Painting Studio Intro

Third Switch Studios is a painting studio.

Upon graduation most printmakers are confronted with the equipment conundrum. Leaving a space with all the large, expensive equipment only to enter a world of tiny apartments and tinier paychecks. And unless you live in an area with a printmaking community, and can afford some kind of membership, you’re on your own to figure it out. It took me until 2009, after graduating in 2005, to get my press, so in the meantime I took the opportunity to teach myself oil painting. I had taken some painting classes (acrylics only) in school, but I never got to tinker with oils. Thankfully I was surrounded by painters, co-workers, mentors (all of whom used oils), and I worked at an art store where I could gather a small kit together for a reasonable price.

My first couple bodies of work were in just black and white. I had done most of my printmaking in black and white, and I did A LOT of figure drawing during undergrad, so I thought I wouldn’t complicate the learning curve by adding color to the mix.

Since then I have completed several bodies of work and have come into my own as a painter. I am always learning and wanting to improve, and it all still feels like a work in progress. Continuing my education, I have expanded the scope of my studies to include refining oils by hand and mixing my own paints. Being a printmaker, I clearly gravitate toward PROCESS, so this just an extension of that fascination.