You are the real deal. I have found other artists on you tube that I really like but can hardly tolerate their gimmickiness. I hope you stay authentic. I love your videos and your art.
Hi Sarah, thank you for sharing your space. Hi everyone! Over the many years that I have been doing art I started with my lap. Then I moved to using a foldable dinner tray, then to using the kitchen table though I would have to clean up so family could sit and eat. At that point in my life I used cleaning caddies to store my art supplies in and I could easily carry those to the kitchen table. Eventually, I commandeered a corner of the living room and had a small desk to use. Then my kids grew up and moved out and I took over one of their bedrooms as a art room and guest room (kept a bed in there). Then I moved to a different house where the last owner was an artist and her architect husband built a art studio in their home and now I have a decent size studio room just for ME! I'm 63 now and this space is my happy place. The one thing that I've learned is that no matter what size space you have you'll always need more storage for everything. Also, my space inherits the storage furniture that no one else wants any more. So it's a hodgepodge of wooden storage cabinets and bookcases. I don't care that isn't matchy-matchy because the "look" of my studio isn't as important to me as the function of the space. But it all seems to look just fine overall. The important takeaway is that it doesn't matter the size or place to do your art but it's the doing the art part that is important. If a lap is all you got (and we all have one of those) don't let that stop you from creating.
Fantastic reply, Danita!!! From a lap to a purpose-buolt studio - it's the steps in between which tell the true story - 'make the best you can of what you have, and you're being creative and making art.' I began the painting side of my creativity with a drawing board on my lap, in bed, where I was stuck for several weeks, and all these years later, my studio is still my dining room, but as I'm by myself now, I can leave enough space to eat, and the rest is art and craft! So yes!!! Thank you for telling us about your progression!!! 🤗
“If it fits, it sits!” Yessssssss. I think any cat owner can appreciate this line. I have lost count of the number of boxes that shouldn’t fit a cat, that end up fitting one of my cats. 😂 Also….I thought you were gonna go the Mr. Bigglesworth route, but then you went in the “hello Mr. Bond direction.” Okay, cat-related things from your video aside, thank you so much for giving a glimpse of your studio and your organizational methods. Hope your day is wonderful!
As an artist myself of 35 years who lives in a cottage in Australia, I completely understand how much stuff we have, Sarah! All the paintings stacked in every corner of the house and on the walls, all the clear plastic boxes stacked holding materials for every medium, and the absolute lack of workspace. If I am doing large oils I have a front verandah with my easel out there and a long table which is plastic folding which is permanently up. Sometimes I watch other artists who have massive fabulous art rooms with multiple clear benches and classy cupboards and shelving and am envious! But where there’s a will there’s a way, as we well know😅 There have been times when I’ve wished I had a big studio to hold everything in one place so the rest of my house would have more space and look normal but I know that is never going to happen . We own our house on an acre with grain fields around us and the village is only a kilometre away so the environment outside is pretty nice. 😊🇦🇺
Sarah, you look so happy in your studio. It is really nice to see you smile. It’s funny how having our own little space to create can make us feel happy. Thank you so much for sharing this video. ❤from the 🇺🇸
This was so fun and helpful! I loved your advice on using whatever you can find for storage and saving money for supplies, and also on keeping your tubes in plastic bags for freshness-never thought of that. I also always wondered what artists do with finished paintings that aren't necessarily for sale. Thanks for a great realistic video!
I love how real this is. Use whatever space you have is the main message. Dmitri Shostakovich wrote all of his works sitting at a kitchen table in a tiny Russian flat with kids running around his feet. No piano to hear what he was putting down and still creating masterworks.
Hullo Sarah, I have been storing my supplies for over 50 years! From a small desk drawer that held all of my pencils, paper and a small watercolor palette to having a 3 bedroom home where my supplies have taken over a bedroom, dinning room, and half of the living room! Your studio space does look cozy and inviting! If I could offer a small piece of advice? Get your paper large and small in a carrier. I have several options from the cardboard portfolio storage/traveling pieces to simple cardboard boxes that hold sheets. I put plastic liners around the bottom to protect from moisture and if it should flood the handles make it easier to gather them up to move. I also set them on top of empty shoe boxes, just for added protection. You never know when you or a visitor will drop that sipper bottle and the cap freakishly pops off and you create your own flood that washes across your floor and “Poof”! The bottom 3 inches of you sheets of paper are ruined. Thank you for sharing your cozy studio, I look forward to seeing more of your organization in future videos!
Thank for sharing your inner sanctum with us. It's always a struggle to keep things organized art supply wise. So many tools, so many mediums. Oh well, there are worse problems to have, right? Love the little tips you always give in your videos, always helpful. Love your channel, Sarah and Wolfie! -Actually both of your channels! ♥
Thank you for sharing Sarah! Artists are going to make art no matter where the space:) I work on my dining room table, and in my bedroom(that's where my easel &taboret are, not ideal, but I can paint there and my bed serves as my work table/framing table :) You have some great storage ideas that I will make use of! Thank you again for sharing :)
Thank you, Sarah, for talking us through your organisation in your art studio. I have a small room of similar size full of boxes and shelving systems with materials and art specimens/ photos etc that I might need in the future. I have a lovely desk but it's usually covered in materials. So I am currently working out of a large yellow Sainsbury's bag in my living room, with books and larger items like my portable minidesk/ pochard box on a tripod to my right. Everything I need to hand with current projects but, like you, I would love a larger dedicated work room or barn, financially out of reach at the moment. Something for the future. I rarely sell my paintings, mostly give them away. I just love the creative process and your videos, advice and art work have been so inspiring, thank you for your dedication to sharing your knowledge and experience with us. Xx
Thank you for sharing your studio! I always enjoy to see the way other artists organize, I often get really good ideas that help me in my studio. Having your printer on the shelf unit is such a fantastic idea- they are so large and it seems impossible to keep it on top of a table, space is a priority for me - I’m pretty sure I’m going to copy this idea! My studio is small too and I am outside a lot, but like you I really enjoy my studio space- thanks for sharing!
You really have made the most of your space! I dream of a studio all the time, but if I let that keep me from doing art, then that kind of dreaming isn't helpful so I work with the space I have.
This was interesting! 😃 You inspired me to buy more of these little boxes to finally defeat the chaos in my studio! 👌 Thank you for showing us your studio and organisation!
Studio organization!! You get 5 gold stars! An idea I have found helpful is a 'studio index'. I use index cards in a metal index card box with alphabetical tab cards . I write down an item heading and where I put it on the card. After years of accumulating so much stuff, this has been a helpful way to find things. I also have one for the house. A rolodex file can be used also. The cards can list what is in drawers or cabinets as well. Just make a habit of writing things down. It can save a lot of time searching the studio for something. "I know I have it. Where did I put it ?!!" Thank you for the tour. :-)
Thank you for sharing your cute studio space. You’ve organised it well. Like you I’m always changing things. A car cane through my studio wall recently so I’m starting over, reorganising yet again 😂
I have that cart too. I was able to purchase a magnetic paper towel holder on Amazon and have it on the side of my cart so it doesn’t take up space on my desk. Love my cart.
you have so much stuff and you've organised it so well. I now need to tidy up my art room (spare bedroom). Thanks for the different ideas. Would love to see a video of how you organise your day - weather permitting.
Love, love, love how real you are. Anyone who loves cats is gold in my book. I love your furry assistants. Mine can't come in my studio because they would break everything. ❤ Thanks for sharing your creative space.
You and I have lots in common with our equipment and studio spaces! I also live in a stone cottage in Scotland, high ceilings, but we ran out of space with my art gear. I kind of moved partly into the living room because that's where the woodstove is! I have to get it under control! Maybe a trolly I can wheel down the hall from studio to living room? Great video as usual!
Thanks for sharing your studio, Sarah - and especially for your notes on how the supplies you use are constantly changing. It’s important to stay curious so the art retains its fresh appeal to artist and viewer alike, right? The paints-in-bags-for-freshness tip, tho… that’s a keeper for me. Logical but not necessarily obvious. All the learning from you!! 💙 Thank you 🙏
Well Sarah I have no excuse for my 18x24 plus covered porch art studio next to my house being messy but omg does it get messy. And when I’m there I have good intentions to clean and find new homes for things. I’ll clean off my desk and the urge to paint becomes too great that I begin doing that instead of what I intended. I try to save that for the days when things just aren’t working out painting wise. But usually I need to get out of there then! I was very fortunate when w e moved to our home in the woods we had built the home years before so adding on a studio next door was not so hard. But I have a nice porch plus two lofts on either end of the high ceiling. One for all of my jewelry making supplies which I need to sell, and the other side is my yarn 401k as I call it for knitting. If I got rid of the jewelry stuff I could put all the big canvases and rolls of watercolor paper and frames etc there. But for now they’re in a huge pile in my corner. Maybe I need to do a new tour video, and that’ll kick me in the ass enough to get it done! Ya think? But one thing is I sometimes miss just having that bedroom i used to have where I can duck into and still be in the house. There’s something to be said for both. One thing I wanted to mention was that I thought that taking the rainbow flag away from your printer area supplies looked like it opened up a bit more. Something I do for swatches is a 3 ring binder with the plastic sleeves. Works great and can be leafed through easily. I also have tabs for the brand or for the palette I’m using.
Thanks Sarah 🎉this is just what I needed! I needed someone who could be open about the approach and how it’s ever changing and evolving! Space can be limited. I just moved from Wisconsin back to South Carolina in a different space so I haven’t set up my studio yet. I had a choice between a very small room, much like yours or a hot workshop room. I thought I would use the workshop space but it’s too hot and no windows!!! When you said natural light is the best! I thought duh!! What was I thinking!!! So thanks for the inspiration and direction!! I’m going to use the smaller air conditioned room, even though it’s smaller than I expected…I will make it work!! Thanks again for your candid and honest example so I can get my crap together again to get my studio set up! I miss it and have had to long of a hiatus from my artwork and creative outlet!! I love this post and most of all I’m a huge fan of yours!!!
Sarah - great insight - i also have very small box room for my space , and although i appreciate some dont even have that - i am at the stage where i have very limited spece now, must stop buying books and supplies .....
I really enjoyed seeing your art supplies and space. I had a room in my old house years ago that I used for art and everything else. I have a room in this old house that we bought last year. We need to redo that room yet. I use the kitchen and living room right now. I have a large tote bag, lots of pockets, that some of my supplies fit in. I carry that from room to room. I like that comfortable feeling you get in a space where you are creative. I love what you have done with your space. I see your cat loves your office chair. I had a cat years ago that also loved my office chair. I sat on another chair or the floor! Lol! Have a good weekend.
Very nice indeed ! … you need extra space too using full capacity of your lovely art studio.. Think about armoire or shelf up to the roof on one wall, easy way, not too expensive. Well one one many ideas.. keep creating, colouring your life!
We love it the Artist world!!! We need storage space for our supplies paper, canvases,paints, containers, brushes n other things to paint! It’s an artist life y’all. Love it or leave it 💜💜💜🔥👀👀👀👀
I have stackable totes that also can be unstable when stacked high. I built a framed-out structure that they can stand in and they stay put even when driving.🌻
I Love the mini easels and just had 20 of them on display this past weekend! I was also gifted the same rolling cart and you've given me some great ideas for how to store certain items! Looking forward to seeing your future She Shed.
What you said in the end of the video is so true. I’ve seen art influencers peddling hundreds of dollars in art supplies, and coming up with the new thing all the time.
Great to see how you organise everything. Love your window so quaint. I also use a trolley. It’s become indispensable. I have a small studio space but I like to move around the house to work some days taking over the dining table sometimes sitting in the lounge room so I’m not isolated from everyone else. So the trolley just moves with me and can always be positioned within reach. I also repurpose boxes as trays for supplies so they can be easily swapped out according to my creative whims on the day.
I have been struggling for 20 years to have my art and craft supplies organized. Lol. I definitely prefer pull out drawers over stacking things. I hate having to dig down to a certain box. It's funny how little things like boxes vs drawers make such a big difference in our frustration level. 😄
Amazed how you could work in so crammed space. I cant. I too have small store room converted to a art space....but I dont do art business, just a hobby. so i understand the need for so many supplies. However....its difficult such great is created in such small space. amazing! Maybe if you had a bigger space....you could feel better in your day. maybe or maybenot each to their own😊
You are so wonderfully down to earth. Thank you for the lovely studio tour. It's great how you organized everything with simple things. Greetings from Germany 😃 Monika
Oh my gosh! I have a tiny room as well. This is what I did! Ikea has inexpensive customizable shelves floor to ceiling with baskets & bins instead of the 'hodgepodge'! It would give a more serene and cohesive asthetic feel along with wall mounted shelving over your desks instead of frames for immediate grabs. I have the same carts (that have bamboo tops for an extra work surface) that I can tuck under my desk. Instead of tapestry a large piece of wool felt to absorb sounds works. Same goes for that 'over-flow' area, shelves or a cabinet with doors. I redid my whole room for less than $500! Thanks for sharing!
Kat, it depends a great deal on our budgets before IKEA comes into the picture. They aren't the inexpensive option they used to be, and what is inexpensive to one person can be completely beyond the budget of another - even more so with the continuing cost of living crisis - and harder than ever for someone like me, with a budget of £12,000 _per year_ . Having paid in full for my state pension, that's all it amounts to - what many people earn in a month a lot, a _lot_ of others are taking a year to earn - not just state pensioners!!! And it's not for want of doing hard graft for that money! Buying art supplies is a carefully thought-out replacement-only option, for which one saves up and does without other things A lot of my storage is sturdy cardboard boxes stacked together as open-fronted storage - and together, they make a surprisingly firm storage unit! All my in-drawer organisers are repurposed cardboard, similar to Sarah's plastic boxes. A set of shelves is actually a cheap two-shelf shoe-storage rack. It takes a lot of weight, and I can move it for cleaning around it... Sometimes I dream about matching storage, but ultimately, I know exactly where everything is, and for almost everything, as is Sarah's, it's a reach-out-and-grab situation. I think what I have is far more creativity-inspiring than the generic., sterile IKEA drawers and shelves which have invaded so many ArtTubers' studios, and of which they are so proud... And typing this reminds me yet again that sterile, generic units art not exactly creativity-inducing, however neat and tidy everything is! And for most I've seen, they still haven't enough storage for all the stuff they have. I like it that Sarah has an ordinary 'garage' shelf unit from the DIY store. I am still looking for one which will work for me - eight years on now, since I moved and left behind the inbuilt cupboard I had before - one that I can afford (budget's a bit tight, you see...). That her storage comes from the kitchen section, and so on. In spite of what seems chaotic to a viewer, she knows exactly where everything is, and it's easily accessible - and ultimately, that's all that matters!!! 😄
@@MrsBarnabas well, I too have a budget lol! I got it all set up little by little and spent about $500 bucks in total over a period of months. It’s not sterile at all actually. I mixed in wood with black and white along with some vintage finds and have plants as well to add life. I used dollar store clear plastic storage bins for things I want to see on shelves and baskets for ugly stuff storage. For inside the bins as dividers I used the plastic containers mushrooms come in from the grocery store! - they work great! IKEA specializes in small rooms and storage so it’s a good option for Sarah’s small areas.
@@katcatinaz sounds like you really thought out your space well and found some good options at IKEA. I wish I had an IKEA close to me. My studio is much like Sarah’s in that I have found or built options that work for me. I love these kinds of videos because I get such good organization ideas from the videos and the comment section. I have a studio filled with estate sale finds over the years. I have a counter that sits on top of 1950’s metal cabinets that I got for free and repainted. Another good idea for vertical storage (with a small footprint ) would be a file cabinet. I love my file cabinet! I put so much in those hanging files (even my ceramic pallets each hang in a file).
This is so helpful to see. I just got a cart for my own setup, mostly gouache and colored pencils, and definitely still reworking it. For folks looking for ideas, use what you have, see how it works, then go from there. I haven't worked in a tea shop since 2018 but I sure do still use those tea tins to store brushes, pens, and anything else that'll fit in there.
I can confirm that kitchen organizers are amazing to organize art stuff. I have most of my furniture from IKEA and the cheapest flatware tray (STÖDJA) fits the ALEX drawer units so well! The edge of the plastic lays flat on the sides of the drawer, so I have organized stuff under it and in it, as it lays on the top. 👌Basically I have an extra drawer inside the drawer. 😂
I really like what you did with the space! There is some thought and ideas that sparked watching it. If you are open to suggestions, there is 3 things I would suggest (just ideas) 1- if you are able to do it in a non destructive way, i think the plastic drawers can be assembled and disassembled so you could remove the top fo the bottom part to clip the whole unit to the top 3 drawers and then make a single unit 2- i didn't see above the erasabke white board, but ikea peg board is really nice to make custom storage based on your needs. They even have some clips you can get to attach them to some desk if you don't want to make holes in your walls 3- I also have a really long metal ruler and over the years, i hanged them on two diffrent spots either with a strong magnet to a metal leg of the desk (so they are accessible) or i hang them on the point 2 peg board with one of the hangers i purchased. (I appreciate having mine arround, but it drove me insane having them in places i could scratch myself with it, which was happenning more than i want to admit 😂) I really like your work and it's always nice to see a behind the scene!
My name is Bond, not gonna lie I turned to the screen when you said “ah Mr. Bond” great video- thank you I also have more stuff it seems in storage than out using at one time
Very helpful ideas. I’m about to move to a very small house without much storage in Portugal. I’ll watch this again once I’m there. Maybe you’ll do a class in Portugal someday. Thanks!!
Nice video. I have one of those carts and it never occurred to me to use magnets/magnetic clips on the outside!!! Genius. I spend a lot of my painting time outside too. My studio is mostly a storage space, lol. I have to keep the cat out of mine because otherwise my brushes become 'fetch' toys 😂
A nice and well-structured studio-story, Thanks Sarah🌟 Your studio is a compact, though cosy and creatively organised working-space. I wondered, if there are any issues with humidity and watercolor paper getting damp while storing. And if so, how do you deal with that?
Yes improper storage can harm paper (and other supplies). We have a dehumidifier in our house going at all times for health reasons and I'm sure it helps our stuff too. I usually keep all paper wrapped up if it's stored for longer
You’ve made really good use of that small space! And it’s way neater than my room! 😬 It makes me feel the need to pack my room again… And also have swatches in loose sheets that I can file away or something Oh I’d love to see your current plein air set up! Would especially love it if you share what you tried previously and how it worked/didn’t work… That would be the equivalent of finding and watching 10 other set up videos…. 😬 I think it would be useful because then we can pick amongst the various ideas something that would work for us (availability/budget/environment/preference wise!)
I have the opposite climate from you. It gets overly hot here. 115°F! You'd think I lived in the desert. I'm in a valley in So Cal. Lately we're overran by mini mosquitos. I say mini, cause I lived in Alaska, where it's the state bird!!!😂. So, I would love to get out more. I can't leave without my vanilla spray, just to go in my own backyard. I'm a pool guy... I had to get rid of our pool, because it was drawing the mosquitos. We've been in this house since 2005. We didn't have a mosquito issue until 2016. Anyway, I just thought of that when you said spend half the time outside.
For the supplies video just date it, my current supplies this season fall 2024 or something! People understand that tools change we run out of a color or a pen and buy a different one. It’s totally okay and making updated ones gives more content hahaha
You have a lovely space there, in an ideal world it would be bigger but sometimes less really is more. I have a large space because I've taken over the dining room part of an open plan kitchen/dining/lounge area. It might be bigger than yours and have more windows for light but it's also a thoroughfare for family members and our dog, going in and out our backdoor, and through into the lounge and kitchen. Big windows and very few walls means no privacy, lots of noise and very few areas to put in tall storage, or much storage at all without blocking traffic flow. A small room out of the traffic flow really has some appeal to me. Bigger isn't always better.
I used to use the dining room which was open to the living room and was also the thoroughfare. Too distracting and not good for focus or noise. But the dream is a large dedicated space away from everything. Even detached from the house. So I can go to work and come home. ☺️
I just watched this and kept saying check! check! check! It was pretty much a tour of my own studio, even down to the beautiful white cat (Akira's so big now!) If I ever have a youtube channel and want to do a studio tour I'll just refer people to this one and say mine is identical but messier :)
My art room which is a shared pantry and closet at the same time looks much like your studio. I have way too many art supplies and yet I keep finding the need to order more. LOL. Oh well, we are the creatives, right?
this is why I avoid hoarding art supplies as much possible as I am also lacking in space. I don't even have a room for my art, just my dinner table. I have a secretary desk with all those little compartments and drawers full with my art supplies, than a drawer of a sideboard with paper, a painting chest and bamboo drawer box for all the graphite, charcoal pencils, erasers and brushes, ink pens and things like that, then there are large sheets on my wardrobe and that's it, there's just no room for more. I think you have triple if not double of that more than me 🤭. would be fun though, but I don't think I would use it all.
Thank you Sarah. Where did you find your label printer? And whether is the make? I’ve been searching for one & failed. PS So impressed by your organisational skills!
Sarah, your studio seems like your happy place apart from painting outside of course. I just have one question and it’s not about storage. How do you keep your cats off your desk-out-of-paints-and-water and chewing your brushes while painting? Mine have their own water fountain and multiple bowls all over the house but they just have to drink water from my brush washer or they want to lick the paints. They never let me paint in peace 😢 any tips for keeping your cats busy while you paint?? This is from one cat mom to another 🙈
Hello Sarah! I just wanna ask, how small are the wet gouache palettes you use. Because I bought them online and just received it yesterday and they looked really small. thanks in advance! :)
Do you have larger canvases or paintings not sold that need to be stored- ugh, I have ones I put aside and want to go back to or havent sold and they are in a large box in the corner- what do you do with larger ones?
"This tower of doom is a terrible idea, do not do this at home..." Me looking over at mine: Yeah, it really was a terrible idea, but she's still standing LMAO.
@@SarahBurnsStudio that's exactly where im at now. Super considering chopping most of it off and letting it grow back through the colder months. I'm.undecided. maybe I'll just shave my head. It's hot here in WV
@@SarahBurnsStudio I need to find me one! Just joking. I figured such. I lost my husband to Covid back in 2020. My oldest met an Englishman and married. So at least I get to visit!
@@Amberlanewatercolor I had a tower of doom until recently- I bought a used file cabinet- that thing holds everything now- I even have my ceramic pallets hanging in file folders now! It doesn’t take up any more floor space than my stacked drawers units did but it holds twice the amount. I think most artists have the tower of doom!😂
