It’s Studio Sunday! Pictured above is the art studio of Ed Ruscha, likely taken in 1960’s when the artist was working mostly in painting and print media. Ruscha is known for his work within the American pop-art movement, and his experimentation with artworks in a variety of traditional media as well as photography and film. Ruscha moved from Oklahoma City to Los Angeles in 1956 and has been based in California ever since.

The studio pictured above looks bright and sunny, a space that’s frequently used for printmaking and painting, among other methods of traditional two-dimensional art. There’s buckets of paint and paint brushes, desks covered in papers and artistic detritus, and some pictures pinned to the wall - for inspiration, perhaps. I also like being able to see Ruscha’s bicycle in the space – it really lends to the feel of this being the studio of a young student artist, working in a sunny climate.

As with other pop-artists such as Claes Oldenburg and Roy Lichtenstein, Ruscha often takes inspiration from his surroundings as well as the media that he consumes, as inspiration for his works. Living in California, many of Ruscha’s works are influenced by landmarks from Los Angeles and Hollywood, such as the Sunset Strip and Hollywood Boulevard. He has also created print works based on logos for film production companies such as Paramount Pictures and 20th Centure Fox. I imagine having a studio space located in central Los Angeles, where the bright California sunlight was always streaming in through the windows, would be a great inspiration!

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