Pretty New Palette... and a new watercolor

Got something great in the mail yesterday -whenever I get mail from Cheap Joe's it is great! Woo Hoo - fun, new art supplies! I decided it was definitely time for a new palette since I have made such a mess of my other painting and mixing trays. I ordered a smaller palette with a lid that I can take places, and a big porcelain one for my painting table. The porcelain palette is heavy so it won't move around while I am mixing colors, and I took pictures so I can remember what a nice, organized palette looks like. I even set the paint tubes around it and rearranged them until the colors were in the order I wanted. I usually just squirt paint onto the tray wherever there is an empty (or kind of empty) space. I was afraid to make a mess of my shiny white palette. I also took a tip from Cheap Joe, and labeled my colors.

I also have a start on a watercolor I have been wanting to paint for quite a while. In the Spring, two of the rose bushes in my garden were homes to bird nests. Birds were constantly flying in and out of the roses. I managed to get some photos during one of the moments the birds were away. I have been thinking about painting this for months and now that I am getting to it, I hope I will not be disappointed with the finished product.

Thanks for looking-

Sheryl

Studio Makeover

My art studio has been set up since we moved into our new house over two years ago. Sometimes, I choose to paint downstairs because it is like an oven in my west-facing studio in the afternoons about half of the year. I do not want to double my power bill just to be cool upstairs in the late afternoon. The other reason my studio has not gotten much use (except as an art supply room) is that I wasn't happy painting in there, but wasn't sure what to change.

Saturday morning, we were watching a movie on TV and my husband mentioned that the woman in the movie was crazy to have her desk situated so her back was to the door. Creepy. I mentioned that my studio was set up that way (to have a view of the park out the window). My easel faces the door (just by chance), so it is okay! That got us discussing the ways we could improve my painting space. Within an hour, we were off to Costco. We bought more of the great metal bakery type shelves on wheels- like I had in New York. When we moved to California, the movers loaded them on the truck put together instead of taken apart and they weigh too much to be dragged upstairs to my studio. I settled for bookcases which were easier to move. Sometimes it just isn't good to settle. Now, two years later, we did what we should have done in the first place. We also moved my desk/work table into the middle of the room.

It just seemed right to put it in front of the window before without really thinking. Now, my desk is in the middle of the studio and all of my art supplies and all the fun things (like sand pails and painting ideas) are around me instead of behind me. I can see all of my supplies - paints (oils, watercolors, acrylics, and glass paints) all in separate baskets with labels. My soldering stuff is also organized and easy to find. I put all of my gazillions of art books and magazines into baskets so they are contained, at least. My scrapbooking stuff, well, at least it is in baskets even if it doesn't look exactly neat and tidy.

Everything is perfect now. I guess some artists have studios with everything out of sight into cabinets, but I really like seeing all of my art "stuff". It keeps me motivated. I have two cork boards to tack up ideas, and a huge chalk board to scribble on also. I guess I fall into the messy artist category, but I love it! Now, back to painting.

Thanks for looking,

Sheryl