The studio gets a face lift.

June 2, 2014June 3, 2014 / skyevans / 3 Comments

I was really motivated a few weeks ago to get my next chair project started. I had found a new, and close by (which is important if you live in the country where everything is at least a half hour away) fabric store where I added to my color palette. I also got some glue tips from a local woodworker, so I thought I’d try out the new glue system while I was at it. The sketches were finished, the wings cut out, the model made… when the unthinkable happened.

It stopped raining.

The sun came out.

And the grass started to grow.

Sigh. In the Pacific NW you had better start mowing when this happens. Soon all hell will break loose and if you have a lawn or two or three, you better get to it while you can. A frenzy of rapid fire growth coupled with dry weather means you actually can cut it before it gets out of hand. So that was task one. The lawn tractor saw some serious action.

Then the garden and the weeds and all that pruning I had meant to get to, got gotten to. While slaving, er, working in the garden around the studio, I remembered another task I had put off for years. Residing the studio. Yes, it’s quaint in pictures. But in reality, it’s a haven for wasps and other crawly things and needed to be repaired and caulked. The cedar shakes were thin, worn out and curling… the fir half rounds were dried out and peeling away from the building in places. The more I looked at it, the more I realized repairs alone wouldn’t cut it. All new siding was in order.

Sigh… again.

My son is home from college (easy labor), the sun is out (the studio won’t get wet without clothes), the lawn is mowed (damn it), so no more procrastinating. We ripped it off.

We started slow, like a band aid.

Here she is… stripped bare to the late spring sunshine!

The old Tyvek was showing some signs of wear.

Actually, the pink house wrap had done a pretty good job. But it did little to deter the insects that crept through the cracks and crevices. So I got some heavy tar felt (30# for those who know or even care!) and gave her some heavier undergarments!

Winter undies!

The same thoughtful woodworker friend gave me a valuable tip on where to locate affordable lumber. Off I went to procure… a decision was made as to dimensions of board, then another regarding vertical or horizontal application. Vertical won… with the hopes it would shed rain better. And I was ready for a change.

Vertical stripes make you look slimmer. Or so they say.

With the two of us, it really didn’t take that long. The weather was gorgeous, and I was pleased to see the studio didn’t have any structural damage. Mostly just cosmetic. So I must have done something right!

Not too bad!!

Then we moved on to what I consider the front… though really not sure why. The West side gets lots of hot sun when we actually get sun, so most of the damage to the shakes happened here. All went into a scrap pile for kindling this winter.

Side two went much easier. All squares… no angle cuts!

Just a few odds and ends to finish, but pretty much done!

It’s kinda strange to see the studio this way… it looks nice, but it’s like looking at an old friend you haven’t seen in ages and they lost a ton of weight and had a serious make over. You know it’s still them, and they look fantastic, but damn, they don’t quite line up with who you thought they were. It’s going to take a little getting used to, but she sure is pretty! I’m liking the new you, sister!

Next post will feature new work…. spoiler alert, I got a big head start on the new wings.

The New Easel

May 19, 2014 / skyevans / 2 Comments

Way back when I was in Art School, a handy friend helped me make an easel for painting. I dismantled it upon graduation, but later when I took up painting again, I made another one. It’s just 2 x 1 and 2 x 4 construction with long lag bolts to slide the horizontal surfaces up and down. It’s simple, but it works and will hold a large canvas without much trouble. Being made of unfinished lumber, I often use it to wipe down loaded brushes. Sometimes it even stands in as a mini palette for mixing colors.

Home-made easel. Simple but effective!

I’ve been using this easel for years. You know I never felt I needed anything more even though there are some super nice store bought models on the market. However, earlier this month I walked into the local university bookstore to buys some snazzy new pens when lo and behold, there stood a darling sporty model! It was a really nice easel, all finished beechwood with knobs to adjusting the horizontal bars. No more lag bolts! The best part was it was on sale. Who doesn’t love 50% off?!

I bought it and brought it home. Having 2 easels in the studio feels like a luxury, but moving and stacking up wet paintings is a real hassle. It just made sense to expand my tool bin with another easel.

Lovely beech wood and ready for a test drive!

I promptly loaded up an unfinished painting and got to work. Time to get my horse’s portrait off the “in progress” wall and turn it into a completed painting. I scraped off all the old paint from my glass palette and put out some fresh oils. The squiggly snake in the middle is artist grade walnut oil.

New paint waiting to get going!

While I was sorting out the colors I wanted to use, it occurred to me, some followers may want to see my set up. Here’s a few pics of my palette table. Maybe it’s unique to have a palette table, but it works pretty dang good! I bought an old dresser, painted the drawers in fun colors and use them to store my paints. The top drawer holds oils, the middle one my acrylics while the others are employed as storage for canvas, tapes and various tools. The top surface is covered in white paper with a large glass plate over that for mixing. It’s super easy to use a flat paint scraper for removing old paint and it cleans up really well.

I keep pliers in the drawer to take off caps. Sometimes those little caps will hang on for dear life, turning the paint tubes into a twisted mess. If the cap refuses to come off, I might cut the end of the tube and squeeze the paint out the bottom. That’s a sure fire way to get paint all over oneself, but it’s worth it. A little aluminium foil can be used to wrap up the end.

For paint, I mostly use M. Graham and Winsor Newton. There are a few old tubes of Grumbacher too, but these probably date back to my college days. They don’t dry out if you cap them properly, but the paint sometimes needs coaxing with turpentine and oil to get them to flow again. When choosing a palette of colors for a particular painting, I try to anticipate where I am going (color wise) and put them all out at once. I put out more than I need, since I don’t like having to stop in mid painting to add new paint to the repertoire. I will if I have to, but would rather not if I can help it.

When I left off on the portrait of Cricket, she was just sketched in. With fresh paint and some background music on the stereo, I began to put color on her body. I like to work wet on wet and often mix right on the canvas. Acrylics are a whole other ball game… they work well for layering and glazing, but oils are so blendable. I love being able to tinker with the color.

Background was pretty much done… now on to the nitty gritty!

Things were going well but for the face. It was being difficult since I was using a photo of her all tacked up (saddled and bridled), I had to imagine what the shadows and highlights would be like without a bridle. It was getting muddy and I still need to fix some parts here too, but will have to wait until she dries out some more. At that point, I’ll glaze in the trail dust too.

Almost done, but for the dust.

So far so good! I’ll post some finished ones after I finally sign it. That’s always the last thing I do to a painting besides getting a final clear coat. While that dries, I’ve got another winged chair in the works. Found a new upholstery store and couldn’t resist getting more fabrics for another chair.

Next post: shopping at “Remains of the Day”!

The Oregon Studio

April 25, 2014May 5, 2014 / skyevans / 2 Comments

My studio sign

Hi Everyone! Welcome to my newly minted blog, The Oregon Studio. My name is Sky Evans and I am an artist living in, you guessed it, Oregon. This is my studio and my studio dog, Scout.

Scout is ready to go in!

The studio lies between the two most important buildings to me, my home and my barn. All three I have had a hand in designing and building. Yes, actual hammer swinging, power tool wielding, building. But I didn’t create this blog to talk about my crazy horse love, or how laying a bamboo floor ain’t that tough… instead, I’ve started this blog to share my art, my ideas, my process. I figured the studio was a good place to start, even though I do create art in other places. It’s my studio work I want to really dig into. So let’s start there:

Remnants of the last painting.

The newest project is on the table.

If I had to pick my medium of choice, that would be easy. I love to paint. Oils preferably, but I have been known to dabble in everything from house paint to watercolors. Gouache is probably the only paint I haven’t tried unless you count that horrible school powdered paints which are basically cheap gouaches. I used to teach art K-12 so I have been exposed to many many cheap art products over the years. I’ve probably invented a few! Anyway, here in the studio is evidence of two projects… one painted, one mixed medium. I finished the painting a few weeks back, it’s hanging up to dry… as are the remnants of its palette. If you guessed from my other “important building” reference, horses are a big deal to me, but NO, this particular painting is not of a horse! I have LOTS of those and will get around to posting those too, but for now, I am focusing on what is happening NOW. Here is the most recent painting… it comes with a story:

I came across a photo of an African Kingfisher caught mid air with a fish in its beak and thought it was spectacular. I couldn’t shake the image, so I cut it out and dropped it off in the studio. Later that month, I went out to work on a painting of my horse but couldn’t take my eyes off the bird. So I put my unfinished horse aside and grabbing a fresh canvas, I sketched out the bird. I often start at the top and work my way down, roughing in the background swirls of color before getting to the bird itself. Hours “flew” by before I stepped back and decided something was off. I never use a palette knife except to mix colors but I had just purchased a new one. It was rubber, like a mini spatula. So, feeling that there was too much paint on the canvas, I used it to scrape off color.

Like getting all the batter out of the bowl, I twisted and turned and pulled off all the black paint from the right. Wow… I was on to something! Scraped off the background on the left, leaving swirls, incredible textures and curvy shapes. Satisfied, I cleaned up and went to bed. The next day, a friend came for a visit and as we were talking about the importance of following your creative muse and how inspiration should not be ignored, she turned to admire my little bottlecap sculptures.

Ok yes, I drank some of those.

Wire, copper and bottle caps.

Cute, right? I sell these to help pay for my horsey activities. She asked how I came up with the idea… well, it’s no secret artists “borrow” from each other. I showed her the ostrich bottle cap statue I bought at World Market. They make these things in Africa and I took the concept in another direction. As I picked up the ostrich, I noticed a cap I had never seen before. It was a kingfisher! That seemed like a sign… everything we had just been saying was punctuated by that bottle cap. It was an “if you build it, they will come” kind of moment (Field of Dreams reference here). I’m all for listening to signs like that.

The look on my face must have been something, cause she asked what was wrong. “Come with me”, I said and took her out to the studio. She was floored by the painting. Ah, the power of turpentine fumes!! Well, besides the fumes, she loved it and I do like a little gushing so I took it all in.

I finished the painting later that week so when the next bolt of inspiration struck, I listened up! I’m on to something wild again, and also something bird-like. Next post: Winged chairs.