Enough About You, Let's Talk About Me

My life in about 600 square feet…

Ok, so the title is sort of a joke but not really. Since I call this newsletter “My Life as an Artist”, I am going take a leap of faith and presume you may find a few details about my actual life of at least some interest.

But before I get into that, there are still a couple of spaces for Tuesday evening’s Zoom salon:

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Tomorrow night, Tuesday, Feb. 13
Online “Pay-As-You-Go” Creative Development & Review Salon

Join us for an inspirational, two hour in-depth plunge into the best practices for creative long-term growth, including supportive critical reviews of student work and general schmoozing about art and life. This is a continuation, with all new content, of the previous 4-session "Your Life as an Artist" course, but that is not a prerequisite.

• Tuesdays, Jan. 9, Feb. 13, March 12, April 9, May 14, June 11

• 7pm–9pm EST

• $175 per each 2-hour session

• Each session limited to 5 students + myself

• Classes are recorded and available to students for download

• Email me at rt@richardtuschman.com with any questions

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So, getting back to me—I live in a tiny, un-renovated fifth floor apartment in a 1916 tenement building on the upper east side of Manhattan. Like the building, I’m kinda old, yet I like to think I am at that “sweet spot” of a mature age where my children are all long grown and self-sufficient, yet I still have enough spring in my step to climb the five flights of stairs to my apartment a few times a day without breaking a sweat, at least in the winter.

This is my living room, but at a very wide, ultra-spacious looking angle. The room is only 11.5 feet wide by 13 feet deep. I do love the north light! If I live here long enough I will rip up the carpet and sand or paint the wood floor beneath.

This the dining nook, visible from a different angle in the other picture. I love the window that looks into the tiny kitchen. I heard a story once of why it’s there, but I can’t remember the reason.

This is my favorite part of the kitchen. Yes, my bathtub is in the kitchen! I’m sure that back in the day this was considered a great luxury, so that’s how I insist on looking at it. And yes, the tiny porcelain sink is the only sink in the apartment. There is a completely separate WC, but without a sink.

I also rent a small art studio across the East River in Long Island City, Queens where I make my fine art photographs. It’s a twenty five minute ride across the 59th Street Bridge by Citi-Bike, which is my preferred method of transportation in all but the most inclement weather.

This is the view as you walk in the door. The window end where I do my photography. You can see the seamless background paper roll set up in front of the window.

My studio has almost exactly the same foot print as my apartment in terms of square footage (about 300), but the high ceilings are crucial for studio lighting.

This is the view from the window looking back towards the entrance. I have a computer workstation set up next to the door and underneath the absolutely indispensable storage loft.

Now, as for what I actually do here, below is a shore video about my process. The video was created for a Kickstarter campaign in 2015 to help fund my series, Once Upon A Time In Kazimierz.

Thanks for visiting!