Study for "Studio Interior"

I recently did this study for a new painting. It's charcoal on paper, 32" x 22.75". I felt like I needed a painting to work on inside, something that wasn't so dependent on the weather, like the other paintings I'm doing this summer. There's something about the stability of working on this one that I like; every time I go to the studio, everything's exactly the same as it was the last time. I've marked the position of some of the things I'm painting, like my shoes, the table saw, and the chair to make sure of this. My original idea was to do a self-portrait, something I haven't done in awhile, with the interior of the studio as a background element. In fact, I had thought of placing a mirror directly behind the chair in the center of the composition. The more I thought about it, the more I felt like it would have been too straight forward and literal. I like the fact that it functions as a self portrait without depicting my image. The accumulation of my paintings (along with my wife's) on the large painting rack, as well as, the tools and clothing, all contain elements of myself. The empty chair acts like a receptacle for all these things and the ideas that swim around in the studio of an artist. There was something very direct and obvious about drawing this corner of my studio...the center of the drawing even lines up with the intersection of the wooden support of the rack, almost functioning like a scope for the whole scene. It's strange to paint under artificial light after working outside so much, something I find challenging yet oddly soothing...plus I get to listen to music while I work, which I enjoy very much. Stay tuned for the completed painting...