I am a Bacon fan but...

[Kevin Freeney]

I am a Bacon fan but this is going too far.

Haven't done any tidying since June when the last of classes wound up.

Here are the excuses;

1. Katie our daughter was using the space to put together her portfolio for college and that worked out well, Dun Laoghaire gave her maximum marks (600) and offered her a place as did Ballyfermot.

2. Katie then practised her Still Life for her Leaving Cert here for nearly a week. Katie doesn't do tidying up.

3. Karen Scannell's Piece-A-Day challenge had me out on the road for a week.

4. Then there was AITO preparations when I spent a lot of time on the computer getting stuff ready for printing and there were meetings.

5. There were also a few paintouts before the festival.

6. There were the Monday nights at Life Drawing hosted by Paddy Darigan in Wexford Arts Centre.

7. There was my exhibition "Nudes" in the Pigyard Gallery.

8. Then there is the best excuse; painting. Yes I was still able to make a path through to the easel at the bottom of the room and be oblivious to the mess. (Sorry for mentioning studio painting on a plein air site but it hasn't gone away you know)

9. And then there is my general laisser faire, some might say whimsical attitude.

Anybody else got a messy studio? Louise or Karen, somebody help me out here.

[Karen Scannell]

Only painting I'm doing in the studio are the walls!!

[caitriona giblin]

in my last job 2 of my friends were in the office and could instantly pick out my desk: keyboard covered in hello kitty stickers and tubs of glitter and stuff everywhere. that theme translates to my apartment which is the cave i live and work in now. canvases and various half baked craft projects everywhere. i appreciate the "a place for everything, and everything in it's place" approach, but i also subscribe to the school of "out of sight, out of mind" so i tend to get more stuff done when i have my sewing machine out, and paints almost to hand. as long as it's actually a creative environment, and not just an explosion of things, i find it works for me. well that's my theory anyway!

[Louise Treacy]

A FORMER BOSS OF MINE ALWAYS USED THE PHRASE "THAT HAS A HOME AND IT WILL SAVE TIME IF WE KNOW WHERE IT LIVES" HE WAS RIGHT AND I AM TRYING TO KEEP TO THAT MAXIM NOTALWAYS SUCCESSFULLY . But I think it will help when I go back to college cos sometimes \I used to spend an hour looking for stuff I just KNEW I had BUT WHERE?????????

[Louise Treacy]

What are you talking about ??? My BEDROOM looks like that !!! as for my Studio Im tryin very hard to keep it un "BACONESQUE" but as that is my nature , its really difficult, sure I need a half acre OUTDOORS so it DOES GET A BIT MAD INDOORS.MY MOBILE STUDIO AKA Thelma is tidier than any where I use

[Michael McGuire]

It must be tidy, Kevin. He saw my place earlier this year and "took me to task" over it. For some reason he expected to be neat and tidy like me! Come on Paul - a phot please!

[Kevin Freeney]

If we turn it into a competition I wonder would Paul Maloney, AITOOAW post a photo of his?

[Michael McGuire]

I think mine is a lot messier, Kevin!

[Kevin Freeney]

Yes, you're right Karen that's the excuse I gave some visitors recently. "It's not that I'm messy, just busy being creative" I actually have a place for nearly everything and it'll be tidy as soon as I start putting things away again. Trouble is, there is more of "everything" now. Storage for paintings is essential but that should be easy enough for you with a smaller format. I'll be doing a cull again soon.

[Karen Scannell]

Creativity..not mess Kevin.So when you can only make it to the sofa..do you play a sorrowful tune on the guitar, then try again later?? I have great intentions of having "a place for everything " in my new studio...but if I'm honest I think it'll take about a week for that to go out the window!!