Day 1: Hi, this is my first day of blogging about my studio art practice. Let me tell you about how I got this studio. My husband, Sutton and I bought a multi-family house last year in Baltimore City. We each have a studio in back of our home, inside some old horse stables. Mine has been converted into a finished room. The room has been used as a massage studio in the past. It has a skylight and three small windows.
During this year, I was not using this space as a studio. I teach art at elementary/middle schools in the city and county. One school generously let me use an unused classroom as a studio. We were using the finished room as a storage space. We have since cleared it and I have brought home all my materials. Now I am ready to start working in my own backyard. Today I sorted some IKEA wooden art storage boxes that I have had since I was a teenager. They hold my basic materials such as chalk pastels, oil pastels, coloring pencils, markers, inks, watercolors and charcoals. I got rid of anything I haven’t used in a while or doesn’t work anymore. When I was younger, I spray-painted some of the drawers with chalk paint. I re-labelled each drawer with chalk pastel today. It was really satisfying.
Speaking of storage, I have been trying to figure out how to store my oil paints so I can see everything neatly. I have done some online research and found out that it is best to store oil paints cap down to help the pigment stick to the oil. Oil paints can last for up to fifteen years, which is quite impressive! On Pinterest, I found some artists storing their oil paints with bulldog clips and nails. I have gotten started today by clipping on some bulldog clips I found during my studio clean out and finding a board to which I will nail hooks or nails to hang the oil paints from.
I also made two drawings while testing out my markers. I find that it is fun to check in with myself by doing a self-portrait. The other drawing is a mountain range that I sketched in pen and marker many months ago and revisited today. I like having a loose initial structure and then filling in based on the previous pattern.
