Hello,
Since I have been painting landscapes in oils, I have been striving to keep this new venture separate from my usual job, which is painting watercolour botanicals. This desirable separation is both physical and psychological.
Physical because my oils are messy and the painting area, my clothes and even my face get the regular smudge or splash. I can’t have that in my usual painting area because my botanical work needs to stay pristine.
The other separation is less tangible. Lately I have been feeling like I need to be creative in ways that are different from my work. My watercolour botanical painting is a passion but it is also my job. As well as the beautiful creativity, I also get deadlines, exhibitions, courses, and the general business constraints of a job. With my oil landscapes, there is none of this. I don’t exhibit my paintings, apart from a low key kind of secret second Instagram account, and I don’t sell them either. It’s all for me. It’s all for the pure joy of creating without anything else coming into it.
With all that in mind, I decided to dedicate and repurpose an area of my studio for oils. My easel was already in the bay window. So it was the obvious place to set up and clear everything else. Over a couple of week-ends, we cleaned and redecorated the area, prepping it for the arrival of the star of the show: my new art trolley!
Because of course I also wanted my oil painting area to be beautiful as well as practical. My old trolley didn’t have enough table top surface area, the drawers were too small, and it wasn’t the prettiest thing in my studio.
Enter the Meeden solid beech art trolley. Fewer drawers but much bigger, so that I can lay out my paint tubes and actually find the colours I need when I am in full painting flow. The table top surface is massive, and can hold all my pots, brushes, mediums, palette and a few tubes. There is an additional clip on shelf that can be added on any side. It looks gorgeous and works so well with my antique plan chest and the Victorian architecture of my house and studio, creating a modern minimalist twist to the traditional feel, with a touch of industrialism. I love it!
Here is a video I made to review the trolley:
I have had my eye on this art trolley for a while, but as you can see on the website link, it isn’t exactly a cheap piece of kit. I was lucky that `Meeden sent one to me to do a review. Now I have seen it in person, I understand the cost. It is very well made and the solid wood and strong construction mean that it will probably last as long as the Victorian plan chest it goes so well with. For now it looks super clean, but no doubt as it becomes part of my art practice, it will get covered in paint stains, one smudge at a time, each of them telling the story of a painting. It will then match my old easel!
If you want to see the specs or if you are thinking of investing in this beautiful art trolley, I have a discount code for you with an affiliate link. Please click here to get to the Meeden website, and then use the code SANDRINE10.
Now I have been using it and I know it better, don’t hesitate to ask questions, either here or on the YouTube video. I will be happy to help you and answer your queries.
Happy painting!
Sandrine
Sandrine Maugy 