Welcome to the 241st installment of A View From the Easel, a series in which artists reflect on their workspace. This week, artists celebrate nearly half a century in their studio, make art in sidewalk dining huts, and bounce ideas off their studiomates.
Want to take part? Check out our submission guidelines and share a bit about your studio with us through this form! All mediums and workspaces are welcome, including your home studio.
Zana Naveed, Dining Huts Around New York City
Describe an average day in your studio.
Usually after work I’ll head out to find a nice outdoor dining hut. I’ll bring tape, a sturdy paper, some sticks of graphite, or crayons.
How does the space affect your work?
I love being able to draw urban landscapes on paper that is big! I also enjoy how the weather affects the drawings. Nothing beats standing in the rain, and in the summer the weather will be so hot that the crayons melt under the sun and turn the drawings into weird pseudo-encaustic drawings.
How do you interact with the environment outside your studio?
It is nice engaging with the NYC community that is around while I am drawing. Typically women and kids stop by to comment. I still feel weird about having opinions on other people’s art, so it’s weirdly cathartic to encourage other people to speak up and specifically say what they want to about the drawing after their initial “I don’t know anything about art or anything, but you know…” Sometimes there will be constructive feedback that is quite insightful! I am also a student at the New York Studio School and the community there is definitely where I got my inspiration to start drawing outside.
What do you love about your studio?
It’s quite grounding to know that I can still make art that feels fulfilling, and helpful to my practice, even when I am in between studios. There is a big difference between taping up to an outdoor dining hut and sitting in a corner doing pencil sketches in a floppy sketchbook. I feel so sad, and disappointed when I draw in my lap or on a table.
What do you wish were different?
As much as I love drawing outside in the city, at the end of the day I can’t wait to have my own real studio. Ideally, one that I can keep for many, many years.
Amy Hill, Midtown West, Manhattan
How long have you been working in this space?
Eight years.
Describe an average day in your studio.
While I work I listen to news shows on NPR plus audiobooks. Painting keeps me very well informed on current events. I prefer classic books and right now am listening to Balzac and a non-fiction book on North Korea. I’m reminded of events in the news or in books I hear when I look at certain areas of my paintings.
How does the space affect your work?
I have a roommate so I can’t be too messy. He is abstract and I am figurative so he makes me consider certain aspects of what I’m doing. We also comment on each other’s work which probably affects me either consciously or unconsciously.
What do you love about your studio?
The exposure to other artists and the opportunity to see how they work, what materials they use, etc., especially if I initially thought I couldn’t relate to what they do.
What do you wish were different?
Other than wishing it were closer to my apartment I have no complaints.
What is your favorite art material to work with?
I love how it looks when I paint on wood rather than canvas and how traditional it is, but it is much more labor-intensive so I rarely use it.
Deborah Zuchman, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
How long have you been working in this space?
Forty-nine years.
Describe an average day in your studio.
I usually wake up early (5:30am), eat breakfast, and get to my studio which is the 3rd floor of my home. I like to have a paper or a canvas ready to work on or continue working on. I sometimes put on classical music but often turn it off, as I find it too distracting to my own thoughts. I can work for about three hours before I need a break — a rest, walk, lunch, whatever can take me out of the studio and away from what I’m doing to get some perspective. I like to come back to it and evaluate if I should continue, change, etc.
How does the space affect your work?
My space isn’t that large … it’s rather intimate, but I feel very comfortable there. It’s my “happy space.” I like it neat and orderly so I can work.
How do you interact with the environment outside your studio?
I am very connected to my neighbors and many of them ask what I’m working on and come to my exhibitions. There are several artists in my neighborhood.
What do you love about your studio?
I love that it’s in my house and I can just walk up another flight of stairs and be there!
What do you wish were different?
Sometimes I wish I had more empty space … it’s getting too filled up and it’s hard to store things. (My husband was an artist, too, and between the two of us we have lots of work).
What is your favorite local museum?
The Philadelphia Museum of Art.
