Studio Notes
The entrance, revealed again
It’s done: everything has arrived. Canvases, tools, stretchers — the new studio is now inhabited. Things will still need to be moved around as the work progresses, but the bulk of the transfer is complete. A tangible, symbolic milestone.
The Forgotten Door
While dismantling the plaster wall and boards that covered the back, I discovered a French window that had been bricked up for years. It may have been the original entrance. Behind it, a beautiful wrought-iron gate. A little oil, and it swings open again.
And the cherry on top of the renovation: the doorstep is made of Carrara marble. Hidden under layers of dirt and paint, it had been waiting there, untouched.
A wonderful surprise.
Finally Hanging
The cement tiles are cleaned with acetone. The walls are plastered, sanded, and repainted. At last, it’s time to hang some canvases.
The space is beginning to breathe. The studio is coming to life.
The Light!
Thanks to the south-facing orientation and the new glass door, natural light floods the room.
At Xavier de Maistre, I had to switch on all the neon lights to paint. Here, I’ll forget about them.
And from the outside?
Seen from the street, the façade is already taking on a new look. The grimy gray, the ugly coverings—gone. The grille reappears, the door regains its function.
The architecture breathes. No longer an abandoned space—it is now an atelier.
Once restored and repainted, the façade will gain in sobriety and authenticity.
And a subtle contemporary twist will sign the whole.
It’s coming soon. That will be the focus of the next studio journal.
If you’d like to follow this transformation in images, you can subscribe to my YouTube channel (Link at the top of the article, in the video.).
See you soon.
