SANDY GARNETT ART BLOG

You can see the Twister painting behind the foam carving behind me.  I want to ‘relief’ my Twister paintings and styrofoam is not working on figures so small.  I think it would be good with lifesize figures.  Anyway I got into the clay.  I will finish a clay piece and cast it in cold bronze.  This will give me one original clay piece, I will cast one piece that will be a bronze as another art piece, and I will apply another casting to a steel panel and paint it.  I am having fun with the clay.  I did one portrait commission and it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, creating a sense of space within an inch.  I think the Twister figures will be less diffult but I could be wrong.  Regardless, I’m off and running in a direction that I cannot reference, which is always such a blistering buzz.

I am at the tail end of my water studio renovations.  I will post some pictures in the next couple days.  The space is 15x55 with a half bath.  Poles lined the whole studio and the ceiling was extremely busy.  When you’ve got fifteen poles in your space you are constrained by the poles.  So I built walls around the poles and put a ceiling in with 25 of my favorite Juno 4 inch pivoting recessed lights.  I used to have trouble focusing in that studio because of the poles and the ceiling and because my tools were out for me to see as was my entire inventory.  So I sectioned the space off into a back office, an inventory area, a computer, archiving and framing area, my painting area, and a workshop area.

 The renovation cost maybe $8,000 including part time help.  I probably put 250 hours into the renovation so a contractor might have charged me $20,000 or $25,000.  I did all of the work with the exception of the lighting.  I wired the ceiling and cut the holes but I let my friend Keith install the lights.

 I’ve got some loose ends, but the place is almost complete.  I have never had a better organized studio.  Now I have a workshop area that perfectly suits my work process.  My tools used to be all over the place and now they are all in one place.  My painting area is beautifully lit and makes me want to paint.  I can turn the other lights down, which are all on separate dimmer banks, and this focuses my mind on the easel. 

My premise for the renovation was multifold.  I now own a second work studio that doubles as a gallery.  The space will love visitors and I sold my first painting out of there the other day.  Once I get the big sliding doors on the painting room walls, I will ensure a dust free environment for my archiving and computer area.  This year I will hone my archiving skills with the help of an assistant and intern.  I want to shoot my own work, color correct it and make my own prints.  Now I have the proper space to pursue this.

I have had the place for several years and it was always frustrating.  Now I walk into perfectly designed zen art making space.  It makes me feel stronger as an artist.  So I am migrating back to the art and looking for my next collectors to support my world.  Don’t be shy.

The box has been built for my Field of Figures and the glass has been made (on the picture).  I sprayed the steel structure matte black, I epoxy the glass in place,  I get the light in the bottom, I sandblast the light plate, I suspend 32 figures in the environment and I have my Field of Figures IV… simply, right?  Not exactly, but it’s coming together.

I was contacted about doing a large found object sculpture which resembles a figure.  I painted this spec piece for the prospectus.  I would find a number of disc like metal objects and wire suspend them together so the figure would float.  We’ll see if I get the gig.  I’m getting back to the blog and sites again after a six week major renovation of the second studio I bought in Connecticut.  I will put a slideshow of my renovations on the website soon.  Clean and productive space is priceless for the artist.  I own two studios that I have completely renovated and I cannot begin to explain how important the transformation has been.  I am at peace and I will be making some mean art now that I don’t have to spend every extra minute and penny on gut renovating my two properties.

I was close to moving out of my CT loft.  I almost bought a studio in Chelsea.  The contract was on my lawyer’s desk for the agreed upon price.  Buchbinder Realty, which owns 5000 units and is devoid of ethical practice, changed the price 35,000. and I walked away from that bad Ju-Ju.  With a renter coming I started renovating my second studio and tried to find a suitable rental in NYC.  This was all too fast so I bailed on the move for now… I continue building here and keep my NYC studio share.

 I have built the perfect work and live spaces that I own, so this year I enjoy the creative process and market.  Right now I’m very inspired, this magic that laps the spirit and carries one off to the greener pastures of the mind and heart.  I spend my conscious time prepping for such flights… my whole adult life really.  I look back and every move I made after age 19 was motivated by art making, how to survive at it, how to be a master, how to live the life.  And then one has the serendipituos moment like I’m in the middle of and all questions evaporate… this is what I am here to do… the right thing… following my calling at any cost.  I am a decent human so any cost is something I pay for - I don’t levy heavy taxes on friends and family…

I write this on my blog… the diary gone public… strange yet I think an interesting exercise - people come here for news and pictures so I’ll get back to that as soon as I get my basement finished. 

Renovation is strangely satisfying, moving spaces around, making environments.  It is also a slippery slope, and suddenly one finds oneself swept away.  I am struggling to return to the studio after the basement foray.  I am close and the rewards will be resonant, but here in the heat of battle I want to not be obsessed with space today as people are calling on me for my art.  My tune will change in the next week so I press on.