HOME ART STUDIO OR SEPARATE STUDIO SPACE?

My art studio is in my home. It hasn’t always been; I’ve had three outside studios over the years. I wanted an art studio away from my house to keep my workspace separate from my home. And I loved it. But now I’m back at home. Again.

Here’s why I work from my home studio.

My first art studio was in a little house we named the ‘Love Shack.’ It had a vintage but adorable kitchen, hardwood floors, and, more importantly, I shared it with two of my creative friends. One a floral designer, the other a photographer. We ripped up the carpet in the shared space, painted the walls ourselves, and hosted a couple of art shows there. However, my boys were in elementary and middle school, and the studio was in the opposite direction of carpool pickup. And then summer hit, school got out, and I found myself painting in my home art studio to be near them.

The second art studio was in the other direction, in a not-so-nice industrial park. But I shared it with other artists, had decent light, and the rent was cheap. I didn’t love it like the first one, but I got a hella lot done there every day.

By then, our boys were in middle school and high school. And summer hit, and school got out. We have a pool in our backyard, and guess where the boys spent their time? Oh, and all their friends. And yes, I loved every minute of it. But, I felt like I needed to be nearby as they and their friends played ‘pool basketball’ and shoved each other around like boys that age do. So I painted at my home art studio. And I wavered. Then my studio had a big rock thrown through the picture glass window in the middle of the night. I decided it was time to move on.

Then came my favorite studio.

My last art studio was lovely. It was in an old house near the monthly gallery crawls in a historic part of town. Best of all, I shared it with a group of 12 or so other artists. My studio was large and gorgeous. Well-lit, hardwood floors (after we pulled up the carpet), a fireplace that didn’t work but had a beautiful mantle, and a porch that I could walk out on to varnish my work. We held several art shows in the common areas and joined the local Friday night gallery crawl. But it was a long way from my house to commute each day. I did it before, back in my twenties when I was in the corporate world, but I didn’t know if I wanted to do it again. And then, the pandemic hit, and I moved everything back to my home art studio. Again.

I’m still working in my home studio.

My kids are now grown, and I have lots of space, so it didn’t make sense to move back uptown, although I enjoyed the camaraderie and beautiful space. I like painting at home and enjoy the ease that came with walking from the kitchen to my art studio.

I do have to be more diligent about my studio hours, and I keep my studio space completely separate from my office. (We converted my kids’ former playroom into space, so look for more photos and the story behind that transition.) When I go into the spare room that I call my studio, there is nothing else for me to do but paint. Which, frankly, I need.

I think I’ll stay put for a while, working in my home art studio. Unless, of course, I can someday build an art studio space in my backyard.

Now THAT would be ideal.

Want to read more about discipline and working from home as an artist? Or what I paint in my studio?