Decades ago, I had the perfect studio chair. I’m not certain how I acquired the yellow Herculon and wood monstrosity, but I probably garbage-picked it from someone’s lawn. Anyway, it was comfortable despite its terrible fabric and square arms. It had the perfect lean — just enough to bend back and stretch, but not enough to fall backward. It set upon four casters with which I could roll myself across the loft, from a painting to my tool area to pick up a brush or drawing instrument, and back to the painting. Man, I loved that thing. My hunt for its replacement prompted me to ask area artists about their studio chairs. Here’s a roundup of what they had to say about their beloved chairs:
ANGELA OSTER
“My husband Tom is a collector of strange furniture. I’m not sure which thrift store my chair came from. It’s ideal for me because it swivels and is on wheels so I am free to spin around. It’s kind of home base in my workshop, because whenever I open the door it’s a race between my cat and me who gets there first. I suppose it’s like the heart of my control center, a perch from where I make creative decisions.”ANGELICA POZO
“There’s always a story, lol. Actually, this chair is pretty perfect for when I work at a desk height. It was left from the previous owners of my property. They left two of these and three great big steel desks. It is a great chair and I love that it has wheels.”DANA OLDFATHER
“I have a couple of studio chairs with stories. My red one I’ve had since I moved out of my parents’ house. It was part of a dining room set of chairs my parents had before I was born. My dad uses one of them in his studio and has my whole life — only he painted his yellow. He is an easel painter and sits in his every day. I mostly stand when I paint, so I use mine for when I sketch or think. I like that we have the same studio chairs. It makes me feel closer to him (even though we don’t speak often since he doesn’t have a phone) and closer to painting, knowing there is some remote sort of solidarity there.”DAVID KING
“Obviously the second one is more popular. These are not my studio chairs. These are my cats’ chairs.”DAVID KING
(The other chair).DAWN TEKLER
“My studio chair functions as a chair, dining table, stepladder and bed. If I told you what else, I’d have to burn it. It’s orange and it’s spectacular!”EILEEN DORSEY
“If you work on your feet, you can’t have an overly comfortable chair and it most certainly can’t be low to the ground. You need to be able to quickly move in and out of the seat with ease. My perfect studio chair is actually a 3-foot stepstool. I spend a lot of my day perched on the top stair, staring at my work and waiting for it to tell me what the next move will be. It is also helpful for reaching the top of the larger paintings.”FRANK ORITI
“I do currently have a great chair in my studio. It was handed down to me from my mother. I had just moved into my studio a few years ago and she was getting rid of it. My studio was close to empty — other than my painting supplies, some books and the paintings I was working on. I think a good studio chair should be comfortable, but not too comfortable — as you should be working and not spending too much time sitting! It should be easy to move around and free from any clutter. My actual painting chair is not very comfortable. It should be, for as much time as I spend in it.”HERB ASCHERMAN
“Yes, I have a tall stool in use since 1975 for headshots and a gorgeous corner chair since 1995 for more portrait poses. Treasure #1 was bought at Sears when I opened my first studio in 1975. It is the consummate all-person reliable stool for just about any headshot. Because of its height and wooden back, it is multifunctional when shooting couples or standing groups.”HERB ASCHERMAN
“The corner chair was purchased sometime in the early ’90s from an antique store. I am an inveterate antique shopper. Over the years, when I see a chair with character, I pick it up for use in the studio.”JUDY TAKACS
“I use a rolling office chair … probably from Office Max? I love it because when I’m sitting to paint, I can easily roll back and forth to get a good look at my painting from a distance when I need to. Actually, it doesn’t have arms! I guess I remembered it with arms. As far as aha moments, pretty much every time I paint, when I start to get into the small brush, closer work, more detailed parts, I get into a groove working up close, but sometimes lost the forest for the trees…or in my case, the forehead for the wrinkles. Being able to easily roll myself back quickly with a single push lets me see what I’ve really done while I’m enjoying the close work. Sometimes its wonderful and I’m impressed with myself, sometimes it isn’t and I can quickly decide to fix or wipe out.”LAURA WIMBELS
“So this ended up stirring more feelings in me than I imagined. When I moved into my house 7 years ago and was living by myself, I didn’t have any money. That ceramic owl to the left was a sample item I’d gotten for free from a company I used to work at, and I actually used it as my studio chair when I would be editing photos at my makeshift desk, which was just an antique end table. After a year or so I knew I needed something better and snagged the classic armless spinner stool. It was also a great posing stool when I’d be shooting portraits. I eventually got the hospital green mint chair second hand. I was at an IKEA a year ago and saw that metal turquoise number (complete with arms!) and I had to have it. Even though it’s metal, it is quality as comfortable. I’ve spent countless hours in it editing away. I’ve come a long way from that owl, which was nightmarishly uncomfortable on the keister.”RON SHELTON
“I’ve had it for about four years. It is a Seville product, all my tables and shelving units are from this company.”SARAH CURRY
“My orange studio chair was rescued from my neighbor’s tree lawn eight years ago. It’s one of over 60 chairs in my house, many of which have also been rescued from imminent death. My husband thinks there is a problem, but I can’t bear to leave them all alone. In my house, they are residents of the island of misfit toys! Now this special chair is a perch for my cats and watched over my muse (Pooh in drag) and his friend the rocking horse.”TODD HOAK
“I have an old white leather chair, circa late ’70s, very deep and comfortable, great for hours of artwork scrutiny. I have dragged it from Cleveland Heights to Florida, Lyndhurst to Shaker. It’s more of a contemplation/studio nap chair. Currently I don’t have a studio, so it sits in a corner of my attic, soon to be my studio chair once again. During my last move it sat on the tree lawn of my old house for a few hours, but I came back for it. Couldn’t let it go. It’s far from perfect, but it’s family.”
