I have a new painting completed but it's been raining so much lately that I haven't been able to get a good shot of it. The sun has finally returned though, so hopefully I'll have a picture of it to post soon. Meanwhile, in spite of a holiday break, progress continues with the new studio. We've done some exterior painting to the posts and doors, and I finally have a floor as well!

This shot shows the doors painted red to match the doors on our house. The pavers create a sidewalk and courtyard to connect the studio to the house. I'll have enough space on either side of the french doors for some flower beds. It's probably good that I'm shooting this in winter while the Crepe Myrtle is dormant, as I'm able to get a good shot of both the side and end elevations at once:

It's interesting to note how different the angle of the sun is in winter. During the summer we don't have the long shadows coming over the yard from the trees across the street. The end elevation (below) faces the back door of our house. This is the door I'll use most often:

I took a shot of the Pergo flooring just before covering it up with contractor's paper. I initially considered solid bamboo but at less than half the price I really had to go with the laminate. I must say this looks pretty good for an imitation:

I think the hanging wire and bare lightbulb really tie the room together ;-)

We're cutting the trim/mouldings this weekend, and we hope to install the track lights and overhead fixtures next week (more on the lighting I've chosen in a future post). After that, we just need to take care of the sink and the interior painting. I do think I want a wall color other than just plain white--though nothing near as dark as the deep sage color mentioned earlier that seems so popular with many of the portrait painters. Right now I'm eyeing a much lighter neutral gray/green/beige. My description makes it sound like a hospital color, but it's really quite nice.  I'll wait and see how the color looks after the lights are installed, however. It's amazing how much colors shift in different lighting conditions.