Total Art Soul - for artists

another question dear cathy- if i write an article abt what i do and why inspires me- along with photographs- what is the next step? you read it- where do i send it? here in where women and men create?

and tell me abt twitter- i tried to register but couldnt put a users name that they would accept- i can change my users name -can i?

We have a small 3rd bedroom which is our 'den' - basically our home office for the computer and where I store all my art materials. It is too small to actually do any artwork in though so until my lottery numbers come up my studio is our kitchen table! We have a large kitchen which is good at least and I just spread my stuff out all over the table when I'm painting or drawing. I work mainly in watercolour and ink so that suits fine but I am dying to try out oil paints but the lack of a proper studio concerns me as I imagine it will be a lot messier than watercolour! Also, I learnt the hard way to pack my stuff up and put it away at the end of the painting day as the one time I left my brushes and pencils on the table (albeit wrapped in a plastic bag) my pups somehow managed to get them off the table and chewed them into a million bits all over the kitchen floor! (they are only westies so am still not sure how they managed to reach!) lesson learnt!

hi my name is marianna and i read what you wrote abt painting at the kitchen table- we as artists must make use of our environment no matter where- and yes- you must be cautious about yr art supplies- usually thru difficulties we lwaen- i hope yr pups didnt eat yr drawings- like the sketch of the childs head- really nice- do you mainly drw?

i work in oils and yes that is a process- as well as ventilation- one must have windows open- so one can breath properly- i like oils because i layer them and oil lends brilliant colors- i first put a bit of lets say- orange red oil in a small yogart cup and then add a little of turpentine to make the medium a bit less glumpy- again- i use oils in a layering tecknique- wait for color to dry and then paint over it

what are you wking on now.love marianna

Hi Marianna

No luckily I had taken the picture back upstairs so only the brushes and pencils got eaten! I now have a proper little portable art tidy which I keep my stuff in and I just don't leave anything within mouth reach of my pups!

Thanks for the compliment about the piece of the little boy. I don't know if it classes as drawing as it is actually done in pen and ink using millions of little dots (it is hard to see that on a computer screen) so I'm not really sure what to call it - painting doesn't sound right but drawing makes me think of pencils! Any ideas?

I'm working on a few different things at the moment - I've entered a competition so am working on a large piece for that and I'm also taking part in a sketchbook project run by the Art House Co-op in Brooklyn, New York so I need to fill a 40 page sketchbook and return it to America where all the sketchbooks then tour round 6 different American cities - it sounds quite exciting and my sketchbook will be better travelled in the USA than me by the end of it! I'm also working on designs for greeting cards which I sell on Folksy so I'm actually really busy and only wish there was more time in the day (or that I didn't have to work for a living and could spend all my time creating art work!)

What are you working on just now?

Nicola.

I have always worked on my dining room table. We had a very small dining room until 3 years ago when we built a new house. We had big windows put in one corner of the basement, in anticipation of making me a studio at some future time. We have walls up now, but not much else, and the basement is very cold in the winter, so I have not put my stuff down there. So I am still painting in my dining room with supplies spread over other rooms whereever there is a spare spot. lol
This is my dining room when it is converted to a painting studio. My easel with a wet painting on it is between the fridge and the dog `s crate. lol

I used to have a room to paint in but now in France our flat is tiny. I cant make large paintings anymore. The medium ones I make on our double bed! My husband woke up the other day with a paintbrush at his feet.
I also paint in the bedroom where I can close the door as my two yr old feels he is a professional artist and needs my supplies:)

At least I can still paint, even though the place is small.
I think each artist finds a nook to be creative.