Why Visit an Artist's Studio?

Today, most of us discover paintings on a screen. It is wonderful: a painting can travel to the other side of the world in a second. But a painting seen on a phone and a painting seen in the room where it was born are not quite the same thing. So today I would like to talk about a small step that changes a lot: pushing open the door of an artist's studio.

Seeing the material, not just the image

A screen flattens everything. It cannot show the thickness of a layer of paint, the relief of a texture, the gloss of a varnish next to a matt area, or the way a colour changes when the light moves across the room in the afternoon.

In front of the real canvas, you see what the photo hides: the hesitations, the layers underneath, the traces of the brush or the knife. You also see the true size of the work, and how it feels to stand in front of it. And very often, that is when you truly fall for a painting.

Understanding how a painting is made

A studio is above all a place where you work. There are canvases in progress, tests, tubes of paint, brushes drying, colours tried out on a corner of a board. And you can finally ask the questions we rarely dare to ask: how long does a painting take? Where do you start? How do you know it is finished?

And the artist is there to answer: why this gesture, this colour, this choice. In my studio, every question is welcome.

Meeting the person behind the work

I once wondered here whether the artist's personality changes how we love a work. A studio visit answers it very simply: once you have met the person who painted a canvas and talked with them, you never look at their work in quite the same way.

It is not about understanding everything. As I wrote in The Essence of Art, there is nothing to understand, everything to feel. And feeling comes more easily when you are there, in front of the canvas, taking your time.

You come as a visitor, not as a customer

Many people hesitate to enter a studio or a gallery because they are afraid they will have to buy something. Let me reassure you: a studio visit is first of all a meeting. You can come out of curiosity, to see, to ask, to talk. Nobody will ask anything of you, and it is much nicer that way, for everyone.

An invitation to my studio in Ericeira

This is why I open the doors of my studio in Ericeira from time to time. After the Open House of 16 May, the next one is on Saturday 5 December 2026, from 2:30 pm to 8 pm, by invitation only: you can register here, and I will send you the address by email.

And you, have you ever visited an artist's studio? What struck you most? Tell me on WhatsApp, I would love to hear from you.

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With all my affection,

Lenon B

Contemporary painter, Ericeira, Portugal