Home work space....beginning of 2016

A couple of my painting friends have posted where their home working space is.  So, keeping with the groove of sharing....here's pictures of the current conditions of my home space.

First off, I actually use 2 different rooms in our small Bungalow style house.  We don't entertain at home, so this first picture is of the "Dining room" converted to work space.  I used to give individual art lessons here and could comfortably have 3 people.  No more!!!! 

 It's turned into STORAGE! 

I dug out my old metal easel and have it set up for a station to work on pastels.  The table to the right is our Parson style dining room table....covered with foamboard to protect the surface.

Here's a closer view of the Pastel workspace.

This is a NEW addition to the room.....I purchased a metal shelf rack (found it at a bargain for less then $20.) and added small round dowels the vertical length.  It's a GREAT space for wet canvases.  As you can see.....I've already filled a lot of it up with canvases yet to be painted.  On the right is a double stack of book shelves where I have art books, painting supplies and more paper for painting.

This is the opposite side where you see the dining room table with a shelf unit my daughter gifted me with.  I think it came out of a home that was being torn down. The original intent for it was to have nothing but still life objects stored here.  Currently, the table and shelves are a mix of supplies, files, and objects.  

This space has also become my "work-out" area for my Gazelle glider.  It was stored in our bedroom.  As you can see....it leans against the tall shelving unit when I don't use it.  

Having the exercise equipment here has motivated me to use it more....to get back into the habit of daily walking.  Too cold for me outside.

Next is the 2nd room....the other "bedroom" on the main floor of our home.  I had this all organized and a cover on the side of my drafting table - converted - to - framing - table.

Full sheet matboard and frames line the walls. This room is in the NW corner of the house and I usually leave the door closed to keep the cats out.  It does help a little with keeping the cat hair down.  Thus, the space heater in the foreground.....it gets chillier in here then the rest of the house.

My hubby didn't want to get rid of his old entertainment furniture so, as you can see here, it didn't take me long to fill it up with more "STUFF".

I purchased a nice Epson printer to create my own archival giclee note cards. It sits on the top along with primer paints, and other items I keep in reach ....handy for when framing.

And....last but not least, MY OFFICE :D

I took the doors off the bedroom closet and placed shelves and a desk here.  This is the spot for our home computer (where I'm typing now) and our paperwork for almost everything we need to keep track of.  

The window here faces the North.  I have soooooo fallen in love with working from this light  that I cleared out the corner and created a painting space here.  I work mostly with oils in this spot.

Now I've shared with you how I've taken over most the main floor of our home.  I also have space in our basement for painting large panels, a stained glass area with kiln that I haven't fired up yet, (it's been sitting 2 years now) and my husband builds my frames, so his woodworking area is housed down there too.

We have one big room upstairs which has now become a very large storage unit.  I have extra frames and boxes for putting finished work in up there.  

What was originally to be a minimalist "guest" room has now turned into a storage unit for ourselves and family members.  There are designated areas where our kids, a sister and nephew have keepsakes.  

I keep watching the "Tiny House" movement and see all these really cool spaces posted online.....thinking how neat this would be.  Our house is 750 sq ft per level and to be honest...I realize now how  a smaller space JUST WOULDN'T WORK!

I currently rent a room in Bentonsport so I can teach and work in that area of where we live (East of Pulaski).  I also give on going painting classes in my friends studio in Bloomfield.  It covers teaching to the West of Pulaski.  

The ideal,of course, would be to not travel so much and have an area large enough to accommodate everything from teaching,working, storage,.....Guess what?!.....WE HAVE A METAL BARN THAT NEEDS ATTENTION :D  It has a loft and would be so cool to create a 10' x 10' deck at the top to set on and paint Sunsets.  YES....I CAN DREAM !!!!!! 

"Looking Up"

14"x 11"  Oil on board

You'll be seeing a lot of "Skyscapes" in the next few posts.  These will be on exhibit and for sale at the up and coming 2 Person show titled "Of Earth and Sky" at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa.

Accomplished Metal and Glass artist, Mika Sorak (who happens to be my daughter) is the other artist represented in this show.  Her work can be found in a few galleries and floral shops across Iowa and is in private collections across the United States.

The Show will be hanging Feb 1st - March 7th, 2016

Bentonsport 2016 Brochure Cover

I can now announce that the Van Buren Conservation Board approved the use of my painting shown here as next years cover for our 3 fold flyer on Bentonsport's businesses, B & B's and Campsite/Trails.

Soft Pastel on LaCarte Sanded paper.  I donated the original to the DNR.  It's size is 25"x 11.5"

Businesses shown here are all along Hawk Dr., across from Riverside Park and the Des Moines River. The building at the top is known as the "Odd Fellows Hall".  The second floor is set up as a museum showcasing ritual memorabilia and meeting room of an "Odd Fellows" chapter.  The organization is much like the Masons.  NEW IN 2016 the main floor will house the business 

"Paddle, Pedal, and More".  A kayak, bicycle rental  and gift shop.  Odd Fellows Hall is located near the boat ramp to the Des Moines River.  The business owns a pontoon boat in which they plan to give tours on the river. 

Next is the front of "Iron & Lace"store.  Below it is a street scene  - left to right - Iron & Lace, The Quilt Shop, Greef General Store, and Artisan Coop.  Below it is "Forever Sweets Creations" fudge and sandwich shop.

All the businesses are closed now (except for the B & B's in town.....they're open year around).  The retail shops are open Mid April through October during the week and both Saturday and Sunday.  November and December All retail businesses are open Weekends Only.

In 2016, I plan to have the "Parlor Room Studio"  (located in the Herman Greef House shown above) open to the public most Saturdays  10am to 4pm  April through November when there isn't a workshop going on. 

 My dear friend MaryBeth Heikes, who is an established nationally known watercolorist, is planning to be in the studio two Saturdays a month giving demonstrations.

Here's a picture of MaryBeth working on a collage in the studio.

Largest "Skyscape" so far.....

Here's how my  palette has looked through out the process of creating the "skyscape" you'll see in this post.

Above is a view of the work showing the red underpainting and where my palette sits to the right.  Working from my plein air set up has truly become habit...indoors or out.  After seeing how sturdy my friend Jessica Kirby's tripod is that she uses with the Lammert plein air set, I had to order myself one and I've fallen in love with it.  The painting box my husband makes works GREAT with it.

 Oil on 3- 36"x 24" Gallery wrapped stretched canvases. (36"x 72" shown here). 

 I've painted the sides so the canvases can be hung with space between them or as shown here.    The camera really doesn't give this piece justice.  The magenta color and blues near the horizon line aren't as out of focus and as bright as they appear here.  No matter how I adjust the camera or try adjusting the image on our computer, it still reads as you see above.

This painting will be part of a group of skyscape works I'm creating for a 2 person art exhibit  Feb. 1st -March 7th at the Indian Hills Community College, Ottumwa, IA campus.  The other artist is my daughter, Mika Sorak.

  IHCC has a fabulous high end gallery that can easily showcase up to 120 or more paintings plus sculpture space.  Hopefully I'll remember to take a few snapshots when we have the artist's reception when the show opens.

2015 Plein Air Paint Out in Bloomfield, IA

Here's a close up of my friend Jessica Kirby painting during the 1st Plein Air Paint Out in Bloomfield, IA during the communities Special Christmas Day, Dec. 4th. 

The event was sponsored by the Davis Co. Arts Council and 9 artists from all over the state and one from MO participated.  Sign in and reception was held in the Courtyard Gallery & Studio  where we were treated like royalty. 

Here's what Hans Olson from Fairfield, IA was working on.

John Preston created 2 outstanding watercolors....took 1st place purchase award and an honorable mention.  In this photo, he's standing on the SE corner of the Courtyard lawn looking East.

.....and another view of Jessica that was set up in front of the Gallery/Studio.  I was actually parked in the middle section of the road just left of her.  I sat up my easel next to my car and was surprised at how many people walked over from the sidewalk to visit and view what I was working on.

Next time I'll remember to take more photos of everyone.  We were all in short walking distance of each other.  By the time I got around to thinking of documenting the event, most the artists had already headed to the studio to frame their finished works.

For December, we had FANTASTIC weather to work by.  It was arranged for us to work from business windows if weather had turned sour.  As it was, temp was high 40's and the wind didn't pick up until mid afternoon.  We were to be done...with work hanging by 4pm.

At Rest

Oil on 20" x 24" Stretched Canvas

Here's the last of the Civil War themed works that I'm painting for awhile.  I accomplished to get 9 paintings done in the last 3 weeks.  That's a record for me, unless you count the small 6"x 6" daily paintings.  Most of the works I've been showing of late are 20" x 24" in size.  

I've used the same approach to detail in all....leaving them like a "vignette" style where I place no detail in the background, only on what I want the viewer to focus on.  Even that area is created with a "painterly" flare.  

One more thing....I have to thank artist John Preston for introducing me to  the Turquoise color.  I'm using Turquoise Light more and more in shadow areas of my work.  It was used in this painting on the horses.  Absolutely LOVE the color when I'm using earthy shades. 

"Strategy Meeting"

20"x 24" -Oil on gallery wrap stretched canvas

There's actually richer color on the right side of this painting then what this photo shows.  I think I had some glare when photoing the oil. I tried a do over and still wasn't giving the original justice.

 My reproduction skills are still a work in progress.

This is yet another in the Civil War reenactment series. These guys were having their own little "pow-wow" during the fight.  Awwwhhhh....to eaves drop on the conversation....maybe discussing plans to hit the local coffee shop after they tied the horses up?  Hmmmmm more like  discussing plans  for supper.