My Studio 2015

I’ve been thinking a lot about my studio lately. Since moving out of my house 4 years ago I’ve had to downsize everything. My studio exists in boxes. Two boxes filled with art materials, a box for finished paintings, my watercolour pallet that is a box and my beloved outdoor plein air box for acrylic painting and a tripod. Everything is small and light and can be packed away. In my last blog I talked about the pleasure and benefits of working small.

However, since recently finishing my studies my partner and I have begun renovating my house and studio for us to live in. While it’s exciting re-planing the physical space, I started thinking about how my studio is a sacred place inside myself that I can return to at will. The experience of giving up a physical space has heightened a resource within myself. I’ve learned to set up a physical space at a moments notice and access an internal space simultaneously wherever I am. The colours in my paintbox excite me because they are friends that I have chosen and am slowly getting to know. After many years of painting I still discover so much about them in every session. I love touching my brushes and caring for them. I feel this particularly towards my watercolour brushes and think of them as a lifelong partnership. They are shaped by my strokes and we are constantly evolving together. My sketchbook holds my picture thinking -experiences that are entered into through line, tone and feeling. These experiences connect up and form a dialogue through associations. I also have a lovely light DSLR camera to catch quick bites of information for reference.

These are my essential tools to help me make sense of myself in the world. Yes these tools are physical objects but our relationship is made very personal through interaction. On reflection, my studio has become very a immediate and intimate inner and outer space through downsizing.