Tales from an Artist's Journal Part Two
Tales from an Artist’s Journal…one woman’s adventure in painting…
Tales from an Artist's Journal Part Two belongs to the following groups:
Complex Simplicity of Art, AW Welcome Center, Everyday Life, Live, Love, Dream: , Safe Haven and The PatchworkI’m listening to Leonard Cohen’s “The Stranger Song” as I write this…what a haunting sentence is the last line, “I told you when I came I was a stranger”…I have got to do a painting based on that line…
But before I start to talk about how I paint, I should tell you about where I paint..
When I first started, my studio area was quite small, but as my painting career expanded, so has the studio, and and it now occupies five rooms in the lower floor of my home comprising a painting area, seen here…
library, office and storage [believe me I need all of it] thank goodness for Ikea…
By now you would have noted that I like to paint many different series and except for my Gallery Portfolio, in many different styles…in part one, I mentioned that I could be called upon at any time to produce a feature for a magazine and the time line could be as little as a week…I decided it was easier on the whole to have the required materials readily available for any type of project the editors might request…that’s stressful all by itself…
That being said I also like doing different types of art as the spirit moves me, so I stocked the studio like an art supply store, with every type of paint, paper brush, pencil, marker etc, as well as equipment for more than fifty different types of art and crafts…
For example if I decide to do a pastel this morning I have the entire gamut of oil and chalk pastels and paper to match, plus spray sealers etc…it would be the same if I got up and thought “Hm, I would like to do silk painting today”…I have all the supplies for that as well, or paper making or flower pressing or drying, decoupage, marbling, gold leafing…..in addition I keep unpainted pots, boxes, containers of all kinds to decorate at a moments whim….
hundreds of stencils I have cut and keep in labeled containers, a chest of flat drawers of every kind of paper from printing to pastel and everything in between…every size of canvas….equipment for printing including blocks and ink, chinese painting materials, a large collection of stamp art, bins of craft paint etc etc…I could go on with the whole list, but I don’t want to totally bore you…..
I also teach workshops approx once a month and it could be in any type of art or craft, so I’m always ready…...
As a result I am prepared for any style of painting I may decide to do any time of day or night…since joining RB, the latter is becoming quite a habit….
Next time adding dynamic colour and texture to paintings….
kjgordon
mahalo for sharing your world…
Janis Zroback replied
I’m glad to share it with such a wonderful audience…
coppertrees
As always great job, thanks for sharing.
Janis Zroback replied
Thanks Vickie…I’m always glad to do so…
Suzanne German
Thanks so much for sharing your creative ideas with us. We can all pick up a few tips….the ikea looks good – I am a fan gernerally of things Ikea.
Janis Zroback replied
Ikea has save my life as far as storage and furniture for my studio is concerned…I’m very happy to share….
Lesley Hill
Wow, sounds like my Art room at work/school, except I have over 800 students in and out throughout the week! Janis you are very well prepared!
Janis Zroback replied
That’s me…I was a girl guide…
Joanne Bradley
This insight into an artist’s life and work is quite wonderful Janis! Almost feel like voyeur! lol!
We can definitely see your love of color reflected in your work place. It is surprising because I love color as well, and thought if you paint with that much saturation and richness of color, you must have a painting area that is quite neutral as a contrast but it isn’t so. I can’t wait to see what you present us with next. I am totally intrigued!
Janis Zroback replied
In the big Galleries like the AGO, paintings are always shown against strongly painted walls…white especially, tends to suck the life out of everything… I have no white walls in my house…I can’t live with it..
I’m planning to redo my office soon..it’s terracotta now, but it will be yellow when I’m done with it…
There are a number of artists whose studios are pictured on the web..I never thought I would be one of them…up to now very few people saw where I painted out side of family and close friends…but as I do with paintings here, I will delete this after a while…...
Susan Moss
I love reading your story Janis, great workshop, any artist’s dream
Janis Zroback replied
Thank you Susan…I’m glad you’re enjoying the story…
Alison Pearce
Great article Janis!
Janis Zroback replied
Thank you so much Alison..glad you like it…
Sarah Donoghue
I’d better not show this journal to my mum. She already thinks I have too much art stuff and that it takes up too much room (mind you, it is my house that I am filling up). Everywhere you look in my little 2 bedroom house there is a pile of canvases, paint, brushes, all different types of pencils, pastels and the list goes on! I really need a studio and a few extra rooms to store everything in. I love how bright your workspace is. Thanks for sharing.
Janis Zroback replied
Thank you Sarah..luckily, my husband and son are my biggest fans…thank goodness, otherwise mayhem…
Ron Moss
Hi Janis,
I enjoyed this very much and was stuck by the colour in your workspace!
It is great to read about artist’s and how they go about creating and you do it so well!
Ron
Janis Zroback replied
Thanks Ron…glad you’re enjoying this series of articles…
Colour is so important to the psyche….it uplifts and encourages creativity, but can also be restful and calming to the soul..
In my home I have chosen colours specifically to match the use of each room…where I paint I use a lot of daylight bulbs on the ceiling and at desk height, which helps keep the colour true on the paintings and makes for very good lighting when I’m ready to photograph them…
Mechellerene
Very cool!!
Janis Zroback replied
Thank you so much…
Linda Callaghan
Wow Janis this is every artist’s dream – what a beautiful life you must live – surrounded by the work you love doing and producing excellent art. Your studio is amazing and I am going to come back to this and study it when I have more time, thank you for sharing this with me, now I am inspired to work towards my goal of setting up my own space!
Janis Zroback replied
I do live a good life, but it is full of serious responsibilities…I can escape into my painting…I have a very supportive husband and a son to care for …I’m glad you find this inspiring…glad to be of help.. the journal and writing posts are all full of info for artists…have a look when you have the time…
Karin Taylor
o WOW!! WOW!! i hadn’t ever seen this before, I hung off every word, of every delectable bit of everything and all the wonderful colour of your surroundings…and it’s soooooo neat and tidy,
my goodness me!!! I can just tell you’re tidy, because your work is so exact… you can see I’m
a bit messy and my work is less exact! Our personalities show through our art, and even our
studios…I love how you have an art store with EVERYTHING in it…. i’d love that, but just can’t
afford it, i do enjoy finding new materials and paints and doing experimental things…. i just love
scrapbooking shops and all the nicknacks they have in their…i wanted to have a pyjama party at the last one i went into, i imagined how much fun we could have ‘sleeping o/n’ in there and ‘playing’ with all the stuff while the owners were away…!!! I love your studio and what you have written, and only sorry i didn’t see it earlier Janis! thank you for pointing me in the right direction :)
Janis Zroback replied
The actual studio is not that big…7×15…but I have two larger library/office spaces and two large storage areas…
I just redecorated the offices and put in a larger desk where I’m sitting right now..around me are lots of book cases with hundreds of art and reference books, folders of ideas and sketches, baskets of journals, my computer, photocopier and printer….. comfortable leather chairs, lamps on side tables, and floor cushions and of course a T.V… my family often join me here after dinner, if I’m logged on then..the walls are covered with my paintings…it’s the only room in the house where I have them, besides the studio…
In the picture above, you can see louvered doors…the desk in front slides away easily…..behind the doors is a large floor to ceiling cupboard which houses a lot of art supplies…I have them organized into categories….usually a shelf or two for each art or craft…then there are two other rooms for storage, where I keep huge bins of paint and sample boards and other larger items….so the entire lower floor of the house is devoted to art…just the way it should be… :)))
Karin Taylor
aaah!!! i just love the way you’ve got it all sorted Janis!!! how cool to have one whole entire story of your home devoted to art practice!!! woohooooooooo! you rock!!!
Janis Zroback replied
That’s right…I started with only one table in the corner of one room and look how it’s grown…a happy wife and mother means a happy family….if every one followed that rule the world would be a peaceful place…:))))
picketty
It all makes me ashamed…the beautiful order of your workstation. I love orderliness but am the worst exponent of same. I have been trying to reform for decades but short of a resident personal trainer I think that is impossible.
Janis Zroback replied
I can’t work if it’s not all organized around me…it’s the only way I can put out as much work as I do…it’s easy to get a place into shape though…all you need is a large container or two…there is another article showing my office space….where I’m sitting right now… :))