The Work That Isn't the Artwork | Studio Decluttering, Organising & Prepping for My Masters Painting

Susan Nethercote

Susan Nethercote

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In this video I'm taking you through several days in the studio doing the kind of work that isn't the artwork at all, or at least not directly. This is all the pottering, cleaning and reorganising that happens behind the scenes, work I've come to genuinely respect over the years, not just for keeping a business running but as part of my creative process in its own right.

You'll see me wrapping up a painting ready for a customer to collect, clearing older exhibition work off my shelves to make room for new pieces (a few of those paintings are still available on my website if you'd like a look), and finding a better system for storing the canvases I'm currently working on. There's also a big sort through my acrylic paints and oil sticks, a much overdue window clean, and a proper reorganise of my daughter's room, which doubled as a chance to pull out some large pre-framed canvases I'm planning to use for a big new painting for my masters exhibition.

By the end I'm back to the more artisanal side of studio life, prepping a huge 120 by 120 centimetre canvas with a tinted gesso to match my usual linen, ready for a large bark painting I've been wanting to make. I also pack and ship some recent sales and print a new fine art print, which always comes with its own small technical dramas.

If pottering and reorganising are also part of your creative process, I would love to hear about it in the comments. And if you stayed until the end, leave me a broom emoji so I know.

A few of you asked about my studio setup in the comments: I print using an Epson P906 onto Canson Arches Aquarelle Rag paper, and my oil sticks are stored in Kmart packing cubes.

Available paintings: https://www.susannethercote.com/botan...

Other videos mentioned in this one:
My approach to painting on linen (and painting canvases to look like linen): Revisiting My Old Painting Style to Find M...

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who supports this channel by purchasing art or an e-course from my website. It genuinely helps fund the time and materials that go into making these videos, and I'm so grateful for every bit of it:
Art, prints, e-courses: https://www.susannethercote.com/
Newsletter: https://catchy-frost-81401.myflodesk....
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