Tag: art

5 tips to make your artist studio more productive

5 tips to make your artist studio more productive

Having a home studio provides flexibility like no other place. But, to get the most out of it, you need to make wise decisions with the resources you have. And, no matter how much space you have, there are always small things that you can do to make your artist studio more productive. So, here are some valuable tips to help you make the most of your space and get more done.

Make your workspace the focus

One of the first things you must do is make your workspace as clear as possible. This is the focus of your studio: whether it’s an easel, pottery wheel, kiln or drawing board, keeping this area your focus will ensure you set to work quickly.

For best working conditions, keep this area clear. Each night, after you finish working for the day, clear up what you can. This way, you’ll enter into a clean studio each day, fresh for new ideas.

Stand up your desk

Many people who work in an office use a standing desk. Standing desks have been shown to have many physical benefits like decreased risk of obesity and diabetes and improved mental clarity and mood. But there’s another benefit to getting off your butt – standing up increases the blood flow to your legs, which will help you focus better when you sit back down.

Using a standing desk can make you feel more proactive and increase your ability to work.

Have spaces to think

Thinking over your work is an essential part of any art process. Building space into your studio specifically for thinking, brainstorming, and planning will help you to develop projects better. Get a comfy chair (some feel good massage chairs if you really want to relax your brain!) and leave some paper and pens around in case you need to write anything down.

Add lighting to highlight your workspace

Light is essential to all artwork. Getting bright lights to ensure you can see your work at all times is key. Think about where is best to place your lighting. Consider where shadows will fall: where would benefit from brightness, and where would benefit from darkness.

Natural light inspires productivity, so if you can access a big window, place your workspace near it.

Utilise storage and have an organisational system

As with any space, it’s important to utilise storage and an organisational system. You have the opportunity to be creative and use the area in various ways. But if you don’t have a plan beforehand, you may end up with chaos.

One way to create storage is by installing shelves on the walls. This allows you to make use of the vertical space, which is often overlooked but can be utilised in many ways. This will help de-clutter your floor space and allow for more room to work. If you have lots of supplies, this is a cost-effective way to minimise clutter and maximise your workspace.

Another tip is having an organisational system that works for you, your specific needs and your level of efficiency. This can be anything from how you organise your desk or how you store materials for projects at hand.

Using bins can help keep things more organised and help you quickly find what you are looking for. You might want to use different methods depending on the type of project or client you are working with and what stage it is in (i.e., idea stage versus final product).

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Price Points: Rustic artworks

Rustic artworks

I’m on the look out for something very, very particular to hang on a wall in our dining room – rustic artworks. It’s probably the most niche thing I’ve ever featured here on our blog.

We have lots of paintings, prints and other wall hangings that we brought with us from our old house. Unfortunately, very few of them suit the décor of this cottage. They’re either too modern, too colourful or the subject matter doesn’t sit well in this setting.

I want one or more rustic home fare, still life artworks. To explain, the subject matter needs to be rustic food in the home; either eating it, preparing & cooking it or simply just set out as a vignette. It can’t show a lavish spread or feast, that would be out of keeping with our humble cottage.

Secondly, I’d like the scene to appear as though it could be located in rural Wales (I told you it was niche!). It can’t look like it’s in the Mediterranean with olives and vine tomatoes or somewhere even more tropical with a bowl of mangoes, bananas and pineapples in a fruit bowl. Similarly, something obviously in a town or city wouldn’t look right.

Thirdly, I want it to appear as though it’s set in the early 19th century or earlier. No electric lights, kitchen appliances or other modern trappings.

One of the three (I’m sure you can work out which it is) on my shortlist ticks every one of my boxes. But I think it would look really twee and obvious – what do you think?

  1. La Soupière Blanche (The White Soup Tureen) by Anne Vallayer-Coster (1744-1818): £5.95 – £62.95, PosterLounge
    The original oil painting is held in a private collection in Paris.
  2. Market Day in Old Wales by Sydney Curnow Vosper (1866-1942): £10 – £90
    The original watercolour is in the permanent collection of National Museum Wales
  3. Two Peasants Feasting by Adriaen van Ostade (1610-1685): $219 – $1,797.00
    The original oil painting is in the permanent collection of Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister – Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden.

shop rustic artworks

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Prices & links correct at time of publication.

Two Peasants Feasting by Adriaen van Ostade
Two Peasants Feasting by Adriaen van Ostade
$219 - $1,797.00
Market Day in Old Wales by Sydney Curnow Vosper
Market Day in Old Wales by Sydney Curnow Vosper
£10 - £90
La Soupière Blanche (The White Soup Tureen) by Anne Vallayer-Coster
La Soupière Blanche (The White Soup Tureen) by Anne Vallayer-Coster
£5.95 - £62.95
Two Peasants Feasting by Adriaen van Ostade
Two Peasants Feasting by Adriaen van Ostade
$219 - $1,797.00
Market Day in Old Wales by Sydney Curnow Vosper
Market Day in Old Wales by Sydney Curnow Vosper
£10 - £90
La Soupière Blanche (The White Soup Tureen) by Anne Vallayer-Coster
La Soupière Blanche (The White Soup Tureen) by Anne Vallayer-Coster
£5.95 - £62.95
Two Peasants Feasting by Adriaen van Ostade
Two Peasants Feasting by Adriaen van Ostade
$219 - $1,797.00
Market Day in Old Wales by Sydney Curnow Vosper
Market Day in Old Wales by Sydney Curnow Vosper
£10 - £90
La Soupière Blanche (The White Soup Tureen) by Anne Vallayer-Coster
La Soupière Blanche (The White Soup Tureen) by Anne Vallayer-Coster
£5.95 - £62.95
Two Peasants Feasting by Adriaen van Ostade
Two Peasants Feasting by Adriaen van Ostade
$219 - $1,797.00
Market Day in Old Wales by Sydney Curnow Vosper
Market Day in Old Wales by Sydney Curnow Vosper
£10 - £90
La Soupière Blanche (The White Soup Tureen) by Anne Vallayer-Coster
La Soupière Blanche (The White Soup Tureen) by Anne Vallayer-Coster
£5.95 - £62.95
Two Peasants Feasting by Adriaen van Ostade
Two Peasants Feasting by Adriaen van Ostade
$219 - $1,797.00
Market Day in Old Wales by Sydney Curnow Vosper
Market Day in Old Wales by Sydney Curnow Vosper
£10 - £90
La Soupière Blanche (The White Soup Tureen) by Anne Vallayer-Coster
La Soupière Blanche (The White Soup Tureen) by Anne Vallayer-Coster
£5.95 - £62.95

Designer Desire: Walter Lambert

Montage of Walter Lambert paintings

Last week, we featured Louis Shabner and his kitsch portraits of pretty women. In doing our research on him, we discovered Walter Lambert. He’s probably not as well known as some of his contemporaries of a similar ilk; Shabner, Tretchikoff and Lynch. However, we think that he’s as talented as any of them.

He worked from the 1930s until the 60s creating the Leyland Ladies – portraits for the company’s annual calendar (examples of which are on the top row in the montage above). Many of the original oil on canvas Leyland artworks now reside at the British Commercial Vehicle Museum in Leyland, Lancashire.

In the late 1960s, he painted a number of covers for the Princess Tina weekly magazine and annuals. The readership was young, teen girls so the subject matter reflects this. Three examples are included above; 2nd row and 3rd row, left.

Stuart Webb (who recently wrote a book about Shabner) is lucky enough to own a few original Walter Lambert artworks – go check them out!

Item credits:
Art UK | Comic Fans | Flickr | Invaluable

Designer Desire: Louis Shabner

Montage of Louis Shabner paintings

There were a number of mid-century artists who specialised in producing kitsch portraits of beautiful, young women. Louis Shabner was one of the more well known, alongside Vladimir Tretchikoff and J H Lynch.

His subjects look like glamorous Bond girls and have names like Ursula, Nicola, Melanie, Gail, Ingrid and Sara. At the time, his works were widely retailed by Boots the Chemists and through Freemans catalogues. Today, you can readily come across these original vintage prints of his for sale on eBay and Etsy.

Born in Enfield, Middlesex, Louis Shabner began his artistic career designing shop window advertising for brands such as EveryReady, Ovaltine and Chivers.

During the 1950s & 60s, and working under the pseudonym of ‘Sheldon’, Shabner was the creator of pulp fiction book cover artworks – primarily for Pan.

Stuart Webb recently authored a book on Shabner – unfortunately, the hardback edition is already sold out and is out of print. However, the paperback version is now available.

Image credit:
American Gallery