Electronics in the Studio

"Warm Sand"
Acrylic Abstract, 24" x 20"
​Available here.

My blog topic today is a bit of a conflicting one. Electronics in the studio are a good and a bad thing. There are wonderful "gadgets" you can have in your studio that will enhance your painting experience. You just have to be careful that they don't distract you and interrupt the creative process.

So let's start out with the electronics that are a good thing in your studio. And I will use my studio as an example. First off, I have a large TV mounted on the wall that I use to display photos that I am referencing for my paintings. The TV also occasionally plays netflix shows if I want something playing in the background while I paint. I have an apple TV in my studio which allows me to project the netflix on my TV and also let's me project any photo from my phone, iPad or computer to the TV as well. I also have a large Mac monitor (connected to a laptop) that also displays painting photos. Finally, I have a printer hooked up to all of these electronic devices.

You will find a Sonos speaker in my studio that plays Pandora stations all day long. Sonos is a wireless speaker that just plugs in to an outlet and works fabulously! The best part? It is controlled by an app on my iPhone. I also have a massive charging station in my studio that charges my computer, phone, apple watch and iPad. 

And that's it. But here is where these electronics can be a problem. If you have a phone, iPad, apple watch  and computer in your studio (and as previously mentioned ... I have all of them) then you need to make sure your email inbox is turned off or silenced. On every electronic device! The same goes for text messages and any other notifications that constantly pop up on all of your electronics. Believe it or not, these notifications can wait. At least until you take a break from painting and creating!

I know it is tempting to want to be up to date on all of the latest communications. I mean, what happens if you miss a potential sale? Actually, waiting an hour to respond to your email or text messages probably won't make a difference in a sale. Rather, it just may help you complete a fabulous painting. And that makes sense.