I must admit, I’ve been pretty lucky over the years with the studios I’ve had. My first ever art studio was in Paris, France, when I was on exchange at L’Ecole des Beaux-Arts. It was a small partition space in a large studio with high ceilings, and I had a window that looked out over the courtyard with the Seine just behind the gates of the school. While the school experience itself, I’d probably rate 0/10, I was so lucky to have a studio in Paris that was a short walk across the bridge from the Louvre and down the Seine from the Musee d’Orsay. Not bad!
When I came back to Vancouver to finish my bachelors degree at the University of British Columbia, I lucked out again. My name was drawn from a hat, and I was one of two lucky undergraduate students to share a large private studio in the MFA studio building, with the postgrad students. I had so much space compared to what other students in the same program had. I used the space to my full advantage and worked on numerous paintings and sculptures.
When I lived in London, I had a studio in Peckham, which is in South London. At the time, it was a really down and out area, so there was still cheap studio space to be had. Since then, after I moved back to Vancouver, it’s become the new hot spot for artists and galleries in London once things got too expensive in East London. The studio I had was in a business park, in a building filled with African churches. I was on the 4th floor. One side of the studio was all windows and I had the most amazing view…because I was on the top floor, the view encompassed everything from the very West (the Millennium Dome/O2) to the very East (Greenwich) of London’s skyline. On a clear day, it was the best view and reminded me how lucky I was to be in such a vibrant city.
I’ve talked about my Vancouver studios before, so I’ll get to the point of this post. I’ve got an amazing studio in Banff, and I’m so happy! It’s a huge studio space. I’ve started working on my Daphne’s Metamorphosis painting today. Will post photos of that soon, but in the meantime, check out my studio!
