This month I had the incredible opportunity to sublet a corner of an artist's studio in Los Angeles. While working on the pieces for ETA 8, I was able to feel what it was like to work in a space meant for getting down to business. The space belongs to Gus Harper, a sweet and extremely gifted artist, who was kind enough to allow me to jump on the bandwagon with a few other prolific creatives and utilize his workspace while he was away on summer travels abroad.
I love this video of Gus at work on one of his grid paintings:
I drove a three hour round trip to get there, and put in about eight hours a day while I was there twice a week. Sometimes I wore my headphones, blasting my favorite energetic painting mixes, or I'd put in a pair of earplugs to get that ambient seashore sound to really get into a trance.
One of the benefits of being there was that there is little-to-no art movement in the town in I reside in. So to work among such motivated creatives, such as my spacemate and friend Christine was very inspiring. A set designer came by one day and bought four of our pieces straight off the walls, bound for a new midseason series soon airing on FOX. So L.A.-so fun.
Having lived there for eleven years, I recall the energy of being in a city like this. It was great fun to come home to peace, after thriving and energizing amidst the urban chaos-the best of both worlds.
It was really splendid to not care about spilling paint on the floor, being able to get really messy, leave my table set up covered in disorganized madness and know that no one in my home would be bothered by it or painting the walls when I wasn't looking. I was also able to play more, put some time into experimenting with textures and colors with all of the time I had, rather than feeling pinched to work only after the children's bedtimes.
It was an unforgettable and productive experience, one I hope to be able to create again before the holidays.
