I am Making Progress in Organizing My Studio

I found this table that fits perfectly under my window on sale in an antique mall. My baskets fit under it. Some rainy day I will neatly arrange the contents in each basket.
I actually found a painting I've been working on, when I put away some of the stuff that was all over my desk.

Look! Look! A clear space on my cutting, folding, mailing etc. table.

If you are expecting anything from me in the mail, I actually was able to address and stamp some things today and found my return address labels.

Notice you can actually walk to my computer desk and not trip over anything. When my husband uses the computer to check the stock market tomorrow he will not fear for his life because he has a treacherous path of art supplies to step over.

So, I am encouraged because I can see that the time and effort I am putting in to organize my workspace is going to pay off by allowing me to spend more time painting and making things and less time looking for my things.

Can This Studio Be Organized?

It is time to get down to business in my studio. I put my art supplies in shoe boxes and hid the shoe boxes in the cabinet, but that wasn't enough to make me efficient.
I stored my sketchbooks in cute baskets under my painting table but that really didn't help me clear up the mess on top of the table. I have been moved into my new studio for 6 months so I really have run out of excuses as to why I can't arrange my art supplies so I can find them and also unearth my teaching contracts to sign them and get them in the mail...

I finally took a test in the back of an organizing book and I scored off the chart for messiness. Today, I took a step toward my future as an organized artist. I consulted with Gigi Boskovich of Orgawize. She gave me a wealth of suggestions about how to store my supplies and find more workspace on my desk and she did not laugh at how messy the studio looked. Stay tuned for my progress in the studio.

So there was a cat on this window sill in Tuscany,

what do you think he was doing? Just hanging out, posing for tourists? Notice the beautiful lace curtains he chose to sit in front of and conveniently he posed next to a terra cotta flower box. The cat, the shutters, the curtains, the flower box, these are all my favorite elements to paint. I guess this is what I will paint tomorrow. Sometimes when I travel so many things are going on at once, that I don't appreciate everything until I get home and look at the photos. This photo was actually taken by Robin Weindruch but she was kind enough to share it with me.

Gail Ostendorf Paints Tuscany

Gail Ostendorf painted this picture upon her return from Montisi. I think she captured the landscape that surrounded our villa location wonderfully. Notice her line of cypress trees leading up to the cluster of houses on the right. Those trees were really lined up the drive just like that. Also notice the nice variety of green paint mixtures Gail used for the greenery in the Tuscany landscape. She even captured the grey green colors of the olive trees. I also really like the distant grey lavender mountains that seem to fade into the distance. Her painting is lovely to hang on a wall or make a card of but most of all it is sure to bring back memories of her time spent in Tuscany. Good job! Do I sound like a proud teacher? Its because I am.....