The studio project

Painting in the studio (see the great light from the skylight and window?) • photo © 2010 Nathan Ingalls

I am blessed to be able to use as my studio part of a barn near Calistoga. I have two skylights, two windows, and amazing light; two doors, one with ramp access and the other one a big barn door (great for bringing big paintings in and out).

Insulating with wool in progress

photo © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

Slowly, I've been getting work done on the studio as well as in it. When I was searching for a good (and cheap) way to insulate the walls, another painter suggested sheep's wool, which is sometimes used for insulation in England and Canada. A renewable resource – it's green! And I knew people with sheep and wool and no place to take it, which is how I wound up insulating the barn walls with wool. My landlord also gave me some old foamboard insulation, which sped up the process enormously. I like that this has been a green project – keeping both the wool and the foamboard out of the landfill.

Insulating with wool in progress

(I used the white PVC pole to tamp the wool into place behind the board) • photo © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

All but two sections of wall are insulated now, and most of them are covered by oriented-strand board. Lately, I've been working on filling gaps in the wall with expanding foam and spackle, cutting off the foam and sanding it and the spackle, and priming the walls. I'm working on one side of the studio, and I'm happy to see it all beginning to come together....

Getting a little enthusiastic testing colors

photo © 2011 Karen Lynn Ingalls

The next step is to paint over the primer. This side of the studio will have darker walls. I went a little overboard in my enthusiasm (and confusion) about what direction to go, color-wise. It was fun, though. (Beware those little tester paint pots – they are soooo seductive. And some of the test colors I mixed myself with student-grade acrylics.)

My Mark Rothko wall

photo © 2011 Karen Lynn Ingalls

I thought this wall was looking a bit like Mark Rothko.... (No, I didn't really need to paint the light strip in the middle - I just really, really wanted to turn the wall, for a moment, into an homage to Rothko. The temptation was too great.…)

Zoe, enjoying the view from the studio at twilight

photo © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

I think I've settled on wall colors now (none of the ones you see above). I tested them next to nearly every painting in the studio. We'll see how they work!

Spring 2011 painting classes at the Calistoga Art Center

Karen giving a painting demonstration, in the current Art Center in Calistoga's historic Masonic Building • photo © 2010 Erik Bolijn

The new year has arrived, and it's time for my Acrylic Painting classes to begin again at the Calistoga Art Center. This will be the Art Center's last month in Calistoga's historic Masonic Building, on the main street in town. The light there is spectacular.… Feel like painting objects in light from the windows? Painting the street views? This is your last chance.…

Painters at work in the Spring 2010 Acrylic Painting class

The first four–week session runs from January 12th through the beginning of February. We'll have one four–week session on Wednesdays, and another on Fridays, both from 1:00 to 4:00 in the afternoon.

Then the Art Center moves to its new location, in the Cropp Building, at the Napa Valley Fairgrounds, 1435 North Oak Street, Calistoga. We'll have 3,000 feet of space! With skylights, concrete floors, and a big parking lot! It's going to be a wonderful space for us — I hope you'll join us – or come by and take a look during our Open House coming in March.

The remaining spring sessions will be:

February 9th through March 18th

March 23rd through April 15th

April 27th through May 20th

You can find more information online at www.calistogaartcenter.org.