a day in the life blog carnival

Thanks again to Marla for organizing the 2nd blog carnival "A Day in the Life." Here goes...

Most of my painting days are pretty similar. They are usually weekend days, occasionally a week day. If it's a weekend day, I always start in the morning. After putting the dogs out and coffee, of course.

Then it's up the stairs to the studio. The baby gate is for the dogs, so the cats can have a refuge when they need it.

Today, because my space was a wreck, I had to start by cleaning it. I normally don't let it get this messy but it was a busy couple of weeks and I just let it get out of hand.

After clean up. Much better. 

Then a smoothie for breakfast. I'm kind of dilly dallying today and not expecting a full day's work, which is fine. Kind of taking it easy today.

I start by setting out my paints and then sitting down to just look at what I'm working on and make a task list. I'm very bad about stepping back while I'm painting to take in the whole painting. I really need to work on that. But if I sit down and take it all in for about 15 minutes and write down all I need to tackle, that kind of gets me around my habit of not assessing during the painting session. 

Then I start painting. The music is on today instead of the podcasts. There's a bit of dancing whilst painting. Good thing there is not a video camera in my studio. I would look ridiculous. Mostly because I am lucky if I have put on pants for the day and my hair is pretty much a tornado that I use as a paintbrush holder. Not a pretty sight.

After painting for awhile there is some laying around on the floor and stretching. Or napping. Or staring  off into space at nothing in particular. 

I do also use this time to look at what I've done and think about the painting some more. What's next, what needs to change, etc. And usually this is also from the floor, while stretching out my back and relaxing.

So for today, I mostly just worked on the dredlocks and the chicken (sorry the first picture is little fuzzy).

Then comes the really boring part which is the brush cleaning. I always wish I could find some neighborhood kids who wanted to make a few bucks to come clean my brushes. Wouldn't it be nice to have a brush cleaner? But alas, it's part of the job. 

After that's done, a little straightening up of the studio, then off to do things like laundry, dinner, get ready for work on Monday. Occasionally, I'll take a dip in the pool with the dog. That's pretty much how my painting days go.

Thanks for looking and spending a day in my painting life with me.

Giveaway!!!

Become a member/subscriber of my blog and you will be entered to win a print of tan lined feet  (printed image is 8" x 8" w/ 1" border all around). Winner will be randomly selected and will be announced on Saturday August 31, 2013.

Don't forget to take a look at the other "A Day in the Life" posts of these other great artists. Just click on the names to visit their blogs. 

Cindy Michaud	Jo MacKenzie	Christine Parker	Marla Laubisch
Joanne Grant	Kevin Larson	Cindy Williams	Sharon Graves
	Karen Johnston	Charleen Martin

Artists Studios Online Tour and Giveaways – A Blog Carnival

Many thanks to Marla for organizing this blog Carnival on artists' studios. I can't wait to see everyone's creative space. On that note, here is a virtual tour of my studio. 

My studio is on the second level of my home at the top of the stairs. I have a sign that I painted above the door that says "Artist's Entry" in French.

When you walk in this is the area where I do my painting. I have 2 great windows with amazing light that lasts almost all day long. It's a little tight in that corner but the light is just perfect there so it's worth it. 

Here it the view from my windows. Since I'm on the second story of a stilt house, I'm actually above the tree line. The palm trees swaying in the wind are so calming and watching the birds and clouds passing by is meditative. It's so conducive to creating, having all this nature and color right there. With the windows open it's even cooler when you can hear the birds crowing, chirping, and calling to each other. There are a lot of native berry trees in this expanse of "forest" which keeps the birds happy and provides me with something to watch as I stare out the window.

The following photos are of my painting table, my bookcase with my art books. The cans that hold my brushes are a Cafe Bustelo coffee can. Cafe Bustelo is kind of a staple down here, you find it a lot at the Cuban coffee shops down in Key West. The smaller one is an olive can that my aunt gave me. My uncle had picked up cases of olives in Spain and after he passed my aunt gave me a few cans and after eating them I saved the cans for paintbrush holders. My uncle was a painter also so it's little homage to him in my studio. 

There is usually at least one cat in the studio at all times. Since they are not allowed in there when I am not in there they seem to want to hang out there even more. Which is why I spend a lot of time picking cat hairs out of my brushes and paintings. The company is worth it though.

My storage closet. My big male cat insists on going in my supply closet and rearranging everything. Hence the conch shell doorstop.

I have one corner that I sort of use as a meditation corner. Sometimes I start my painting off with about 10 minutes of silent meditation. I sit on the floor and try to clear my head. Sometimes when I am not painting I will just go to this corner and sit. My studio is a pretty peaceful place (when it's not in complete disarray and chaos...then it's just an anxiety magnet!) so sometimes I will just go in there and sit, stare out the window, stare at the ceiling.

Then there's my desk area. I have a drawing table, my laptop on which I listen to my music, podcasts, etc. and a little set of drawers in the corner. The chair is a great find I found in Key West for $30. It's incredibly heavy and solid and the wood is so worn in spots. I love it. I thought about refinishing it and then decided against it. It's beautiful the way it is. 

That's pretty much it. It's small but it's working perfectly for me and it makes me happy to be in that space. Hope you enjoyed the tour! Feel free to leave comments, ask questions, etc. 

Ciao!

Go BEHIND THE STUDIO DOOR and see where real painters work! Have you ever wondered about the mysterious artist studio? Now you can tour them online. Visit the links below to see the participating artists' blog posts about their work spaces! Some artists are offering giveaways or special prices for the Carnival.

Marla Laubisch	Carol Schiff	Kaethe Bealer	Jo MacKenzie
Michael Chamberlain	Charleen Martin	Sally Binard	Jacklyn Karabaich
Sharon Graves	Sea Dean	Johnna Schelling	Taryn Day
Julie Ford Oliver	Sarah Sedwick	Kim Rempel	Cindy Michaud
Joanne Grant	Carmen Beecher	Cindy Williams