My New Studio

The studio is dead.  Long live the studio.

So, my new studio.  Though it has a couple boxes cluttering it up, they will disappear soon.  Painted a tasteful, muted green, it sports two windows and two electrical outlets - making it twice as awesome as my old studio.  It also features more square footage and only one door that leads to the upstairs hallway (which is convenient as the studio is upstairs).

The room measures just over twelve feet by eleven feet, minus a small closet in the corner which juts out into the floor space.  The closet features an interior that is painted a rather loud shade of pink, and is decked out with the poorest excuse for a "storage system" I have ever seen.  The room's ceiling is rather low, with just seven feet, three inches of clearance.  But, as it's unlikely that I'll be working on anything larger than a few feet tall, this seems like a minor quibble.

The extra space allows me to keep my large easel set up at all times.  Currently sitting on this easel is a book cover I have been dealing with for the last eight months.  In fact, the final alterations to this cover will be my first painting done in my new environment.

Also allowed by the extra space is an additional table (which I use to keep things off the floor), and a bookshelf which is just off camera.  For the first time, all of my art books are in the place that I actually need them.  No more walking into another room to get a book for me.  No, no.

The view out my windows is of the back yard of our house, the garage, and the tool shed.  Beyond that are the backs of several other houses.  There are trees and grass, a parking lot for all the folks who live in the surrounding houses, and some picket fencing that has seen better days...or at least I hope it has.

At present, given that it's winter, my studio is filled only with the sound of my radio or TV, and the occasional hiss and clanking of the radiator.  If I really concentrate, I can hear the faint drone of traffic on the Mass. Pike, and the commuter rail line that passes nearby.

The curious thing about moving is that you get to see your belongings in a whole new context.  My new studio contains the exact same contents as my old studio, and they are even arranged similarly.  But, they look and feel very different.  Perhaps this is because there's more space overall.  Perhaps it is because there's far more light.  Perhaps the addition of a few extra pieces of furniture has thrown off the vibe entirely.  I don't really know.  Either way, the newness represents promise to me, and I'm pretty excited.

So, this is where the best work of my life will be produced over at least the next eighteen months.  No pressure or anything.  Perhaps a mantra.  No matter what, that will be my goal.  To do the best work of my life.  May I shock and surprise with the work that is yet to be.  May I fill people with wonder.  May I inspire and be inspired.  May this studio be as good to me as the last.