Monday 19 November 2012

My new studio!

Please let me officially introduce you to my new studio!! I hope you don't mind but I need to share the excitement! As some of you might know, I just moved house a couple of weeks ago, and I'm very happy to be able to use the loft room as my studio. My mum visited me last week-end and we set it up together. It's now ready to produce master pieces!



As you can see I'm making the most of the space on the walls to place some boards still drying and hang my latest framed work too. I find it useful to be surrounded by my work while painting as I can take inspiration from it, steal the best bits and make sure I don't repeat the same mistakes!





My painting book collection finally found a suitable place:
(and no, I haven't started drinking, these bottles are for still life!) 


Just outside the door I hanged on the hallway landing a selection of work and prints from other artists which I find very inspiring, just the perfect invitation to go to the studio!



There is plenty of storage underneath the roof all around the room, so no more boards falling on my head while painting:


I'm loving the big velux windows overlooking the rooftops of Bath. The window gets the early morning light and is then clear of direct sunshine for the rest of the day which makes it perfect conditions to work in:




I just bought on ebay some drying trays for plates which work perfectly to dry wet boards:


They have become very useful yesterday as I took the huge task to triple prime over 40 boards in preparation for my next painting adventure:



Indeed I'm off to Venice the day after tomorrow for a week of plein air painting with a bunch of very talented painters. Can't wait! Looking at the amount of boards below, you'll probably think I'm bit overoptimistic to paint all that in one week, but it's Venice afterall! 




Thursday 1 November 2012

My grandma's kitchen

A couple of months ago, it was my grandma's 90th birthday. She is such an incredible woman and she still has more energy than the whole family together (and God knows she has a big family!). As a present I gave her a little painting I made of her kitchen in her house in Belgium. This is sacred place for the whole family as this is where my grandma prepares the Xmas dinner, makes her own cranberry jams, welcomes visitors with a hot chocolate after long walks outside, or has her breakfast staring at the window. Every object in the room has a story and this is a place where you always feel welcome. 


La cuisine à Malèves (The kitchen at the Malèves house) - 10"x12"   oil on board


Detail

For those who follow my blog, you might remember the two paintings I have done of my grandma's garden and sewing room. Click below to have a look at those previous posts:

http://valeriepirlot.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/my-grandmas-garden.html

http://valeriepirlot.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/la-chambre-couture-de-bonne-maman.html


I'm moving house tomorrow so maybe I'm posting this now in the hope that my new home feels as warm and homely as my grandma's place! I might not be able to paint for a while as I need to set up my new studio in the loft room - all very exciting really. I'll do a post about it when it's ready.