In The Studio

  It's been some time since there has been a new post here... 

  Back on the home front, things are moving right along. The show of all the paintings Johnny did in Umbria has gone very well, thanks to all of our wonderful, supportive collectors. Now, it's back to work in the studio. 

  I've watched Johnny go through this routine many times, and am now used to it. He will spend several days, sometimes a week or two just "gestating"- reading books or magazines on art, watching Youtube videos of various art lectures, visiting the local museums. Then he cleans the studio. He will put everything in order, just the way he likes it. He will clean all the paint surfaces, and put down new protective paper here and there. He likes to change it up, move his things around to new places, and just get juiced up to paint.

The music corner.... along with the working clothes.

Favorite things, arranged just so.

  I like to see the studio before and after the big clean out. I will see things in corners that have either not been there before, or have gone un-noticed in the mayhem. This studio is a smaller one than some in the past, but it works, and has an outdoor painting area as well. Plus, here he has a garden, which gets fantastic warm sun in the morning. Perfect for that second cup-o-joe, while sitting for a moment.

  I'll visit, sometimes, just to see what's new, and maybe bring along something to eat or drink.

  But really, I like all the colors going on inside the studio...

One of the rooms in the studio, with just a fraction of his library here.

Tools of this trade.

   I used to roll my eyes every time Johnny would buy yet another wooden box at some antique store or garage sale. Now I see that each one has found its home, and is doing its job quite fine, thank you very much. I don't say a word anymore when I see a wooden crate or box in the back of the car...
  Boys love boxes.

Every little thing has a place.

  I don't spend much time at the studio, it really is Johnny's domain. But I'll stop by when he has new work to show me. So this week, on one visit, I could tell it was clean up time, new work time. The palette surfaces were clean, all the tubes of paint were layer out in rows of particular colors, and there were big canvases on the easels. Spic and span, so to speak.

  I just had to go back with the camera.

Boxes and cans living a new life in the studio.

Like a still life, only painty-er.

  Johnny has an amazing book collection back at home, but there is always a rotating library at his studio. He will spend hours reading and re-reading his various books. And when we have a sale, that's his self appointed reward. A new book, or three. I love this. Well, a book and a special bottle of wine, most times. 

  Always learning more and more, Johnny never tires of seeing what is new in the Art world...

Just a tiny portion of the library back at home...

  While I sit here, at the gallery....I know what he is up to most days.
  I can see him sitting with coffee in hand, and a book in his lap, staring at a new painting while thinking how it could be better.
  Or wondering if he should just scrape it down and start over.
  Or sitting with a nice glass of wine, satisfied with a job very well done, congratulating himself...as he should. When it's good, it is so good.
  I imagine these scenarios have gone on in studios all over the globe, through out time. The battles being fought....

Canvases just waiting for their day.

Early stages.

  The work. The frustration. The letdowns. The dark days.
  Then those moments of bliss, when it all comes perfectly together on one canvas. When the artist knows it's all worth it, no matter the stress, anxiety, and pressure....

  This is what makes the studio something like a sacred space, I suppose. Where artists can allow themselves to dream those dreams, while the music plays and the paint happens. The hours going by in a dream state.
  Where an artist can just be.