Using the string line to locate the “shuttering” – the metal girders used to hold the concrete in place. The boys were helpful to hammer the pins in place and hold the laser level to get the height right.
The gap at the side is for digger access to bring in the Motorway planing (finer, dark stone, great for levelling.)
We’re ready to pour! Hopefully next week we will lay insulation boards, then bring in the concrete. The pipe is so that the electric cable can be inserted after the concrete is poured.
We had some young helpers and my brother was around to help us lay some of the stone. An hour on that yellow plate-whacker left me juddering but made a good solid base.
Well I had a bit of a heart-stopper. Chatting to a friend about my studio project, he mentioned the standard height limit of 2.5 metres for garden sheds. At 4am in the morning I thought I’d better check the wording on the council’s website.
I’d been working under the assumption that the “BOUNDARY OF THE CURTILAGE OF THE DWELLINGHOUSE” referred to the land around the house itself. Not so, it seems, and my plan for a 3 metre roof was shot to pieces.
Thankfully, Alex at Hanson’s was able to adjust the eaves height and change the roof pitch from 19 to 10 degrees, bringing the overall height under the permitted 2.5 metres without changing the footprint. So on we go.
After a great deal of research and thought, the day has come. I’ve talked to as many neighbours as possible and posted letters to the others to let them know of our plans. Access from the front of the property is limited, so we are going between the buildings at the back.
Paul’s 2.5 tonne digger fits through the gap with 2cm to spare on either side. Good job it does, because we’ll need to it remove a stubborn tree trunk from the garden.
Access through the fence panel.
Before. Toy diggers were used to mark the rough position of the studio.
I’d spent hours trying to dig this root out by hand! It was therapeutic in a sense. In the planning stage, when nothing physical is happening, it was helpful to make a tiny difference to the garden.
Loaded up.
Paul used a laser level and string to mark out the position of the studio base. Pythagorus theorem was used to check it was square. Clever stuff!
Removing dirt to level the ground. We used the dirt to create a bedding border for the neighbour, which saved us having to cart it away.
End of a long day. Very relieved to have made a start and not be just talking about it.
I have been at my studio in Oyston Mill, Preston, for around 24 years. I love it. However, when we moved to our current house in St Annes, the big draw was the garden which is long enough to accomodate a studio.
I have been saving up for over a year and we are hoping to begin work around March 2025. Below are some of the specifications supplied by Hansons Steel Buildings.
School’s out and we are heading to beautiful Cornwall. We will be staying in Newlyn, near Penzance, the home of the famous Newlyn School of Painters (1800s to early 1900s). Back then, artists couldn’t resist the spectacular light, available models and cheap accommodation. Not much has changed. The light is still unique, folks on the beach still make great models and AirBnB is fantastically affordable!
Painting of the week is a view I painted last time we were in Cornwall. Back in the studio, I felt that the subject needed a wider format, so I worked from the on-site study (below).
Saturday 14th July is the Create Longridge event, a one-day painting challenge. This is my attempt from last year. Tucked in the corner, I had a window into the life of a small community. Those elderly folks meet every morning at the round table, whispering local gossip loud enough for all to hear. The little girl, partway through the meal, took a free transfer to her mum’s lap.
Though completed in one day, a piece like this takes some preparation. On my first visit, I bought a meal and broke out the sketchbook, looking for visual possibilities but also to gaining the interest and trust of the staff. On a second visit I did a full size drawing to figure out the perspective of this intimate space.
I was promised my spot in the corner, but on the day of the event, the owner was present and not inclined to give me valuable space on a busy Saturday. After much pleading she relented and the fun began.
In honour of 4th July, this week’s paintings feature the spot where the Pilgrims
landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts. My lovely wife is from just a few miles North in Boston. We enjoyed fresh lobster in this very town where the first Thanksgiving meal was celebrated.
