I don’t like that I basically shut down in the summer, but the upside of it is that come Sept 21st, some internal switch is turned on and I re-emerge, recharged. This Fall has brought an extra bonus – a studio!
Many months ago, I wrote about how I longed for a bright studio and imagined it with white walls and peeling paint, but weighed it against the benefits of working at home. True to my inability to ever make a decision, I was torn. But when I moved at the end of this summer, I found myself not too far from Mad Oyster Studios and was struck with the realization that a friend had lost her studio mate when he moved out of town. Hey. I don’t think she replaced him. Is that space available? I should ask her. And so I texted her and, after talking with her and getting the OK from the others who share the space, and meeting the head of the studios, and paying my first month’s rent, I was handed keys. Turns out that, as a painting space, home has nothing over the studio. And so we (Rupert and I) get up in the morning and I make coffee and get dressed and we walk to the studio, where I work – undistracted – for a couple of hours while he naps. I am looking forward to putting on my turtlenecks and scarves and crunching through leaves on our way to the studio. I hope for another snowy winter, and when the mayor asks us to stay off the roads and I cannot go to my walking clients, I will bundle up and walk gleefully to the studio, where we can stay for hours, stepping out only to grab a coffee or a meal to refuel for more painting. And next summer, when it’s too hot to paint, I will simply head to studio, turn on the AC, and work to my cool heart’s content.
Having a dedicated space for working is all I thought it would be. Happy Fall!
canvas major 