Studio Complete...Took only 4 1/2 months.
With the help of Mark and David Carder, my husband, and encouraging comments and suggestions from many of you, the studio is complete. I could not have done it without you!!! I have tried to incorporate all of your ideas in this studio. I'm going to put it on a tour list next year and give Mark and David the major credit. It may even bring in a few new members to DMP.
@MeganS I took your suggestion about having more carpet protection and added another mat. And since I couldn't find a set of wheels with at least two brakes, I'm wrapping the back wheels with a rag to keep it from sliding just when I paint. Both good observations Megan.
@martenvisser I took your mention of the dust factor - another good observation - and solved it with wire and lightweight bed sheets. I cleaned up the studio just before I took these photos. You wouldn't believe what a mess it was before and is now. If you have any questions or observations on how I can improve this workspace, please comment. Hope this serves as inspiration to some of you. Oh, and I want to add that we built the drying rack because we have no wall space left to lean wet canvasses against as both Mark and David recommend. Their recommendation of leaning canvasses wet side facing the wall, away from falling debris and dust, is the easiest and best way of drying canvasses. Summer





Comments
if those footprints are paint I advise repeating the pattern over the whole floor.
Denis
I am going through growing pains. My next painting is quite big: 48x32 inches. It's making me move everything out a little bit more. It's space I don't have! Gah.
Don't be embarrassed to show your work. We all start somewhere.
@Summer
I'm going to post this photo of the painting I'm working on when I get a better photo. Till then I'll show you what I jokingly refer to as my "studio" with this painting in it.
Ether way thank you for your very kind words, they are much appreciated.
The easel I'm using in this photo is the one Mark built a while back, with a few changes. It does the job very nicely .
@Ron If you have any questions about this purchase I'm sure Mark, David, or even I would be glad to answer them for you. Just saying. Summer
Denis
@rstall Thanks for asking about the drying rack. It's been a while, and I hope that I can remember enough to answer your questions. I didn't keep notes (bad habit). I've had excellent results with this drying rack and plenty of use already. This last week, using a spray gun with Mark's brown stain recipe on 7 canvasses/boards, I dried 3 different sizes in 48 hours. Next week I'll spray 7 more. I even set a large gallery wrapped canvas on the floor and leaned it against one of the inside legs for support and it dried beautifully without any dust or floor marks on the bottom edge that touched the floor. So it can dry seven canvasses/canvas boards at a time. No dust or smears appeared on the canvasses and I have the unit placed in a utility room which is well ventilated. The only thing that I would change would be to add some braces between the verticals to keep the unit from wobbling because the screw joints keep loosening up. So, I would recommend screwing and gluing those wood pieces together. This is only the joint areas between the horizontal and vertical 2x4s. This is just annoying and isn't keeping me from using the rack for which it was intended. I used Ace black steel Phillips flat head drywall screws throughout in several sizes. To help with the assembly I used thin nails that I removed later. I used very tiny metal Phillips flat head screws to hold the thin strips of wood pieces together on the removable top piece. I have another make-shift system that I use for smaller canvasses/boards which I will post at another time.
This design can be easily modified--especially the removable top piece. And, the decorative angles can easily be left out. Hope that I have answered all of your questions. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Are these mainly 2x4s or something else?
There are 2x4s and 1x2s except for the top. For the top piece I used 1/2x3/4-inch pine strips ripped from a larger piece of a special grade of pine on a table saw and later cut into five pieces. The other part of the top piece measures 29x3 1/4x1/2 inches and is also made of a special grade of high quality pine.
What is the overall height?
59 inches is the height.
The size of paintings it can hold?
I've been drying mostly 24x24-inch canvasses and boards, some larger and some smaller.
The length of the legs?
16” top leg lengths to hold smaller canvasses - there are four of these racks, 8 pieces
18” bottom leg lengths to hold larger canvasses - there are two of these racks, 4 pieces
24” floor leg lengths but 6”of that extends beyond the back to support the structure, 2 pieces.
The size of the top? Is that 1/2” plywood?
The entire top is made of a high quality pine. The entire structure is made of high quality pine except for the 2x4s.
30x33 inches is the outside measurement of the entire top. The main support is the largest piece and is a rectangular piece of board which has a screw assembly in the middle. It's the largest board in the top and serves as the main support piece of the top and measures 29x3 1/4x1/2 inches but it measures longer when the wood strips are glued and screwed to three of the sides (30x33).
Three sides of the top piece serves as a frame and measure 1/2x3/4 and tere are 5 of them, all the same size. Two are placed strategically for support lengthwise about 9 inches apart on the inside. The other three form the frame for the other three sides.
Two thicknesses of wood were used to construct the top and there is a removable black plastic screw in the middle to attach the top to the main structure and hold it in place.
I use a black king size light-weight sheet that I throw over the structure to keep the dust out. I put it in the dryer with a dryer sheet to remove static cling and dust just before each use.
How wide are the cross pieces?
The cross pieces of the main structure are 19” wide--outside measurement. (16” inside measurement)
Is the top flush with the back?
Yes, the removable top, that supports the sheet, is flush with the back. The removable top sits on the main structure. It is made removable with a special black plastic screw anchor assembly. The anchor is put into the top 2x4 of the main structure. The removable top piece is then attached to the main structure and screwed in place. The removable top piece is removed easily when necessary. Nothing extends beyond the back of the unit except on the floor where 6 inches of the 24” boards, called the feet, give stability to the unit.
I didn't know you could get pine boards that wide. Id assume they were something like 14 1/2 by 30 1/4 by 1/2 inches wide each? or by two thicknesses do you mean two sheets of 1/4 inch plywood glued together or more like this picture below? And Just curious , why the removable top? Totally unrelated, but I guess the sheet stays on all the time? And once the paintings are touch dry do you move them on to somewhere else, or you keep them there until ready to varnish and/or frame?
By the way Summer , I havent' forgotten to post photos/instructions of the paper towel holder, just not done yet.