Studio Update

I have had many updates in the first two weeks of 2013.  First of all, I changed the web service for my website.  I decided to go with Weebly.  I heard about them from a fellow blogger and thought I would check it out - especially when I learned that my old service FASO would only allow me to send Newsletters to five people.  FIVE can you believe that?!  I know I was only paying the minimal rate of $8.00 per month, but that adds up to like $96.00 a year. That could by a lot of paint and brushes!   Another thing I wanted was a website that didn't look like 10,000 other artists websites.

So I checked Weebly out and I liked what I saw.  Most of all it is free.  You can sign up for a paid service, but I have everything I need on the free service.  No need to buy a domain either.

Weebly uses pick up and drop boxes so designing the pages are really easy and they have a lot of design templates to choose from.

Here is a screen shot of me editing a page.  In the e-commerce section you can write text next to your pictures.  I like the looks of this a lot.

Here is a link to my new website.  Please note: It is still under construction.

 OTHER CHANGES GOING ON!


My husband has been hard at work helping me update my studio for the new year.  He has built me a ton of new things.  He is such a great guy and so good at making things.   I am so grateful for his love and support of me and my art!

First thing he helped me build was a new shadow box.  This was from instructions from Mark Carder's website DrawMixPaint.

The rectangular box on top holds the light.  The roof of the shadow box and the light box can be moved around to adjust the position of the light.  Materials (not including paint) for this project cost about $70.00US.




He also made me some New Shelves

They are just made from plywood and 2 X 4's but with a coat of paint they look really nice.  There is a large counter on top.  On this end I store my art books.  In the long shelves I will store paper and misc items.  On the other end are more shelves where I store my mediums and varnishes.



He also built me a shelf to fit in my storage closet.  But I liked it so much I put it in the studio.

Another thing he made me was  a new vertical easel panel holder.

As you can see from the picture, it is adjustable at the bottom with those routed out sections so I can hold any panel from 4" to 12" and they are not buried in a deep shelf.




Here is a shot of my desk that I stuck in the closet of my studio.

So I am all set to create in 2013!  I am already very pleased with the direction my painting has taken and can't wait to do more.

While working on the updates of the studio and in participating in Leslie Saeta's 30 in 30 challenge, I have been contemplating just how much time I spend on my art.  I am also curious about how others (you!) spend their/your time.

How much time do you estimate that you spend actually with pencil or brush in hand creating your art?  And how much time do you spend in activities that support your art? i.e., shopping, blogging, making panels, reading, shipping etc....

Please take a moment to fill out this anonymous survey. (use the little toggle on the side to move up and down within the survey)

If I get enough responses, I will post them here later.

Thanks for reading and participating.  I love reading all of your comments.