My art studio consists of a semi-circular desk in my bedroom. Why the bedroom? Mostly because we moved the TV from the living room to our bedroom several years ago, and I love to have the TV on while I'm painting. In fact, before getting the desk just a few months ago, I painted while sitting on the bed...
The desk is an antique and has some interesting history. The desk was once the concierge desk at the historic Mayfair Hotel in downtown St. Louis. My brother bought the desk on auction several years ago, before the hotel was remodeled and updated, and my wife and I bought it from my brother a couple of months ago. It was bought from an upscale furniture store in St. Louis in the 1940s. There used to be a playhouse next to the Mayfair, and many celebrities were seen in the hotel. Bob Hope has sat on this desk, and I'm told there was a photograph of Debbie Reynolds in the hotel taken while she was standing next to the desk.
When I'm sitting at the desk, the window to my right provides lots of natural light; a floor lamp to my left illuminates my work area in the evenings. On the desk is my John Pike palette and a small table easel, which I just recently acquired. Behind the desk, I have my portfolios for finished works, a drawing board and large sketchbook for my life drawing classes, and a huge canvas tote from Daniel Smith that stores all my miscellaneous supplies.
I've only been using this setup for about a month, but so far it seems to be working out great. It's better than sitting on the bed... :)
