Happy Artist: Why it's ok to give up the hunt for the perfect art studio
Do you ever have this thought?
If my art studio were just a little bigger, a little brighter, if it was out somewhere away from my home, if it was inside my home, if it was prettier or better in some way…
THEN I would have my dream art practice. Then I could really get into the good stuff. Then x y z amazing things would happen.
Me too. Every day for about 20 years (including today!).
If you're in a less-than-ideal art making space, I totally get it. It can kind of suck. But I want to tell you: your current art studio is good enough and the art you make in it is good enough.
Don't let the shortcomings of your studio space stop you from making the art you want to make.
Yes, I know you probably can't make a 12 x 12 foot painting in a 9 x 9 room, but you'd be surprised by what you can make.
I've pretty much tried it all.
When I was a kid I was super lucky to have our garage as an art studio (which was heaven except in the winter). Then we moved and I had an insanely cool little finished attic situation where I made art (which was unbearably hot in the summer). I had a micro studio in the corner of my bedroom in every one of my early twenties New York apartments.
In LA it was a dreamy dining-room-turned-studio filled with California sun (but no doors or air conditioning). Then a studio I rented in a commercial building for a few months (with a 35-minute commute). Back in New York, a nook under the quirky pitched ceiling of my attic apartment kitchen. Then an iconically beautiful shared space I rented in one of the most artsy-cool neighborhoods in NYC. I thought I had achieved the dream.
And now - home again.
One of the biggest things I learned last year about myself and my art practice after renting and then leaving my dream art studio is that I actually LOVE working from home.
The kitchen nook was a no-go this time, so I carved out 40 ft² in the corner of my living room.
Is it annoying to have to tidy my creative space at the end of the day and find a way to store art supplies in my only closet? Yeah. And do I have to cover my TV with a piece of cloth when I paint because it's right next to me? Yeah.
But it feels amazing to be able to sleep in and head to my art space in my PJ's whenever I want or to cozy up in my comfy chair when I check my email.
It's not my forever art studio, but I am making art here that I love.
The moral of the story is this…
You can make art almost anywhere, your dream studio is coming if you don't have it yet, and in the meantime enjoy the amazing things you're creating right now.