This little black and white kitty caught my eye. What a sweet expression! Painting black and white fur is always fun!
For this piece I used a 4×4″ panel which was primed with some Michael Harding Foundation White. Well, it wasn’t white when I got through with it—I mixed in some blue before priming some plain wood panels. There’s something special about using lead-based priming for oil painting!
Lately I’ve been dealing with some issues I’ve had with my studio space. Some family obligations have made it necessary for me to spend less time at my beloved studio. I still have the studio, it’s just that I have so little time to sneak away to it these days. So it was necessary to have something at home. Thus, the creation of a very cramped home studio.
I shouldn’t act like this is a bad thing. For most of my painting life, I’ve worked at home. Most artists do the same! And even with a dedicated studio elsewhere, it’s always good to have a home studio as well.
For furniture, I more of my favorite folding side tables—for everything! (These are a popular item at my regular studio as well.) The floor space was so cramped that I couldn’t use my regular travel easel, so I am experimenting with a very small table easel, placed on an aforementioned favorite folding side table. So far, so good, at least for smaller pieces. Since most of my work is 16″ or less at its widest side, this should work most of the time.
More folding side tables support my palette, lamps (with bulbs that are 5000 K or above!), and my tablet (which contains my reference photos) and paints. It’s all very small, but so far, so good. I listen to books on tape (or rather, a Kindle Fire’s “text to speech” feature) as I paint. I still miss my “real” studio, but this setup has some advantages to it, in that I can just roll out of bed and start painting!
I still miss my “real” studio, but this setup has some advantages to it, in that I can just roll out of bed in the morning and start painting in my pajamas!
