Monday, June 23, 2008

Ta-Daaa!


So here it is - a shot of the painting area of my new studio. These are just my basic supplies as I am still trying to finish up painting the trim before I really junk the place up.

I did a whole batch of underpaintings on Monday up there and it was lovely. The work didn't seem to be affected by the move (yet) but it did take some time to settle in a bit. I spent a lot of time moving things around, getting the placement of the easels and tables just right and especially adjusting the lamps over my easel (mainly I paint at the one on the left). It was difficult to get them in the right place because of the sloped ceiling, which I almost immediately dented with the halogen lamp.

I suspect I will be moving things around quite a bit more before things feel right.

One thing that is right is the color. While I appreciate the clean look of a white studio, it is not for me. I like to feel all cozy and tucked in when I am in my studio, and actually in any room that I am in in my house (none of which have white walls) and white walls just don't do that for me. But since most of the studio walls are actually the sloped ceiling, and because of the limited natural light I decided to paint the ceiling an off white; the same creamy white color (Aspic from Sherwin Williams) that we used on all of the trim in the house, as well as the ceiling in our bedroom, which is very similar to the studio. But then I had to contend with the short knee walls. I considered painting them Aspic too, but then well, the room would have seemed white. After collecting a ton of paint chips, I finally settled on a dark color called Peppercorn from Sherwin Williams. Even though it is pretty intense, it is actually a pretty neutral color, not exactly blue or green or brown and not too cool or too warm. Neutral. I also hoped that by just using it on the side walls that it would help to make the room seem a bit more spacious.

Even though I was sure about this color, I have to admit to being a bit nervous when I painted the first wall section. If I was wrong about it, it would be a real pain in the neck to change! Luckily, though by the time I was about halfway done with the first side, I was liking it and when it was finished I REALLY liked it. Phew.

After all that drama however, it probably won't really matter what color I decided on. I am pretty sure that soon I will have a lot of crap lining those walls and I'll never see Peppercorn again.

Jim, the floor guy came last week and sanded and polyurethaned the floors over the course of several days. As we suspected, the floors were the same wood that is in much of the rest of our house; pumpkin pine. No stain necessary, the warm orange of the wood was enough color for me and really contrasts perfectly with the wall colors. I am giddy about how beautiful the floor is. I will even admit to rolling around on it a few times. Heh. (actually I am not kidding)

The beams are amazing, even if they are kind of in the way and it hurts a lot to bump into them. Jim said he has seen only one other house in the area with this sort of diagonal structure. Our house is over 200 years old and is pretty dang plumb all things considered and these beams have a lot to do with that. They are connected to each other with pegs, not nails and you can see the hatchet marks where they were cut. As soon as I finish up the walls, I am going to give the beams a good coat of tung oil. I think they deserve it after all their hard work.


So there you go. This project cost twice as much as we expected, but I think it will be worth it. I am pretty sure that there will be some good art made up there.

Here are some pictures of the progress.

Painting the walls:


At first I was deathly afraid of walking out on this 2 foot wide ledge in order to paint the wall and ceiling. I was afraid that I would lose my balance, hit the stairs and break something. But by the first coat of Peppercorn on the wall I was practically bustin' some Coyote Ugly moves out there and feeling pretty pleased with myself.


Finished stairs and studio floor:

Still have to finish painting the trim and railing, but I also have a temporary table set up to prep a few panels 'cause I have a show in July to prepare for:

So-o-o, watchya think?

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

love the studio. you are so lucky to have pumpkin pine floors and real post and beams. great creative space.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely gorgeous. I'd love to have a space like that. Thanks for the details of the beams.

Giselle C. Gautreau said...

Those floors are amazing. Can't blame you at all for rolling around on them. I love the closeup shots of the beams too. Beautiful.

Enjoy settling in to your new space!

Arco Scheepen said...

I absolutely envy you.
I try to work in a kind of closet and could only wish to have a room like this. Great!

Anonymous said...

Awesome studio. Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!
Aunt Shirley

Unknown said...

Wow...more beautiful than I could ever have imagined. Good luck on your show in July.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely stunning! That's the studio I have imagined for 20 years. Do you know the history of the house?

Kim Morin Weineck said...

Keep the photos coming. I can't wait to see it all filled up! What a fun time for you! Enjoy it.

Anonymous said...

Oooohhhhh! Yum! I am so jealous!

Anonymous said...

I think it will be a wonderful place to paint. You're up in the sky with the birdies; it will give you a whole new perspective. The floors are beautiful and the beams are very special. Such a sense of history to be living in a 200-year-old house! Almira

gary rith said...

oh-my-goodness, and look at the plank floors!

Natalya Khorover Aikens said...

fabulous!!! totally having studio envy now.... enjoy enjoy!

Deborah Paris said...

Fantastic, Tracy. The floors are to die for and I love the beams! Your wall color looks familiar. Its very similar to the color I used for some of the walls for my studio in NM and will do so again here if I ever get around to it. It was a different brand but looks like the same color- you will like it and I think using it for just a portion of the walls was a great choice. Plus art looks great on it! You must be so happy-congratulations!

Anonymous said...

WHOOOAAAA!!!! Beautiful! I'm totally jealous! Congrats, on a new space to inspire you!
Cheers!
Takeyce

vivien said...

absolutely beautiful and I really envy you!

Jeanette Jobson said...

Beautiful space. Beautiful colour choices. Beautiful floors.

Its all wonderful and I want it. :)

n warner said...

You've got a really cool work space...
great pumpkin flooring, cool lighting
and all I can think of is in the winters the heat rises, so it's gonna be a great year round spot to work your wonder. Jealous is too simple a word...insanely jealous is more apt!
:-) Nina

Anonymous said...

yay, it looks beautiful! And I bet the best part is going to be getting all the free room downstairs as well!

Don't forget your husbands office!

Stacey Peterson said...

Oh my God - those floors are beautiful!!! If they were in my house, I would probably roll around on them too. BEAUTIFUL!

Thanks for the pix of the studio space. When we build our new house this year, my studio will be a sort of similar space with knee walls and the vaulted ceiling, so it's fun to see what you've done with it!

Tracy Helgeson said...

Wow, thanks everyone!

Melody said...

Wow, absolutely wonderful. A studio most artists would only dream of........me included. I'm so happy for you.

sixty-five said...

Ditto what everyone said. Wonderful studio, wonderful blog. Might I ask if you'd write at some point and in some detail about the lighting?

Katherine Kean said...

It's a beautiful studio! Love the floors and beams. Great job.

Making A Mark said...

I love it! Love the floors, love the peppercorn, love all the odd shapes, love the pegs and proper construction, love all those bay areas for doing different things in.

I bet you it looks great even when you've mussied it up a bit.

I think you ought to take a photo once a month for the first year so we can see how it evolves - and because I like looking at it (and I think other people do too!)

This is definitely one for 'who's made a mark this week' on Sunday!

Casey Klahn said...

Peerless studio, Tracy. We have the old wood floors in our 94 y.o. house, which reminds me a lot of yours. No better substrate for yer legs to stand on doing painting.

The key to your layers will be that lighting, as you know. I want to know more about how and what lights you use, please.

Antony Bridge said...

woo, awesome studio. you should upload to www.artistsarea.co.uk