The Painter’s Dilemma: Meet Barbara

Before finding Modern-Shed, Barbara’s large-scale paintings had begun to take over her living space.Before finding Modern-Shed, Barbara’s large-scale paintings had begun to take over her living space.

“I’m a large-format painter, specifically I paint portraits, but for the last seven years I’d been painting in our dining room,” she said. “The last series I did were roughly 30-by-40 feet. Sometimes I do 36-by-72 feet work. I work in panels and by the end of the day I’d have stacks of paintings.”

Each night, Barbara had to clear away her portraits so that her dining room could return to a livable space.

“It had reached a critical mass,” she said. “I decided to do some research online on prefab when I found Modern-Shed.”

Barbara’s daughter goes to school nearby, so she wanted to be able to still work at home.

“I like being at home and I’ve always had a home office for my work,” she said. “And I’d rather own a building outright. I’ve rented studio space before and I’ve been robbed. It’s not quite as secure as having your own space.”

Barbara contacted Modern-Shed a year ago, and last summer, her Modern-Shed art studio came up in a matter of days in a seamless process.

Her 10′ by 12′ shed doesn’t have many windows, so she can maximize wall space for her large easels. She also has heating and AC in her shed, which sits in direct sunlight over the summer.

“All of the walls inside are working space and on one side I built in a cabinet that has all my materials,” she said. “We ran plumbing to a sink and have a compostable toilet in there as well because I’m going to be teaching children’s art classes at the studio.”

Children ages 5 to 10 can sign up for the portraiture class through Barbara’s website at Orange Chair Art Studio.

Barbara has been very pleased with her Modern-Shed art studio.

“It’s nice having a space to work that I don’t have to clean up every night,” she said. “I can leave it and come straight back to work the next day.”