We LOVE hearing about how studios can really help elevate a garden, and in this case, a painting career!
For a time, Jacqueline’s paintings started life between a busy work schedule, making use of a few spare hours before she would need to pack up her painting equipment from the kitchen table.
The constant setting-up and packing-away broke her flow, and she longed for a space where she could truly immerse herself in her work. Now was the time for a change.
That’s when Jacqueline discovered Sanctum Garden Studios.
“Researching options I found Sanctum Garden Studios. They looked attractive with big double-glazed windows and door promising all the light I needed and unlike a wooden shed are fully insulated and low maintenance, so the decision to buy was easy. So was ordering and installation. Two lovely men arrived one morning and by the afternoon I had a working studio! All I had to do was make the guys tea and plug in the electricity supply!”
Jacqueline chose a 3m Hampton Garden Studio just steps from her back door. With floor-to-ceiling windows to welcome in natural light and a peaceful garden backdrop, her new studio became more than just a workspace — it became a sanctuary.
Not having to pack everything away proved to be a game changer- Jacqueline could now start off where she stopped with her paintings instead of dealing with the disruption to setting everything back up when she had time to paint. Her garden studio became her creative haven which enabled her to progress as an artist.
“With the space to work in oils and on larger pieces my practice developed and I produced more work than would have been possible in the kitchen. During the summer between Lockdowns I ran my own “Open Studios” event selling over 30 paintings and attracting a local gallery. Having so much success in the Sanctum Studio gave me the confidence to go professional and I now paint full time.
When my partner and I decided to set up home together I was sad to leave my Sanctum Studio, but I’m happy that the person who bought my house is using it for her own start up – a private physiotherapy practice. The studios are so versatile that although I’m now based with other artists in a professional studio I’m thinking of getting another Sanctum Studio in my new home” says Jacqueline.
Feeling inspired?
Here are some top tips from Jacqueline for artists on equipping a Sanctum Garden Studio:
Get thrifty: “I bought a lovely modern dresser for £100 from a charity shop – the dresser held all my paints and mediums while paper was in a plan-chest I was lucky to get on Freecycle. A large piece of tempered glass from an old set of shelves was placed on top, a perfect palette!”
Think multifunctional: “The most expensive item was my easel which converts to a table for when I need a horizontal surface. I work in series, so hung work in progress and drying paintings on a wall-mounted metal display grid sourced from a shop outfitter.
I could also clip up the sketches I was working on and mount my Open Studios exhibition. Clip-on trays gave me more space for my art materials without putting loads of nails in the walls”.
