What Every Artist Needs to Know: Setting Up our Home Art Studio

When we start out painting, we may think - a home art studio? Why do we need a studio?

We don't all need a formal art studio, but we do need a special place to do our painting. Art is exciting and we are anxious to get started.

A dedicated space where our supplies are available, puts us into an artistic mindset whenever we go there. That makes it easier to get the creative juices flowing.

Our Home Studio

How much space do we need in our studio?

We don’t need a whole big art studio for creative painting. A dedicated painting space makes our painting more convenient. Plus, we are likely to paint more often.

While visiting a fellow artist, I saw her art supplies out on the short part of her ell shaped eating bar (approximately 3 feet). She said, she paints there every evening.

It was amazing that she turns out so many lovely watercolor paintings from such a small space. She said she enjoys being by the rest of the household, instead of away in a separate room.

If there is an extra bedroom, a dining room, the attic, basement, garage or any other unused space, go for it. Even a walk-in closet will make a great home art studio.

We can paint on a desk, a fold-up table, a roll-away cart, an easel in the living room or even part of the eating bar.

When my husband and I lived in a one-bedroom apartment there was no extra space for painting. When it was painting time, my portable easel got set up in the middle of the living room floor. It worked just fine. We use what is available.

Painting takes total concentration and gets our mind off of everything else. Relieving stress is one of the reasons we paint.

One time my high school counselor mentioned that she paints every evening. She said she paints in her basement. She goes there in the evenings to paint and unwind from work.

Good light is the most important part of our studio.

light and ventilation in the home art studio

Good light and ventilation are imperative for our special painting place.

what Do we Paint on?

What we paint on depends on our painting medium. We may paint on an easel, table or a counter.

Oils and acrylics are usually painted on an easel. If we sit to paint, a table easel is the best option.

Watercolors are easy to do on a desk, counter, table or a drafting table. If we paint watercolors standing up, place a 2x4 wood block under the top edge of the painting. The block tilts the painting up for comfortable painting access.

do we stand or sit to paint?

We may either stand or sit. Different people paint different ways.

Standing imparts a freedom in our paintings. Our arms and hands are both free for movement and expression.

Sometimes we have to sit, but that doesn't stop us from painting. Some artist may even paint in their lap.

We need our own painting place

an Organized art place is convenient

We need to have our painting supplies organized, handy and ready to use.

• Keep an adequate supply of materials. There is nothing worse than running out of our favorite color in the middle of a painting.
• There are many innovative ways to store our paint supplies. We may use shelves, boxes, baskets, cans, vases or glasses.
• Even a fishing tackle box makes a good art box. That's what held my oil paints and brushes for years. Necessity makes us very inventive.
• A clean organized space makes painting pleasant and more inspiring.

We probably have heard of writer’s block. There is also such a thing as an artist’s block. One of the ways to prevent an artist's painting block is to keep the painting area organized.

Without any distractions, our creative juices can flow and painting is fun.

Make your home art studio comfortable and convenient, so it's always ready to produce awesome paintings.

have fun painting!