So this is what my in-house studio looked like before we started painting:
It originally was a little girl’s room and I’m sure she loved it. I would’ve loved it as a little girl, before I decided dresses were icky (I was eight). And pink is supposedly one of the creative colors, so at first I thought I could handle it. But it never really felt like a real studio to me. It felt like I was borrowing space, playing pretend artist. And so Himself-who has a tone of glee in his voice when he introduces me as “my wife, the artist“-decided we needed to paint. Because he fully believes in me, so much so that he describes the job he has now (for which we labored five years to get the proper degree) as our funding money.
It’s fortunate he has that much faith because it frequently is my buoy. I don’t put the word artist in air quotes anymore but I don’t frequently introduce my self as one, because I usually have my three kids with me and I get the sense that they’re (family, friends, random people) putting artist in air quotes. And I know it’s a crapshoot, this whole artist gig. Some get discovered, more do not; some get discovered that shouldn’t, and some really deserving artists never get looked at.
But I would never forgive myself if I didn’t try (and that’s the moral of this tale;).
So I’m intentionally acting like an artist, at least what I think of an artist as being. I have a studio. I’m establishing working hours, as much as possible with three kids who are homeschooled. I’ve got a board on Pinterest labeled “Comfy Fashion” that I pin artist-styled clothes to (I’m changing over my wardrobe slowly). I’m trying to be fearless in the presentation of my work, which I’m sure many of you know is hard because we can see All. The. Flaws. There are plans for me to get a studio in this amazing mall area for artists (in a year or so, I only have three pieces currently that I feel I could showcase). There’s a local arts and crafts farmer’s market nearby I’m interested in. Forward momentum.
But enough of that. Back to the painting of the studio, which I’m really, really excited about.
We went with the whitest white they had (we also used this color in our bedroom, which was painted teal, which covered an interesting shade of pink, which was covering a lighter shade of green). The lady at Home Depot gave us a weird look and made sure we knew that this wasn’t really a color, it was just white, were we absolutely sure? And yes, yes we were. I think we’re both still a bit shell-shocked by the interesting colors the rooms in this house have been painted.
I’ll accessorize, of course, and plan out how I want to display my art, but after years of bemoaning that I couldn’t paint the walls of our apartment/rented house (we’ve lived in a variety of places) I have discovered that I like neutrals. It also means that I won’t have to repaint if we ever decide to sell (which I think was a HUGE factor in us getting this house way below market value-the walls were hideous. I mean, dark green florals, peach, bright pink, teal …).
Anyway.
Awesome, right? Unless you don’t like white, in which case the room may seem a bit boring. I’ve been hanging up pictures and I plan on buying curtains one of these days so the brightness will be toned down a wee bit (but not too much). Himself insisted on rearranging the room and I quite like it. I especially like it on the rare mornings I wake up first and manage to make coffee without waking anyone else up and then I get to sit ALL BY MYSELF at that desk, watching the sun awaken.
I’ve been assured that one day kids decide waking up early is awful and that they will sleep in. I’m looking forward to this day.
Happy Friday!
Wordsremember 