Studio Tour #16 - Jennifer Stano from Coat Of Paint Studio

Hello! Hello! How are you today?

How Does Your Garden Grow by Jennifer Stano

Welcome back for another Weekend Studio Tour!

This week we are off to Minnesota for a visit with artist Jennifer Stano. Jennifer has kindly invited us to see where she creates her colorful paintings & mixed media pieces. She popped by here a couple of days ago to share her vibrant art and thoughts. If you missed Thursday's artist feature & would like to see more of her wonderful work, Click Here. Jennifer is also this week's sponsor of Thursday's Giveaways. Read more about this random drawing on last Thursdays post as well as at the end of this one.

Jennifer sells her art at CoatOfPaint.etsy.com. Also, if you find yourself in Northfield Minnesota, you can view her painting Pink Lotus at the Northfield Arts Guild through Jan. 2nd. Now, let me step aside so that Jennifer can show you around her creative space.

Pink Lotus by Jennifer Stano

JS: Welcome to my studio! Thanks to Stacey for letting me share my space with everyone today. Come on in!

Photos courtesy of Jennifer Stano

JS: I’m a part-time artist with a full time, non-art job and I’m also an active equestrian with a high-maintenance show horse that I actively compete, so painting hours are precious to me. After I graduated from college with my art and art history major, I lost my great work space at school and found it very challenging to paint without a dedicated space. That was my motivation to reclaim this downstairs bedroom and transform it into a space conducive to creating art.

JS: Plain white walls have always been like nails on a chalk board to me, so color (and lots of it!) was necessary in my studio. Being a lower level room with limited natural light, I opted for the brightest, sunniest yellow I could find. Walking into my studio in the morning with sun streaming through the window, it seems like the yellow walls are vibrating with life and the studio is giving me a big hug. The studio itself actually gave me inspiration for the name of my Etsy store; Coat of Paint Studio refers to how one coat of paint changed this plain room into an art studio, just like a coat of oil or acrylic paint transforms a canvas into a work of art.

JS: My studio is a refuge from the craziness of life, but since I have very few hours to dedicate to my art, I try to keep it very organized. I have two tables, both with extremely functional tops – one masonite and one pressboard. File cabinets or sawhorses provide the support, making these the most economical tables you could possibly create. But what I really love is having furniture that I can splatter with paint!

JS: Since my studio is a small space, I’ve gotten creative with storage systems to keep everything as neat and tidy as possible. There are lots of baskets with tubes of paint, color swatches, brushes, ribbons, etc. I have some giant bins of fabric scraps that are left over from my interior design days and they are fabulous for incorporating into mixed media collages. Some days I just play around with cuttings from old Life magazines and fabric scraps to create fun retro pieces.

JS: The easel I work on is actually one my dad made for me as a small child. It has extendable legs so the easel could grow with me. I now have it on the highest setting possible and it still works perfectly! I certainly lucked out having parents who encouraged artistic expression from a young age.

JS: To keep my thoughts organized, I have a wall of inspiration over my desk where I strung a rope between two nails. Various images I find are clipped to this rope with clothespins for an ever-rotating string of images. A floating shelf is improvised with an extra piece of molding set on two nails. Here I can set out my various small pieces in progress when I need to see them off the easel. Lastly, I hang all my palettes on this wall as well. It’s a little unorthodox, but I have several palates and limited storage space. What interests me is how something purely functional or mundane can take on the characteristics of a piece of art when is presented differently. Putting my palates on the wall makes these tools of art into art themselves. Plus they’re so darned colorful!!

JS: Well, that about wraps it up. Thanks for taking to stop by Coat of Paint studio! Ciao!

A Woman's Place by Jennifer Stano

Jennifer, thanks for sharing your sunny space & art with us today! And many thanks to those who decided to join me on your tour. It is the great comments left by readers that make posting these tours worthwhile. Mind you, I love peeking behind the scenes - but it is just so much fun having you guys come along for the ride!

Want to see more of Jennifer's terrific art & studio? Visit her blog, Coatofpaint.blogspot.com. Last August she posted additional photos of her space along with recommended links to studios that she enjoys viewing - that post is HERE.

Want to hang a piece of Jennifer's art on your wall? For Free?

It All Starts With An Acorn by Jennfer Stano

1 lucky winner will receive an 8" x 10" glicee print of her acrylic painting, It All Starts With An Acorn. TO ENTER the random drawing for this sunlit print, simply leave a comment on my blog before 1 a.m. (EST) on 12/24. Later that day 1 winner will be selected. Print ships free to addresses in USA & Canada.

So go on, leave a comment & then go check out Jennifer's other links. Thanks again for stopping by!