Happy Friday everyone! Whew. I don't know about you, but I am super excited I don't have to set my alarm for 6:17am tomorrow.
Yes, I set my alarm at a very odd time. Truth is: I can't bring myself to set my alarm for 6:15 or 6:20...or any normal time. I realize it's very strange.
Anyway. I totally digressed!
Today, I thought I'd show you my little art area/room in our house. It's the first time I've ever had space to create that wasn't the kitchen table. When my husband arrived in Myanmar, he scoped out potential houses, in part, with a view to help ensure I could have an area to paint. Bless him.
The art 'studio' is upstairs in a large, open-spaced living room with beautiful teak wood floors. Half of the room contains my husband's drums (he's a drummer) and my keyboard. The other half is my little artsy space where I also keep a lot of my sentimental things.
Here's a further glimpse:
Did you see those cute little pots that hold all my different brushes? They're pictured in both collages. And here's another shot:
I found them in Bangkok at an expat supermarket selling French yogurt. Yes, the most wonderful, rich honey yogurt imported from France was contained in each of these sweet pots. I didn't buy them for the yogurt, though. I knew I wanted them to put my supplies in! They make me happy every time I see them. I also get a bit of joy knowing they didn't break in my suitcase flying back to Yangon. (It's the little things that count.)
The mixed media piece you see is a painting I've been dabbling with. I can't seem to finish her for some reason. I quite like it, but she needs something. Maybe hair. Or a necklace. It'll come. Eventually.
You can check out more of the art I've created on my mixed-media page here. I'm self-taught and haven't been painting very long, but I love heavily textured pieces. I tend to use fabric and beads in my work.
As I create, this is what I see when I look out my window. :)
Your space looks like a haven! I love it and your painting is beautiful! I would hang her in my space for inspiration! :O) Great photos too.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kelli!
DeleteIt's nice to go up there. I honestly haven't spent as much time in it as I thought I would since moving. One thing at a time. :-)
Thank you for the compliment about the painting + the photos. ;-)
Such an amazing space! I love the yogurt pots as brush holders. Right now I have all my pencils in a tin flower pot :). I will one day have the courage to share my studio. Just a fellow flyer stopping by.
ReplyDeleteCheers, Jennifer! It's fun to be up there.
DeleteI really love those yogurt pots, too! I couldn't BELIEVE that yogurt could be sold in beautiful ceramic pots AND exported to Thailand. I was so happy when I found them. I think it's so cute your pencils are in a tin flower pot. I bet it's adorable!
I look forward to seeing photos of your studio when you are ready. :)
Hi Becky! I love your photos and your art space, beautiful job! To me, it looks like your little lady would like a pair of red shoes...
ReplyDeletexoxo
Laly (from Flying Lessons)
Hi Laly!
DeleteCheers! Thanks for your compliment. I really ought to spend more time up there. I still want to make it a bit nicer. A bit more organized. LOL
Hmmm...I like your idea about the red shoes. I LOVE red shoes. I had thought of having her barefoot, but actually...I need some contrast down there and red shoes in a gold field would be lots of fun. :) Love that. Thank you. ;)
Your space looks fabulous! Mine's too much of a mess right now (in a good way, lol) to take pics but I'm so glad you shared yours.
ReplyDeleteHI Marjie -
ReplyDeleteThank you for leaving a comment. :-) Thanks also for the compliment. I think I need to mess the space up more, actually. lol It would be fun to see pics of your art space, though, when you're ready!!
Thank you!
Oh so cool! I love your way of displaying your tools! I like your mixed media piece. It looks done to me:) Chandra
ReplyDeleteThank you, Chandra!!! :) I really had fun organizing all my brushes + stuff!
DeleteThank you!
What a great studio! Your photos are amazing. I'm so happy that you have a dedicated space. It really makes all the difference in the world. Yay for your hubby...scoping out a place with that in mind.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Janice!! I'm happy to have a dedicated space, too. :-)
DeleteBecky your space is beautiful,I love everything about it. Your photographs are amazing which makes your blog look so professional. What kind of camera do you have? Did you take any photography courses? I'm shopping for cameras and was curious. Different people say that on etsy and on a blog you need excellent photos to sell. Have a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteHi Rebecca -
DeleteThank you! I honestly don't have that fancy of a camera. This is what I used:
Canon Rebel XTi; however, I used a very nice lens. I used an 85mm Sigma with 1.4 f/stop. I took these pictures mostly with an ISO of 400 or 800 between a 2.2 - 2.8 f/stop. I went down quite low on the f/stop for those brush pictures.
I'm probably going to take most my shots with a 50mm lens (ES-71). It's a very nice lens, too. Thing is, with the camera I'm using, I'm not getting everything out of those lenses.
My husband's a photographer - he's amazing! - and he has very fancy schmanzy camera + gear. I get his hand-me-downs. LOL So, though I've never taken a photography course, I have learned A LOT from him. He's really helped me understand aperture and stuff. Not that I understand it THAT well.
Oh. Also, I did quite a bit of post-editing in LightRoom with these shots. I messed around with different settings + after adjusting the lighting curve, adding some black, I used an "aged photo" preset to give it that yellowish tint. I just liked that look with the colors on the background of my blog.
After the editing in LightRoom, then I made the collage in PicMonkey!
If you want, you can check-out my husband's photography page: http://www.chrisjameswhite.com/ He has some beautiful pictures of Myanmar and Thailand up. He's taken many down, though, because he has a web designer building him a new site that should be up soon.
Anyway! I hope that helped in some way. I guess what the moral is, you don't have to have an amazing camera. If you're going to take nice shots for your website, I think you can do just fine with the same Rebel XTi that I have. It's NOT a professional camera. The 50mm lens isn't cheap, but it's a WONDERFUL all-around lens.
Thank you so much for all the great information and tips. I'm writing everything down for future reference. Thanks again for replying back.
DeleteYou're welcome!!
DeleteYour photos are beautiful! I especially love the one with the brushes, makes me want to reach out and grab them! Happy you have a place of your own to create! So important. :)
ReplyDeleteCheers, Jenn! Thank you for leaving a comment. ;)
DeleteI'm glad you enjoyed the photos. It was fun taking them. :)
Thank you!
Wonderfully serene space you have to work in - and your photos are absolutely gorgeous
ReplyDeleteOh, thank you, Irene! It really is a very serene place. We're lucky that we found a place to rent that is surrounded by trees and a muddy little ravine that cuts along the side of the property. Much of Yangon is being built-up, it seems, but I don't think we'll lose the view where we are. It's very peaceful.
DeleteWe get all sorts of amazing birds - I couldn't say what kinds. We even get the occasional civet cat at night! It's cool. :-)
Thank you re: the photos. It was a lot of fun taking the pictures. :) I'm happy you enjoyed them.
Ok, that just looks a little too organized I think you should just go in there and get REALLY crazy creative and MESS IT UP! :) Do you suck at anything? :)
ReplyDeleteJune! I totally tidied it up to take the pictures! LOL I had crap all over the table before that. Still, it should always look messier than it does because I'm not using that space as much as I should.
DeleteUh. Yeah. I totally suck at lots of things!Like Math. And measuring. I can't sew. I'm also an inarticulate speaker. LOL And I can be an interrupter! Also, honestly, June, my art isn't all that amazing at all. So. I don't think I totally SUCK at it, but...I really don't think I'm very good.
thanks for sharing your space. Love the photos, the whole space feels wonderful!
ReplyDeletexo Janine
http://www.janinewhitling.com.au
Janine - thank you for popping by and leaving a comment. :)
DeleteIt's a nice space to have, that's for sure! Thank you!
A magical space! Your picture editing makes it look superb! , I like your girlie. I was thinking of some bling on her skirt. Like an edging of tiny diamonds.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jean! It's very kind of you to say that. Thank you also for the compliment on the girl. I like the idea of adding some bling to her skirt. FUN! :-)
DeleteWhat a wonderful creative space you have. That must feel like heaven creating there. And I too would by the yoghurt pots for the pots not the contents LOL. I like the painting you're doing. And yes, add some nice sparkling thingies to the skirt.
ReplyDeleteTell me, in Bhurma, is it hot? Do you need to paint in certain hours for otherwise it is too humid?
Renee, thank you. :) I LOVE those pots! :-)
DeleteOK - sounds like I need some sparkle to the skirt. :)
Yes, it is very hot in Burma. And extremely humid. Right now, we're still in the Monsoon season, though it's just starting to taper off now. Still, it is raining every day. In fact, it's so humid, that mold grows on some of the walls in our house. Gross, I know. It has to get repainted. I've heard you have to repaint some areas twice a year. And this is with the A/C on 24/7.
Upstairs, where I have the art stuff, there are loads of windows. I do have to be careful with mold and if it gets too hot. I tend to go up there when it cools down a little, but then the light is bad. LOL There are improvements that need to be made for sure. :)
Hi Becky,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great adventure to be living in Myanmar. I was in northern Thailand once and loved it so much, I want to go back and visit Myanmar too. Your space looks fantastic, the pictures are beautiful! It seems like a perfect space to get creative.
HI Jennifer -
DeleteThanks for stopping by! I love northern Thailand! Where did you visit? I went to Chiang Mai and Chiang Dao not very long ago. I LOVED it. It's sooo beautiful. If you ever come back to SE Asia + feel up for a trip to Myanmar, you are more than welcome here!
Hey Becky. Loving all of your blogs!
ReplyDeleteLove and miss you all,
Marcia
Thanks, Marcia! Sometimes, they're cheesy. But whatever! LOL
DeleteWe really love you guys + miss you lots!!