Art in a tight space

Nice carpet & Fines!!

Many years ago, when I was first starting out in the world as an artist, we had no money for a studio space or separate area to create an “art mess”.  We lived in a two bedroom apartment with no studio style flooring and to be quite honest it was a challenge.

How do you do art – create and be free to create – in a small space, carpet on the floors, nice carpet, and fines and penalties looming over you if you drip or splatter even a little bit?

My solution:  I switched from acrylic to watercolor.

Watercolor required less room and is easily doable on any table surface.  If you’re able to purchase a length of gatorboard or make a  table surface out of laminated plywood or simply primed plywood.  Any of these options create an easy surface to tape your paintings to, prop them up against a couch or work flat on the floor.  Voila!  You now have an easy “work table” that is portable and more versatile.

What about the “Big Ones”

What happens when you have that great idea for a big artistic piece and a 7 ft piece of plywood or gatorboard table is a bit over the top?

There was a big show, my very first, and the entry limit was 6 ft.  Of course that’s what I wanted – to push the limit and make a painting 6 ft.  I taped trash bags to one of the walls and onto a bit of the floor in our little walk in storage closet.  I sewed the canvas into a banner with a wooden dowel across the top and bottom.  Put one nail at the top and bottom and primed and painted away.

 

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