If wishes were fishes...

[luco]

...

You know what I'd really like?

A proper Studio space. Whether it was a separate place I'd go to each day or a nice full room in a place of my own doesn't matter. I'd just like an area full of light, that can hold shelves and a few tables. And those tables will be dedicated to different projects. That way I could decorate the ares, with ideas and model sheets and reference. I wouldn't have to hunt and cram and get frustrated.

I'd have space to spread out on the floor and stare off into space when my mind got too busy. Space for tv so that video games or dvds could help me relax and keep me inspired. A comfy beanbag chair for sprawling in front of that tv and a rolly chair to travel from table to table.

It would be warm, but fresh crisp air also flowing in, windows that can see out of and the light would either be natural daylight or else that soft yellowish glow of a cafe.

There would be a coffee pot and a mini fridge and a place for my fish and a nice set-up for Puku. Delmar and Stray would have their own table and I'd feel free and not like I have to hide. Not like I'm taking up too much space or that I'm hidden away from the rest of the world. It'd be a place always open to friends to come and hang out in. To play games, to read, to sit and relax.

Most days, it's all I dream about, sitting here in the basement.

Even in Toronto or going to school...it's my own big wish.

Someday.

Comments

[mogumogu.livejournal.com]

I dream of a workspace separate from where I eat and sleep.

:D Perhaps I could paint in oils again!

[luco-millian.livejournal.com]

You know, I don't think I've ever actually used oil paints....what are they like?

[mogumogu.livejournal.com]

Well, painting with oils is more like paint wrangling, pushing and nudging viscous pigments around, with a lot more opportunity for manipulating the wet paint on the canvas. Because they take so long to dry, you can squeeze and mix up colors and dirty your brushes without panicking about them drying up on you. If you get paint on your clothes, you don't have to run screaming to the sink, hoping it's not permanently dry yet (a good amount of soap should get it out). If you wrap up your palette, you can even preserve the paint on it for a few days. It really lets me relax in a way I can't with acrylic.

It's a pain to use them if you don't have designated studio space. You need to give them space and time to dry, and you have to use solvents for thinning and cleaning. Turpenoid isn't too bad, but I'm used to the smell of solvents (I grew up around printing). The paints themselves have kind of a smell (from the oil, I guess). As for the other ingredients you can use, I know that at least Liquin smells absolutely horrible. I don't think I'll ever use that stuff again.

And I guess you have to worry about oils' chemistry more than other media. "Fat over lean" is probably the most important. Certain colors dry faster than others, which can cause cracking in the long run, I think, though my teachers never told me to worry too much about it. A school studio will have proper disposal methods for old turps, but I don't know what private painters do in their home. It's not exactly something you can pour down your drain.

Cleaning your brushes is a whole ritual, too. It's a very slow medium.

Now, there are water-souble oils out there. I've goofed around with the Holbein Aqua Duo, which seemed to work pretty well (they also make the only wacky fugitive oil colors I know of). They're mixed with a soap or something that lets you thin and clean them up with water. You'd probably still want to thin them with solvents or oil for actual painting, though.