A Peek into the new Studio
To explain why I made decisions for building my new studio and the details I included, I need to take it back to my first home studio in 2016.
My husband and I had just gotten married, and we were renting the back of a duplex in New Orleans. With 8’ ceilings and hardly any windows, I moved in wondering where my art supplies would fit. While my art side hustle was just beginning, my husband had faith that it would turn into something more. He insisted that I take the elected master bedroom since it was the largest and had french doors letting natural light in. In that room, I learned that this painting gig was here to stick around, but I also learned that the room wouldn't be able to fit my work for long!
In 2017,
We decided it was time to purchase our first home. I learned from our cozy rental that I need a storage closet, a nearby sink, and a place to photograph paintings. We found the perfect home with an extra spare bedroom and loft that I could use for hanging completed paintings. The house was out of our budget, so we had to rely on my painting side job to bring in the extra funds. I was afraid to commit and have this major responsibility depend on my unpredictable business ;however, we took the chance, and I finally had the art space I had been hoping for!
I was able to stretch out and get comfortable with my art in this home. I felt inspired to paint on larger canvases and more frequently in this space, which allowed me to take this career to the next level by going full-time. Eventually, I bought a giant professional printer and subsequently opened the gallery, which caused my once perfectly fitting space to close in with stacks of boxes.. I was quite literally bursting at the seams with the amount of packaging, inventory, and paintings I had to store for the gallery. I was super overwhelmed but grateful that I had to find a solution for this quick growth.
My husband and I daydreamed about building our forever-home one day and even started drawing plans and exterior designs for fun. This quickly resulted in us falling in love with the perfect lot one day on a walk.
We started the fun, two year process of building during the worst time in history to build (cue supply chain issues and Hurricane Ida).
Throughout the process, I spent a lot of time making sure this would be the last art studio that I would ever dream up. Needless to say,
I never want to build or move again 😂
Here are some of my favorite additions that I planned:
Tons of natural light so I can see every detail of what I’m working on.
Cabinets made to fit all of my canvases, printer, and supplies.
My very own sink! I can mess it up without any repercussions.
A separate entrance for deliveries and pickups. I mainly picked the dutch door for how cute it was, but the dogs love it too!
Finally, lots of space to create and grow into!
I love my forever studio, and I know I 100% have you to thank for it! Whether you’ve been supporting my work since my first home studio or you're new to my paintings,
I appreciate everything you have done to make my art career even more fulfilling.
I share this story and details around my studio to give you a little behind the scenes, but also in hopes that it will inspire someone out there to take a chance on themself.
Moving from one home to the next was extremely scary because it was relying on my business to succeed.
