Oh no….

My large screen TV used as a monitor in my studio was a great friend. It worked well as a sit-down position, or moving around with a wireless keyboard, but it was also wonderful for standup work (eg painting at my easel), It had a reasonable built-in sound so I avoided speakers on the table. It did what I wanted without getting in the way.

Unfortunately, it became terminally ill and I have had to pull the studio apart to find an alternative (at a reasonable price) …   Uggh, all those wires.....

An updated Studio :: Painted & Decluttered

I'm still hobbling around a bit after a fall last month, nut these seemed the perfect time to repaint the bedroom I an using as my studio (its been accumulating junk for 25 years first as my office and them as a craft/junk room and eventually my studio)/ there was a lot to clean out (it was the council's hard rubbish collection) and the biggest ting I wanted to do was repaint, specifically to a neutral colour. I didn't mind the burgandy but it played havoc when trying to match colours and calibrate my computer screen.

I had decided on the Neutral Grey that photographers often call (18% grey card) to check colur cast and also exposure time. My theory is that this will help me with colour mixing. Very fortuiosly I visited Bunnings and got 4 litres of a nice neutral grey as close to the photographic refernce card as I could judge.

The clustered was both easier and harder to deal with. The guidig principal though is I only bring back the things I will be using and for which there is a defined place to store them. So that is dominately blank canvases, paper and sketch books. I also have watercolour and acrylic paints, brushes and accessories, pens, pencils and pastels. There are open book shelves, a slick stainless steel set of draws and a file cabent to hold all these tings. 

I also kept the old desk a a work area and place to "stack" my computer and I am intending to mount an old large flat screen tv on the wall as my main computer monitor. Still a bit of work to do here.

Packing for Travel

 
I’m about to start a period of extended travel and I’m doing a final pack. I intend to take a trimmed down version of my fold out studio, two cameras, a tripod and a laptop. The challenge is to get the “studio” (darker blue travel bag) and supplies (in the light blue folio) and the portable tripod (black tubular bag) into my case. Not a lot of room for clothes! That space also has to house battery & phone charges, wifi modem, spare cables and a chromecast dongle etc. However it all fits and only 16kg all up with clothes and shoes, should be airline friendly. I will be carrying my laptop, USB drive (for ongoing backup) and extra camera body in a backpack and the lenses and first body in my camera bag (collectively another 6kg). So I can easily hand carry everything if necessary. However the proof of wise packing will unfold as I go along. Let’s hope I have all that I want and not too much more.

CreativeSpaces :: What is a “fold out” studio?

It’s really nothing fancy, “”fold out” studio is just my name for a portable workspace (and specifically the equipment and media for it). I have had a fair bit of practise in creating such a “portable” studio. One of my favourite places to create is in a place down the coast, a couple of hours drive. To use it I must include all I want in the back of the car (space is generally limited) and I need to be able to hand carry the bits, thus weight has also been a consideration.

I think it is reasonable to assume anywhere that can make a functional studio space is likely to already have a table (or desk), chair (or stool), access to water & power. From the car boot experience I like to have everything fit in a canvas style duffle bag or a couple of smaller carry bags. Fitting it all in a duffle bag also means when necessary it can easily become standard luggage for flying (ok not much room left for clothes).  It also needs to fit in the bottom shelf of my studio cupboard.

What I expect to be able to do it is is sketch, paint and also take or process (lots of) photos. I also want to be able to use my basic tool kit of photo management and post processing software (ie I need a computer and preferably access to the internet). I also prefer music (usually jazz) when I’m creating (I have an old IPod nano but I find my phone does just as well and I usually have a selection of music on the Laptop as well). Earbuds/headphones so I don't annoy others

So what goes in the Duffle Bag?

• Sketching gear, Optionally [Plein-air Sketching Kit, or Portable Sketching Desk]
• Painting media pencils, watercolour [Pastels,Acrylic]
• Brush Roll(s)
• Surfaces, Sketch books, good watercolour paper, Small “test” canvases
• Light Drawing Board (fits into base width of Duffle Bag)
• Folding Easel
• Empty Trays and Containers
• Old Towels (as Padding, Cleanup &/or Drop Cloth)
• Power Board (not shown)

Other Items Hand Carried.

• Android Phone (LG 7L)
• DSLR Camera (usually my Pentax K20D)
• Laptop (Toshiba)
• USB Backpack Harddrive (for backup, extra music)
• WiFi Modem
• Battery chargers

The Making of Patch Submission II

I took these photos back on the first of January principally as an illustration of New Year and Renewal, the first challenge for the Patch. Hopefully they tell the story of one of my new year resolutions, to clean up my studio. Then I re-read the challenges and realised it was more appropriate for the second week theme Resolution and Renewal. Sounds good, just wait, and in waiting I thought it would be good to create a montage/collage with a new page showing the messy floor being turned to reveal a clean floor. That was a good idea until +Laura Rivera  posted a very good new page turning on her diary for her first submission. Great photo nicely execution. Back to the drawing board for me! My next idea was just to have an overlapping collage. Looks ok but… the story seems back to front. So then I came up with the idea of printing out the photos, shredding them, collecting the pieces and reassembling a composite image. A bit more abstract this time Fair bit of work but I needed to convince myself this is a resolution I’m going to keep. Just in case your wondering yes I have cleaned up and things are “mostly” still tidy. If you want to see the final submission you’ll find it here.