Welcome to my Studio

In 2018, a friend told me that a studio space was available at Gallery 45 in Felton, a 20 minute drive up the A1 from where I live in Northumberland. Having worked for 10 years from my dining room table, I decided to take the plunge.

What is Gallery 45?

The building used to be called the Stag’s Head, and it was a large coaching inn on the old Great North Road which used to run through Felton. After the Great North Road (A1) was re-routed, Felton became the quiet village it is today, and the Stag’s Head became a pub. Eventually the pub closed and the building fell into disrepair. Then Jane and Mary came along, restored the building and put it to work as an art gallery, gift shop and artist studios.

There are currently 7 tiny creative businesses renting our studios here, and mine is no. 4. I call it my Studio Shop, and it’s a bit of a gallery, a bit of a shop, and it’s where I come to work every Tuesday to Saturday.

What’s in my studio?

I know that not everyone can drop everything and come to Northumberland to say hello to me, so I thought I’d give you a quick tour around my happy place, including all of those nooks and crannies that I love spying on in other peoples’ studios…

The space where I do my drawing and painting.

My print browsers (should have painted behind the radiator!).

The boxes I keep my greetings cards in. They are shoe boxes but I have used bits from my designs to give me a clue as to what’s in each one.

My green chart; a reminder of all the different greens I can make, and how to mix them. Very useful when you make maps.

Very important - the hat my dad used to wear, and my crocheted seagull, a birthday present from a very special niece.

My card spinner.

I want the studio to be a comfortable space for visitors, so I pinched an armchair from the gallery downstairs, and my sister made me a cushion! Also very handy to stash things behind.

3 types of frames in 2 sizes. I try to have a few of each at any one time, just in case customers would like their prints framed, rather than just mounted.

The obligatory ring binder files, along with picture string, hooks, wrapping paper and scales to weigh my parcels before posting them. I strung up fairy lights one Christmas, and liked them so much I couldn’t face taking them down.

A clock from my mum. Sometimes it even tells the right time.

Jigsaws. Displaying them is fine, but storing them is an ongoing challenge in a small studio. Currently I have some in a big box under my table, but no one needs to see that!

I also have some jigsaws stacked on top of my Billy book cases.

When I went to art college I was told to buy a tool box, and it was very good advice. I keep things like screw-drivers, rulers, picture hooks etc. in here, festooned with various cables and chargers.

I have a huge table where I do all of my mounting, framing and wrapping. This table is often covered in mounts, bags, various kinds of tape, and all of the other paraphernalia I need. The little blue device is a tiny hoover which plugs in to my laptop. I use it to remove flecks of dust which are attracted to the glass in my frames.

I need someone to sort out these drawers for me as I never get round to it!

Finally, here are some visitors, learning how to draw and paint a Puffin as part of the Gallery 45 Craft Cafe.

Thank you for reading this blog post, I hope you found it interesting. Visitors are always welcome in my studio, and I do enjoy sharing it with everyone as it’s a very nice place to work!