I have been thinking of an ideal work studio space for millions of years. I will never be done with defining the idea, it will constantly be changing and expanding. For now, I found the best images to transfer and overlay on my light table. When I trace something it becomes real for me. I get to know it well. That’s why I have been quiet. I have been sketching what I really want.
My work space desires have not strayed much from when I was about 12 years old. The first work space I can remember was a storage closet under the basement stairs. It had a single bulb with a pull chain to light dusty wood planks on the left. All I can remember is heavy books of my Dads with flowers inside that had been in there for months being pressed. My signature is still visible on the right side of the door.
This first work space is a studio situated on the tippy top of some jungle with bright green trees. I would like the adventure of climbing up to the top. It would be a bummer if my pen dropped over the edge and it would be tough to haul the light table up there. The views and sounds would be delicious.
This is a tracing of Philippe Starck, a French product designer. His designs range from interior designs to mass-produced consumer goods such as toothbrushes, chairs, and even houses. I like this idea, number 1: he is a super successful guy and number 2: he works outside naked. I am pretty sure this space is at his Formentera House built in 1995, found in my book titled, Starck, published by Taschen.
The example of Ted DeGrazia’s studio and museum in Tucson, Arizona has subtle creative hints of the artist everywhere. I wouldn’t want to live in the adobe buildings on site but on a macro level I like the artistic details like ocotillo branches and saguaro ribs used as fence pickets and wind chimes. DeGrazia cut up and painted aluminum cans to make flowers. The flowers really get to me. Most everything is pretty raw and tough, the permanent perennials soften heavy post and beam entry ways. Studio space could be an expression of an artist constantly experimenting with ideas. I know most artist’s spaces are always filled with mismatched accumulation.
Sara Werthan Buttenwieser of Crafted Lives said it best in American Craft Magazine that ,“…my (studio) resemble artists’ houses, which also display respect and admiration for each other’s work via similarly stocked shelves.
Then there is the image of a modern farm house that appeals to me. A rural setting with wide open plains but at thick wall of trees to protect the house. It would be respectful of the historic simple farm house but have a modern forward stance with an amplified porch. The symmetry would be proud and provide shade all year long. Inside the work space could be filled with light to bounce off wood floors. The walls would be simple white to showcase minimal art pieces. It could be about waking up to inspiration on a daily basis.
While putting the finishing touches on the sketches you see here, I discovered how to define the profile around the building in a different way. After I had finished hand rendering the blue in the sky with Non-Photo-Blue Prisma pencil, I scanned it. Once I brought the image into Photoshop I matched the blue with Eye Dropper Tool and then used pencil in a number 5 to profile the roofline. I love how it came out. I added bright white with a transparency to the columns and pediment to make it POP.