Paint organization

I know that many, many artist’s have Ikea’s Raskog cart as part of their studio essentials.  I use mine to store my paint so that I can wheel it to wherever I am working.  This week, during a much needed cleaning spree, I decided to get my paints more organized.  Specifically, I was using the top shelf of the cart for my fluid acrylics, and the second shelf for my tubes of heavy body acrylics, which were a jumble that I had to sort through every time I needed some paint.  That is a waste of valuable painting time!

I decided to make myself a divider so that there would be eight sections to sort my paint into by color.  It only took a few minutes, making me wonder why I hadn’t done this sooner!

All you need is some heavy cardboard, a ruler and scissors or a mat knife.

1. Cut one piece of cardboard 3 x 16 inches.  This will go down the middle of the cart long ways.
2. Cut three pieces of cardboard 3 x 11 3/4 inches.  These will be the side to side dividers.
3. In the first piece, cut two inch notches every 4 inches.
4. In the other three pieces, cut one two inch notch in the middle (about 5 5/8 inch)

5. With the notches facing up on the middle piece, and down on the side to side pieces, slide your cardboard strips together to look like this:

6.  I had to do a little trimming, but make sure that the pieces fit snugly in the tray,

7.  Fill with paint!  I sorted them into:

• blacks
• whites
• reds
• oranges and pinks

one one side, and on the other:

• blues
• greens
• yellows
• browns

I love it!  I still haven’t decided if I need to add labels on the outside of the cart for quick reference, but that will be easy to add later if I decide to.

So beautiful and inviting!  And there is so much more room! Ahhhh, sometimes it is the little things that make life so much nicer!

Happy organizing!

Studio Spots

I have been working on cleaning out a storage room next to my studio to create a studio annex, giving me some much needed additional space.  I am not all moved in yet or even done cleaning and getting rid of, but the room is already coming in very handy…

A 6 foot long table for groups or large projects. My paints are in the little cart so they can easily move back and forth between the rooms.

In the closet is a place to store all my canvases and wood panels in one place!  I am also excited about the bookcase where I have room to gather all my books and magazines where I can find them.

On top of the bookcase is a metal basket full of all kinds of beautiful tissue papers and napkins.

And here is one of my newly acquired sugar molds doing duty holding gel pens.  Behind it is a big jar of washi tape, and next to it is my jar of Tombow markers and another of brushes.

Feels good to have a little more room to spread my wings!

 

 

 

Wheeled Coke Crate Organizer

I am really enjoying my rolling vintage Coke Crate organizer sitting on top of my new work island in my studio these days.  I have a small glass sitting in each bottle slot to hold all kinds of pens, scissors, markers, brushes, and whatever else I need to keep handy while I am working.  The revolving wheels make it super easy to move around to wherever is convenient.

Would you like one in you studio t00?  Check here.

Bardo’s Chest Has Settled In

 

Finally got Bardo’s Art Chest moved into my studio and organized my paints into it.  If you missed the history behind this piece, check out my post here.  I know my paints are different than the ones Bardo used, but all the little shelves in the back of the chest worked out just fine for my bottles and jars of paint.  I like having the bottom facing out because it is easy to see just what color I want to grab!  There is a special tray for long handled brushes and a couple sections that I haven’t decided how to use yet, but I’m sure I will have them filled soon!  You can also see my fancy tin cans for storing brushes, scissors, and pens.  A coke crate on wheels sits on top of the chest, and holds all kinds of often used utensils. My glass party plate palette slides nicely underneath. Nest to the crate is one of the globes that I am excited about giving a mixed media makeover!

 

Here’s a telling peak of the colors I gravitate to!

 

Some photo posters of Bardo himself!

http://fromvictoryroad.com/2013/06/21/fun-find-bardos-paint-box/

More peeks inside my studio to come!

Slow and Steady Wins the Studio Makeover

This tray is so handy to drop all my stray baubles into, and easy to transport to the table for a project. I love using vintage!

Well, it’s far from finished, but it is coming along.  I have to remind myself that “slow and steady wins the race” or in this case the studio space.  My tactic is to spend a little time organizing and sorting every day that I work in my studio, a task that unfortunately does not come naturally to me.  So far, so good, and I might actually get through it all this year!  Pockets of eye pleasing organized storage are beginning to appear.  I bought a gallon of turquoise paint and if a container is not adequately appealing on its own, then it gets a coat of paint!  Amazing how much that helps things look clean!  Today, I put the last coat of paint on the floor of my “inspiration nook” area.  Can’t wait to settle in for some inspiration!

As I sort and reorganize, I’ve been looking at everything with new eyes… Is this really an asset?  Does it serve me, either aesthetically, or practically? Am I really going to get around to this project? Or, how can this be stored in a more eye pleasing way?  I’ve been really evaluating HOW I work, and it helps me figure out what needs to go where.  I’ve also had so much fun scrounging around for nifty ways to store.  Bringing out the old suitcases, wire baskets, giving old tins a coat of spray paint, I am actually having FUN with this project!

Bicycle Wheel Stencil Storage

The fun find I want to share with you today is the bicycle wheel that my husband mounted under the loft (did I mention there is a loft in my studio!!).  I added some of those little hooks that have clips on them, and there you have it, the perfect place to store my stencils.  I used to have them in a large drawer, but they tend to get tangled up with each other and I had to do a lot of digging to find the one I wanted.  File folders in a file drawer work great for the small ones, but I had too many biggish stencils.  Also, here I can hang them up even while they are still wet with paint and not have to worry about them sticking together. And, because it turns, I can easily browse for the perfect stencil!