Studio Visits: Cecelia Phillips

"I was growing my hair out and wanted to keep it straight, so I went to see a stylist," an innocuous lead-in from painter Cecelia Phillips as to how she came to make the small glowing paintings of geodes that until recently (we'll get to that in a minute) hung on her studio walls. "It was the stylist's birthday, and she was going geode hunting later in the day. I kinda had a little crush on her, so I told her I could make her a geode painting." For an artist long interested in both portraiture and landscape, the subject seemed like a natural fit – as it was an homage to her stylist as well as a representation of the stuff landscape is made of.

But back to Phillips' workspace: Perhaps the most important thing to know about her studio is, for the time being, it doesn't exist.

Cecelia Phillips: I'm actually moving studios now, so I'm starting over in a new place. I had been in the last space for about two and a half years and had shared it with a musician. Sharing with someone who is creative but doesn't work in the same media can be wildly interesting, as you can talk about the creative process. I've always enjoyed sharing space – I like absorbing information while I'm working.

Austin Chronicle: Since it's difficult to see your studio at the moment, what's your studio look/feel like when you're in high work mode? In a lull?

CP: High work mode and a lull! My studio can be kind of a crazy mess of stuff no matter what. I have bits and scraps of everything – little crystals and plants and postcards from 10 years ago. I'm the type of person who can get inspired by a quick and fleeting moment, so I've always surrounded myself with stuff to look at or get interested in. During a lull period, you might also find other kinds of things in the studio that I'm working on – maybe knitting or embroidery.

AC: Because the room is small, does that force you to work small? Or if not, how do you work big in a smaller space?

CP: I will admit that I do work with size constraints being in a smaller room, but I actually prefer to work small. I feel like what I'm doing right now requires an intimate scale, and when I've tried to make the geodes larger they lose their power. Important to my work is a quickness and immediacy, so I've enjoyed doing paintings that are "gestures," completed within a day or two. They each reflect a day in my life, and so a feeling of time. There might be a time and place where I do longer-term, large-scale paintings, but I'm really happy with where I am right now.

AC: Are there benefits to having your studio in your home? Do you wish you could have a studio elsewhere?

CP: It's an interesting experience to have a studio in your house, because it can be really easy to wander in and out of work to do other things. "Well, this piece isn't doing what I want to right now – I'll make some coffee/clean my kitchen/play with my cat, etc." But that can also be very good for me, because whenever I get a bright idea, I can just go back into that space rather than having to travel there. One of the great things a mentor of mine told me was that you should be in your studio eight hours a day. You could be there reading the newspaper or working with white-hot intensity – as long as you were there. Because if you aren't there when the moment hits, you're screwed. I like treating my house as a creative place, because I don't ever miss a moment.

For more of Cecelia Phillips' work, visit www.celiaphillips.com.