Thursday, March 24, 2011

Spin and the re-vamped studio

It's been a while!  Again.  I'm hanging my head, totally disappointed in myself.  Now that I've "stepped" back in here, I've taken the hardest step.  I've been painting and it feels great.  I didn't post step by steps for these but instead will post the finished pieces. 

Nothing great, just having fun and getting back into it. 

But first, I have to explain that my kitten died.  By the time Scottie was about 2 1/2 months old, his health went downhill very fast.  The vet said he was born with a heart defect - that his body was growing bigger but his heart was staying the same size as a tiny kitten heart and it couldn't keep up.  He also said there was an extremely loud heart murmur and that such heart murmurs were rare in cats and even rarer in kittens.  Scottie was SUCH a sweetheart, always wanting to be cuddled.  I like to think that we made his last days easier and comfortable.  The tough part was that I lost two cats within three months, both to heart problems. 

Spin, on the other hand, is doing wonderful.  She's just been spayed (three weeks ago) and is now back to her crazy-playful self.  She is the most curious cat I've ever seen!  Here she is sitting on a shelf in my painting room / studio. 

One of the things that got me back in here was that I revamped my studio.  Put in lots of those plastic drawers for storage, got rid of a lot of unused things and plan on putting a LOT of paintings up all over the walls.   I took the shelving unit out of the closet and instead, put in a shelf and those drawers.  I like it much better.  BUT, I couldn't throw out that shelving unit so I put it to the back of my painting table which gives me lots more space there, too.  All in all, I have much more space to work and enjoy it a lot more.  Sometimes, I put one of Spin's beds up on the painting table and she loves sleeping there.  That's only if I'm working at a different table or the computer because I've found she cannot sit on the table with me as I paint.  That creates major problems!  More pics to follow ......


11 comments:

Unknown said...

Sorry to read about your kitten dying, but glad to know Spin is right there with you. I really like the way you've organized your studio; I have the same problem: not much space and a lot of art things sitting around looking disorganized. I like the closet idea and the way your storage looks. I think I'll copy your idea. Thanks for sharing it.
Sincerely,
Linda

Deb Léger said...

Hi LInda,

thanks very much for your thoughts. The closet originally had a kind of bi-fold doors on it and I just unhinged them and completely removed them. There's a piece of cut wood on top of those drawers that I can actually use as a counter-top / more working space. Like you, I was getting very frustrated at the disorganization.

Sherry Maxwell said...

I to want to say sorry about the kitten. Spin is beautiful! She looks just like the mother to my cat who is now 15 yrs old. dread the day. Your new area in your studio is great. what a wonderful idea. Very useful. I to work in a very tight space. My husband was working on a nice studio in our garage, but we both lost our jobs 2 yrs ago. I can't work and his new job doesn't pay much. So things like that is on hold for now. Look forward to seeing more of your work. Its just beautiful art that you do. Thanks for sharing your new setup.
Sherry

Teresa Palomar Lois said...

There she is, gorgeous!Though I panic a bit seeing her sitting so close to that painting, as if she could still turn her head and decide to make a mess lol

Rebecca J. Dunn said...

Hi Deborah,
So sorry to hear of your loss. We lost our Layla and Gracie over a period of just a few months and it was devastating. Happy to know Spinner is doing well. I've enjoyed visiting your blog. Thanks for sharing your experiences with your studio. I need to do some major culling in mine!

Gary L. Everest said...

Hi Deb,
Welcome back! I often visit your site and was hoping you'd be back. So sorry to learn about the death(s) of two cats. We're cat people, too, and lost one a few years ago. They are such amazing animals.
Enjoy the re-born studio and I'm looking forward to ever more wonderful paintings.
Sincerely,
Gary.

Deb Léger said...

Hi Sherry, thanks for such kind words! Spin has quite the character. I hope you have many, many more years with your cat.

When we first moved to this house, I thought I'd be in heaven with an entire bedroom for a studio. It sure got small fast. Those drawers are from Walmart and they were about $25 each set, so I thought that was a great bargain. I wish you and your husband loads of luck and will think really positive thoughts about you.

Deb Léger said...

Hi Teresa! Yes, there she is. Looking for some brushes to chew on, which she loves to do. That painting was dry which fooled her all to pieces! lol

Deb Léger said...

Hi Gary, thanks for visiting and keeping faith and hope in me. Yes, cats are amazing. Especially as you slowly discover their personalities. More paintings should come soon .......

Deb Léger said...

Hi Rebecca, it must have indeed been devasting for you, losing your beautiful Layla and Gracie so close together. Thanks for visiting. Still more culling going on here in this studio. I love how blogging introduces us to other artists and how we can see into their lives through their artwork and photos.

Medieval Muse said...

I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your kitten. But happy to see you have feline company to "help" in the studio. She is adorable.

Your work is beautiful. Thanks for sharing.