How to Paint when I don't have an Art Studio

I am an artist. I like to paint as often as I can. I do paint frequently, in intense patches of time. But what are the options for someone who does not have a studio? I have been seriously facing the crunch of space and  looking to solve this issue. I am sure many artists face the same problem as this.

I have a table where I do my smaller paintings like ACEO, pastels, sketches. The smaller table top easel is used for the smaller upright works. On the balcony, I have set up my large easel. That is for the bigger works. Sometimes I use the portable easel when the work needs to be moved around.

But all these makeshift arrangements have not been easy. I am in need of a permament work place. A proper studio. My own art studio.

And, I am happy to say, that dream is soon going to be fufilled. We are going to shift to a new place, where I can have my own workplace. The garage would be my new studio. I am so elated about this whole thing. I would have a place to set up all my easels, my table, my racks with paints and brushes, and fill up the walls with new work. The new year is going to be great! I thank God for all this mercy.

The Use of Color in my Oil Paintings

Evening Calm
Status: sold

Many of you would be surprised that I started painting from the beginning with oil colors. I started with oil, and it is only later that I also began using acrylic, pastel, and doing sketches. For me, the whole process happened in the reverse way. Art students in art colleges would find it difficult to believe this.

Actually, what influenced me to take up oil colors first? A friend. He is a good artist, who paints regularly. He has given up his day job, supports a wife, pays mortgage for a new home, with his earnings from art. Isn't that great? He has done well enough to do all this. I admire him. He has always been my role model. I have looked up to him. Initially I was in awe of his talent. Now I admire him as an excellent fellow artist.

So I began with oil colors. Those days I was living in New Delhi, India. Due to the dry weather characteristic of New Delhi, I had a great time painting with oil. Especially because it dried so fast there due to the minimum moisture in the air. In that period, I was able to paint quite a few oil paintings, and fast too. I did not have to wait ten days between layers, for them to dry.

After relocating to Santa Barbara, California, the drying of colors has been a major issue. Initially I was frustrated that the paint took forever to dry. Then I discovered a drying agent. That helped somewhat. But I had to wait for the color to dry anyway, of course for less time.

And now I discovered acrylic colors - its quick drying effects. For places like here, acrylic is great. I'm loving it. And then, I've also been trying my hand at pastel.