The Studio Space

Russell Smith · 11 January 2006, 08:43 AM

For those of you who are interested, I just added this feature to my site:
http://www.russellsmithart.com/tourthestudio.htm

Let me know if you see any typos.

Russ

Barker · 11 January 2006, 09:26 AM

Russell, you may want to look at your line breaks throughout this area.
Centered type can be a good thing and I see it here, but you may want to re-groom your text set. Not all, some.
Linebreaks are subliminal but good ones aid readability - your reader's experience and your communication with them. Judicious line breaks also have benefit of nuancing your own items of emphasis - phrasing, if you will, similar as music, when played by any two different musicians.

Think about it.

Otherwise, it, like you and your work and space, is both clean, thought through and gracefully presented. I like the text size, as is, as I believe it strikes a good balance between form and function. It's a good font for text, too.

A very clean layout and well-done.
Would that many other sites had the same class and clean presentation.

cheers -

Russell Smith · 11 January 2006, 09:35 AM

Thanks for that Barker. I'm sure you are aware that part of the issue with the linebreaks depends on what browser you're using to view the site. I ususally check new pages in Netscape, Explorer and Safari before posting them to the site, and I ususally come up with a different result in each browser. Putting in hard breaks is one solution, but I find that Dreamweaver puts in too much leading when I do that. I'll try to keep your advice in mind in the future, though.

russ

RED BARON RETURNS · 11 January 2006, 09:52 AM

Russell,
Looks really nice.My father got one of your WWII prints "sixth on sixth" of George Preddy P-51 Mustang.Thats is one fine looking P-51.
Will you be doing any other aces of WWII later on down the road?
Keep up the good work.
JEP
RED BARON RETURNS

Russell Smith · 11 January 2006, 10:05 AM

Thanks RBR. I don't plan on doing any more WWII in the forseeable future (unless, of course, there is a commission involved). I'm having too much fun with the WW1 subjects!

Russ

AAC Cadet Leader · 11 January 2006, 10:43 AM

Russell,
That's a great working studio space you've set up for yourself! Thanks for sharing and for inviting us all in for a tour. It's intriguing and informative to see where your masterpieces are created and how you've set up your space to accommodate your needs. I hope other artists here will post a pic of their studios as well.

Perhaps partly due to the lack of enough room in my house for a real studio, I usually paint outdoors in the yard or more often, I bring one of my easels (I have about a dozen of 'em), paint box and palette somewhere to enjoy the beautiful scenery and try to capture it on a board. I try to get out to paint at least three or four times a week. My goal for 2006 is "3-a-week!" Sunrise and sunset are of course the best times of day to try to catch the most dramatic colors. When the weather is too cold, wet or windy, my easel is the steering wheel in my 1996 Rav-4.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...ia/ravfour.jpg

It's a great portable studio for small, quick paintings. I tilt the steering wheel up, throw an old towel over it and then clamp a pre-ground masonite board or a canvas board to the towel. Scoot my driver's seat way back my and put my palette and paint box on the passenger's seat (also covered by an old towel). On days when I get a long lunch hour, I find a great view to park my car in front of and paint away. (Some sizes that work well in a car studio are: 5 x 7", 8 x 10", 6 x 8", 9 x 12")

The dashboard holds the drying paintings and the paint will scrape off the front window with a razor blade when I get a round tuit. If you have a really nice car that you wouldn't dare do an oil painting in, well, you are missing out on a lot of fun!

At home, since I don't have a proper studio yet, I paint in my kitchen, living room and bedroom. Someday I hope to have a real studio where I can really sling paint with reckless abandon.

Ross_Moorhouse · 11 January 2006, 01:55 PM

Can't read the black text on the dark back ground mate. Also very hard to read the URL text that takes you to the next page.

Russell Smith · 11 January 2006, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ross_Moorhouse

Can't read the black text on the dark back ground mate. Also very hard to read the URL text that takes you to the next page.

What browser are you using? The text & URL should show up on a light grey background.

Russ

Ross_Moorhouse · 11 January 2006, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Russell Smith

What browser are you using? The text & URL should show up on a light grey background.

Russ

Firefox mate.

Ross_Moorhouse · 11 January 2006, 02:22 PM

And I just tried IE and its dark on grey. Which I can now read.