see (it sort of looks like a forest of 2 x 4s at the moment), but the tall narrow opening on the left front is the opening for the Constable Closet. It will be dry walled in the interior and have a funky little narrow door. I'll be able to store panels up to about 7' x 7' in there. The opening for the rest of the storage area is around to the right (the shelves will back up to the right wall of the Constable Closet. There, I'll have some vertical storage for smaller panels and paintings and shelves for supplies.
I've read that Constable often let his children play in his studio and that on one occasion one of his sons punctured a large canvas with the mast of a toy sailing ship. I just bet John would have loved this closet.
