Want Your Own Art Studio? Here's How I Got Mine

ACE Hotel Double Panel Painting

In my last post I talked about the commission I did for an interior design firm. The commission was to paint 4 double panel paintings for the new ACE Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana. Great job, right? I certainly though so until the box arrived.

Looks big enough to hold a coffin doesn't it? The nice folks I was working for shipped the panels to me that I had to use for the paintings. They arrived in this giant box. The panels measured approx. 59" x 12" each. Cool, I thought. Except how were they supposed to fit on my easel that sat in the corner of an office I shared with my husband?

The answer - they didn't. Even if they did they were so narrow that the two panels on the easel at the same time weren't stable enough to paint on. Why two at the same time, because the commission was for one painting across two panels, in other words, a diptic. The paintings were going to be mounted on the front of armiores in the hotel's guest rooms.

ACE Hotel Shipping Crate

The only solution I could come up with was to move them into the garage, prop them up on 2'x4's and lean them against the wall. The giant crate they arrived in also needed to be stored in the garage because once finished, the panels would be shipped to the hotel in the crate.

After a week of working in the garage in my makeshift studio I found I loved it. I didn't have to worry about making a mess or dripping paint onto the carpet in the house. I could step back - way, way back to get a good look at the painting. All the never-ending household chores I always need to get done were behind the closed garage door and completely out of mind, eliminating a major distraction.

Double Panel Painting Installed on an Armiore

I knew I needed to move my indoor studio to the garage. Enlisting my husband and brother-in-laws help we managed to clear enough space for my art supplies and easel. They even installed lights and outlets.


My studio might not be an epic, beautiful shabby chic space with wood floors and north light but, it's mine and I love it. Now that I've been working there for a while I realized that when my studio was in the house I would avoid painting. The space was cramped, there was carpet underfoot, an overwhelming number of chores to finish nearby and my husband and I never agreed on whether the windows should be open or shut.

My Studio

Now I need to figure out a new storage solution for all the large paintings I've been working on. Do you have a studio storage tip you'd like to share? I'd love to hear from you in the comments.