New Digs! New Projects!

good news: my landlord was very supportive of my new business effort

bad news: he changed his mind. 

good news: thanks to generous friends, i have a temporary workshop that is the Ultimate Man-Cave. this guy has every Father's Day gift ever marketed by Home Depot. BOSS! just looking at all this crazy you-know-what could grow hair on my chest or lower my voice.

the workshop:

tools, anyone?

(note the super-dee-dooper long screw drivers. killer, right?!)

symmetry, grace and style! seriously, couldn't you just cry?

every nail, screw, hook, nut, washer whatever imaginable is in it's own little tiny cute, empty plastic peanut butter jar (a testament of family support) or tiny little cubby drawer. it's kind of like playing barbies - but different. 

company:

tunes (tuned to KSLX! rock on, dudes):

(that's project equity all over this baby: sawdust)

pastoral view outside the barn door:

good news: best feature ever.

bad news: no workie

the terrible teaser: it's empty.

see these arrows? 

wow.

i know, right? 

there's got to be an awesome story behind this. 

thrilled to death with the world's most ideal shop setting,for the next 3 hours i was this:

(did you know you could mop a concrete floor with wet rags wrapped around a landscaping rake? drill presses and wood lathes spiff up nicely with a little dusting...)

i set up all my stuff:

(bottles of propel water next to the milk crate - the best! 

if you visit, please bring any flavor!)

(hoarding free paint sticks & plastic spoons)

(tanner tubs)

(crackle, fancy gold & silver acrylics, shears, 

my humble genius note pad)

(extra tarps and sheets)

new projects:

two solid little ethan allen side tables from Avery Lane. the mission = stripes. 

can you visualize it? 

one sweet queen anne side table without scratch or dent:

fortunately for me, someone in the pricing department was asleep at the wheel:

and the very first thing i purchased towards my new business back in may: a french provincial night stand for about the same price as the queen anne table. no kidding.

tanner tarps down, projects moved in:

the french provincial nightstand in progress:

 

ethan allen tables in progress:

if you really want to know, when the artist is painting, stupid distractions can wreak disaster in a flash. see how i had to mark the stripes B for black? underneath the white stripes is a corresponding "w". yeah. trust me. this is rocket science and i am no fool. 

the ethan allen tables finished and curing:

(table top edging detail) 

the queen anne in progress:

going for an audubon look here

(it's not an onion, but a dutch iris bulb and root system)

(see?)

 (table top)

(crackle drawer detail)

queen anne table finished and curing:

 (table top dutch iris detail)

next post will reveal the queen anne's lace and shepherd's purse botanicals featured on the french provincial nightstand.

you're on pins and needles, i know.

a big, fat thanks to the many cheerful visitors who have come around to see what's up in the worksweatshop!

Home Studio Holy Writ

behold yon humble thrift store lamp which doth light the fertile imagination:


ye may suppose it hinteth a cecil b. demille prop room cast-off; in the which ye are mistaken. truly it doth suggest rich potential as aRt.




verily, heed ye the after pics:

lest ye esteem the process for naught, look! behold; the home studio!behold the exotic materials from which to explore the creative process!

(thank you plastic wrap for all you do 

to keep paint from drying out)

 (thank you laundry detergent marketing that 

started to offer soap in reusable buckets!)

see ye the chaos underfoot. yea, beware the mischief of curious beasts which do seek to plunder and destroy continually. 

(Grif the Curious)

likewise note that safety first doth profit the workspace.

yea, and the master of the project sayeth, "let there be adequate light," and it was good.

however, there is sore neglect of kitchen duties whilst a project is labored upon, and it is not good.

(yes, that's 1/2 cup of butter liquifying right there. 
i don't know why.)

(this is the area next to the sink, where apparently you can help yourself to some vitamin C, grab a couple of forks or a casserole dish, hammer paint and cut yourself pretty seriously.)

see ye the genius of charcoal pencils, both available in exceeding white and muted grey! yea, even such as these do merit much joy and ease of sketching upon any surface. the same requireth not nasty erasing, but do cheerfully giveth or taketh away in an instant.

now behold the secret means whereby painting with latex is as it were beloved watercolors; the mighty medium of choice:

(this stuff is awesome, awesome, awesome)

lastly, gaze ye upon the ultimate green method whereby one may paint drawer pulls.

(no healthy potatoes were injured for this photo shoot)