a new year, a new McEvoy, a new studio, a newd painting

I'm glad to announce, on this blog, that my wife and I are expecting our third child.  And, with these glad tidings of great joy, comes morning sickness for my poor wife.  Forgive me for my bloglessness, things have been quite busy at the McEvoy home.

My new studio is beautiful, and I've enjoyed doing several commissions in the studio lately.  And, I'm also glad to say that the classes are going so well.  I'm just so pleased, I can't describe.  The new studio does not come without its work, though- there is so much to be done.  Yesterday morning, I woke at five, bought plywood and two by fours from Home Depot, and assembled four wooden pedestals for portrait models to sit on.  I had to then clear the tables saws, jigsaws, chopsaws, airguns, compressors out of the studio, in order to set up for the portrait class, which began at ten.  It was tight, but it all worked out.  We had a wonderful portrait class, followed by a figure painting class in the afternoon.

In order to make the studio run smoothly, I have a checklist a mile long.  I have to fine tune some aspects of my homemade easels, build painting racks, build shelves, organize painting materials, etc.  But, as I chip away at each project, bit by bit, I've already seen progress.  I'm grateful to my students, for their appreciation of the studio, and for their patience with all of the modifications that are in progress.

The most exciting thing about the studio is the light.  Though I've focused so much attenti0n on commissions, and have done very little independent work lately, today was different.  A friend came to help me organize all of the overwhelming clutter in my studio, and then we passed a wonderful few hours, painting with a model.