My Vintage Shasta Art Studio

As promised here is a full recap/tour and better pics of my vintage Shasta camper trailer that I've had made into a mobile art studio. 

A few years ago I bought this Shasta with the intent of turning it into a mobile art studio.  Insert Happy dance when I first saw her and big thanks to the friend who directed me to her!!

 I purchased the 1963 Shasta on the spot and returned a week later to pick her up.  My husband and I pulled her slow and easy about 50 miles to our home.  My husband, who is a carpenter/builder (thank heavens), slowly but surely over the past couple of years started putting into place the vision I had for my little trailer.  The only thing  inside was kitchen cabinetry which wasn't all original and what we think was an original closet.  That was left for storage and to put in a free standing portable AC unit inside of.  This IS Texas after all!

So with a blank slate before us colors were picked and the inside roof and walls were re-skinned.  Insulation was added above the new ceiling.  I wanted bead board at chair rail height around the insides.

 

 Along the front width of trailer my husband built me a front counter, open underneath so I can use for storage if I need, and I decorated the top of it.  This front counter is used as a display area.

An old little mirrored dresser with a broken leg that we fixed I painted over.  Painting over wood on an old piece of furniture is not something I would normally do but, the top was a bit damaged so I told myself I was doing it justice with paint. I used the bead board trim color to tie the look together.

This little studio was coming together!  Laminate wood planked flooring went in, and the inside was coming along nicely.  Electrical wiring was worked on and several silver track lights installed.  Not sure I'll ever use them but I like the way they finished out the look and I needed some kind of lighting I figured.  Finally it was on to the outside. 
New tires and wheels with the baby moon hubcaps were done.  Paint for the outside was a topic of discussion but I felt I really wanted to keep her close to her original look.  Yes, I may get artsy on her in the future but I really, really like the authentic look to her.  Maybe vinyl art so it won't be permanent?  Again, good to have a builder for a husband as he did it all!  The trailer taped off, I think we did awesome at picking that almost true to original color and she is totally freshened up on the outside.  She was almost ready!!! 

A rebuild of the door which I'm told is easier said than done, some blackboard paint on part of the inside door and we were down to the final thing necessary before using her.  A portable AC unit.  It was placed into the closet with an opening for the air to vent through cut exact within the closet door.  Looks like it belongs!  The AC exhaust needed a custom built chase to go out through to the floor and the drain tube out through floor also.  With that it was done, exception being the front eyebrow.  The old wood in the eyebrow frame plus a new piece that had been put in has not held up to the elements.  Final decision on what to do there has not been made still.  Yet in the meantime she made her first trip to a show earlier this month. 

So, lastly I'll leave you with pics of her set at the event that I took and a quick partial video tour that I did before the event when I was doing a partial dry run set up for the show.  It was really hot, and I mean really hot so it was quick.   I've not edited it and it doesn't show the side of the trailer with the AC and closet but it will give you a look at the inside finishes, along with the pics.

Merry Christmas

Its going to be a flurry of activity for the next week and so I wanted to take a moment for a quick studio update.
I finally sat down with my big canvas and got it finished.  Had a hard time getting a picture but here it is.

As it lays on my studio table.

Digitally placed in this frame.  So not actually mounted.

It's always a likelihood that I will come back to this piece and make changes or add to it still.  But for now I am happy with the result.  I am trying to determine what I will do on the next large canvas.
On my table right now is this piece.

 Yes another angel.  I can't seem to get away from doing them.  So that is a quick update and hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!!  Look forward to continuing to share art in 2015!

Jana McLaughlin©

And there is dancing in the streets!

Okay, maybe I over exaggerate BUT  it has finally happened.  My artwork is for sale on-line!
Whoop- whoop!!  It's been quite a struggle to get to this point but it really all came down to time.
Time to set it all up, time to take pics, time  to organize myself.  Well, okay, maybe that's going a bit far. But having set aside 1 1/2 days to focus on getting this process going I am feeling good.

Click on this to enter my Etsy store!!

There are plenty items to still put into the store but it's a start which means there is forward momentum!
Plus, I am selling my original canvas paintings on my website.  Either click here to go there or click at the top of this blog for Home then go to Shop.
So see there really should be dancing in the streets! Instead join me with all the great link ups happening over at Paint Party Friday by visiting here.
I'm sharing the completed canvas, I showed the starting picture of, a couple of posts back.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!

 

Studio time today!

I'm having a great Saturday! (Hope you are too.)  It's great because so far I've slept in, checked in on some art blogs, and now in the studio for awhile this afternoon.  Doesn't get much better than that.
Today I'm going to be working on doing something with this canvas I've got prepped and ready to take on it's real purpose.

 In the meantime though, I've been seeing other artists share their entries submitted to the Lilla Rogers Global Talent Search     http://lillarogers.com/global-talent-search/schedule/      The competition had a large amount of submissions and a selection down to a remaining 50 was made earlier this month.
Nope, not a finalist but it was great to have the opportunity to enter.  If not familiar with the contest the submission had to be a playground theme.  Here was my entry-

Thanks for noticing, yes of course there is a big flower on the playground! Ha ha!  There is so much talent around that it can't be easy to pick a winner.  I think just entering makes of us winners!!

Happy Thursday!

So here is the "rub"....patience is always a work in progress with me.  I can excel at times in its practice, and at other times, well it can be the bain of my existence.  The older one gets you recognize the signs of your own impatience and working on patience skills I think. 

Ideas, dreams, and other motivators for me often have a hard time taking a back seat to the day in and out mundane have to do's.
But knowing that they are alive and well and flourishing in their own due time means I may actually be getting a handle on this patience thing!


Also here is the finished product from last posts sneek peek.
Having just bragged about patience....it really didn't win out in the finish of my girl.  I had bigger and better plans for her but hey-

Patience....win some....loose some! :)

I have few excuses!

I don't know why I haven't posted for a few weeks, but I'm sure there is good reason!

1)  The maid never shows up.....leaving me to commit precious art time to other shall we say less desirable chores.
2)  That M-F, 8 to 5 nagging irritation that also grabs away precious creating time. What ever happened to women staying home while the men worked?  Apparently art supplies were not available leaving us idle and bored, precariously venturing into the M-F trap.  Shame on us!  If we'd only knew then what we know now!
3)  Then of course there has been the attendance to a Nascar Race, several movies probably, and even an evening of dancing.
So that pretty much explains it!
Nevertheless, I have stolen a few minutes to touch some paint, papers, and markers.

Hope you have a few minutes in your days to create too!

Inspiration block

I've been creating a lot of these over the past couple of months.  They make a quick canvas and provide that sense of completion at one setting! On this particular one I utilized modeling paste and pre-dried.
Hope you like it!

 

Go Big or Go Home

 Okay, maybe not BIG, but bigger than my normal work.  I've always been a bit intimidated by working on big areas.  Why?  Don't really know, just had the voices in my head saying....what will you put here or here or there?  Surely, I am not alone with this self challenged thinking!

 

So of late I have been tackling the very thing that has been nagging me and that is to go bigger.  Like most self imposed thoughts of potential failure I have found I couldn't have been more wrong.  My creativity actually flows a bit more readily.  So take that self!