Painting with Jerry
I took a painting class at a community college once, and it hooked me. I’ve been painting on and off for a long time, but lately I’ve been making it a priority in my life. I love the process, the textures, the colors and the tools. Maybe especially the tools.
I’m not one of those guys who owns every type of wrench or power saw ever invented (although I have a few), and I’ve tightened my share of loose screws with everything from my thumbnail to a butter knife. But I’ve learned that the right tool can make almost any job go a little smoother. Including painting. So over the years I’ve put together pieces of studio equipment that work for me. My setup is in a corner of my home studio, and it works pretty well, except that I’ve never been satisfied with my taboret (a taboret is usually a table of some sort that holds supplies and often serves as a palette or mixing surface, too).
I’ve been working off a mishmash of a setup that includes a couple of tables, two sawhorses, a hunk of particle board and a sheet of tempered glass. It’s functional, but I have a hundred or more tubes of oil paint and various tools that are always getting mixed up and/or falling onto the floor. Starting this evening I’ll be the proud owner of a new tool… a taboret table that is specifically designed for a studio painter.
The table was designed by Casey Childs, a painter from Utah. He was also dissatisfied with his setup and worked with a carpenter friend of his to create a taboret for himself that is functional and good looking. The designed worked out so well that they’ve started selling the taborets, and I’m the first customer. Next: pictures of the new and improved painting setup!
My current setup: