The magazine The Artist in it’s July issue

(http://www.painters-online.co.uk/magazines/issue.asp?issue=125)

has published an article by my husband, Mike on his experience of building a studio for me in our garden.  You can see a summary and pictures of the article in my first Blog.  It’s now been nine months since the studio was completed and I’ve been working steadily in it ever since.  During that time the temperature has fluctuated during the winter from -5C to a summer high of +26C which for the West of Scotland is unusally high.

I have an electric heater which has been perfectly adequate for the cold winter months and in the summer, with the door open or closed, it’s been comfortably cool to work in.  The two main windows are north facing and the side window and window in the door are shaded from direct sunlight by the balcony roof overhang.  I did think I would need blinds for the strong summer sunlight, but so far I haven’t found it necessary which is great, because the blinds could have greatly reduced the light.

When we first decided to build the studio we thought a good size would be 3m x 3m, however I am very pleased we chose the larger 3m x 4m size as this has enabled me to have shelving on one wall for my collection of props, books and other bits and pieces.  It’s also made it possible to paint from life without being too close to the objects.

I’ve found having my own studio and designated painting space a really liberating experience, as I can leave things set up and not worry about having to tidy everything away at the end of each day.  It’s a special place with a very relaxing atmosphere and I’m thoroughly enjoying it.

Aileen

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