New studio!

For several years I have rented a studio in the nearby town of Lisburn. But this has ceased to be a practical arrangement, so I have been fortunate in being able to get a custom made studio built in my back garden. I have been very pre-occupied with getting everything moved and sorted, but I have been able to paint there for the last month. My productivity seems to be on the increase!

Change of Studio

A while back, for personal reasons, I decided that I had to give up my studio at Studio 23 and to work at home. Since then, I have made a new studio out in a shed in Ballynahinch, where I stay for most of the week.

It is quite a good space for both 2D and 3D work, although a bit more cramped than the previous one.

New studio space at Studio 23

I have just moved into a new studio, a little bigger and better lighting, but it will take a little time to get it properly organised.

"Sunset and Twilight", series of paintings

"Sunset, Rath near Comber", February 29.
Oils on canvas, 30cm x 25cm.

The first of the series has been completed. I have about six others already started and I am making good progress on them. Working in a proper studio makes a massive difference to me, so more in the series should be finished soon.

Moving into a new studio

First day with bare walls and floor!

My first blog in quite a long time! Things have been very busy for me and I have been finding it increasingly difficult to get on with my own work without having a proper – and permanent – space to paint in. So I decided that it was time to rent a proper studio! Studio 23 is an artist’s collective and I came across them when they ran a “Salon des Refusés” for work not accepted by the Royal Ulster Academy. I liked the setup and, as a new set of studio spaces were becoming available, decided that it I should take one of them. I started to move in two weeks ago. Very bare and uninviting at first! But since then, I have got the walls covered and I put picture rail around the top to make it easier for me to hang pictures and to vary their positions. The spaces were actually created by dividing up a large warehouse and so there is no ceiling, as such, to the studio. This means that, without further measures, it is almost impossible to heat! I have now put a “ceiling” of clear plastic over the top, supported by a grid of fishing line underneath. It still lets in the light but traps the heat. I am now very comfortable!

No ceiling yet, but getting there!

Since moving in, I have only just started to work. But I am very optimistic that being in the studio will help my art to develop better. It makes such a difference being in a place where there will be no interruptions, surrounded by your own work and being able to completely concentrate on painting! Hopefully, in the future I will have more to report on what I am doing, so I hope to get back to blogging regularly.