A View From the Easel
“I wish I had a vegetable garden next to my studio and a pig walking around in my workspace.”
Welcome to the 329th installment of A View From the Easel, a series in which artists reflect on their workspace. This week, artists repurpose school supplies and collect faces on the subway.
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.
Lex Marie, Washington, DC
How long have you been working in this space?
My studio is at the school where I am currently pursuing my MFA. I'm about halfway through the two-year program.
Describe an average day in your studio.
My studio routine has changed drastically since school started. These days, I begin my studio day around 9am after dropping my son off at school. Before this shift, I preferred working in the evening and late at night, but I have had to adjust my rhythm.
I am almost always working on more than one piece at a time. My mind naturally works that way. When I am working on a large piece, I tend to step away from it and let it breathe while I move on to smaller works in the meantime. I always have music playing while I work. I tend to listen to jazz, instrumentals, and music in other languages. It helps me stay focused while also creating a calm atmosphere in the studio.
How does the space affect your work?
My studio for school is drastically smaller than my previous studio. At times, it almost feels like I am hazing myself. The limited space has made me notice that I sometimes begin to work and think smaller because of the physical constraints. I have to consciously pull myself out of that mindset and remind myself that the ideas themselves do not have to shrink just because the space is smaller.
How do you interact with the environment outside your studio?
One of the things I love most about pursuing my MFA is constantly being surrounded by other artists, whether it is my cohort or my professors. There are always conversations happening around art and creativity, which naturally feeds into my practice.
Living in DC also means I am constantly surrounded by great art. I regularly visit museums and gallery exhibitions, so I am always engaging with work outside of my own studio. Being in that kind of environment keeps me inspired and connected to the broader art community.
What do you love about your studio?
What I love most about my studio is being surrounded by other artists from different disciplines. Just walking to my studio, I pass multiple artists working in their own spaces. That constant presence of other creatives makes the environment feel active and inspiring, even when I am working quietly on my own.
What do you wish were different?
I wish I had more space. My current studio is much smaller than what I was used to before starting the program, and at times it can feel limiting, especially when I am working with larger materials or multiple pieces at once.
What is your favorite local museum?
Smithsonian American Art Museum.
What is your favorite art material to work with?
School supplies.
Jade van der Mark, Paris, France
How long have you been working in this space?
Three years.
Describe an average day in your studio.
An average day in my studio begins long before I arrive there. It starts in the metro, among strangers. Every morning, I travel through the city collecting faces. I study the rhythm of people on their way somewhere, the curve of a nose, the distance between two eyes, the tension in a hand holding a phone or a bag. I collect these fragments quietly, like a personal archive of humanity. Each face reminds me how unique and beautiful we all are, even while we move through the same system, the same pressure, the same invisible race. Sometimes it feels like society is running through a kind of game: people rushing forward through levels of expectation, fear, ambition, and silent anxiety. This dance of humanity fascinates me. My paintings are born from watching this choreography.
I usually work on several paintings at the same time. I like to think of them as my children. Each one has its own personality, its own needs, its own moods. Sometimes I feel frustrated with one and need distance, while another suddenly asks for my attention. At other moments, a painting teaches me something I did not yet understand. Moving between them allows the dialogue to continue.
How does the space affect your work?
My studio space is not something fixed or defined by walls. It is created every day by the emotion I bring into it. When I enter the studio, the space begins to live through the paintings themselves. In many ways, I feel like a large child in a crafting corner, building freely, creating without borders, experimenting without fear. The studio becomes a playground for imagination and discovery.
The walls almost disappear. The space becomes limitless, a place where everything is allowed to exist. Slowly, through the act of painting, I build this environment around me. Each canvas becomes part of it, surrounding me like companions.
How do you interact with the environment outside your studio?
My practice is quite personal, and I am selective about how and with whom I share my work. The studio is a place of deep concentration and reflection, and I protect that space carefully. That said, I am not completely isolated. A few doors down from my studio, there is a wonderful neighbor who also works there. She is a very kind presence in the building, and we often talk about art and about life. Those conversations are simple but meaningful, and I am grateful for her.
Beyond that, the world outside my studio plays a huge role in my work. The people, the movement of the city, the pressure, the noise, the constant flow of life, all of it feeds my imagination. In many ways, the world outside is my living canvas.
What do you love about your studio?
What I love most about my studio is the quiet. It is a place where the noise of the outside world fades away and where I can return to something very pure. I allow myself to be curious again, to explore freely, to experiment without judgment. There is a certain innocence in that process, like a child discovering the world for the first time. That freedom is very important to me.
It is also the place where the world slowly begins to make more sense. Through painting, observing, and reflecting, I feel that I start to understand people and life a little better. The studio gives me the space to process everything I see outside, the beauty, the chaos, the emotions, and translate it into something meaningful.
What do you wish were different?
I wish I had a vegetable garden next to my studio and a pig walking around in my workspace. But who knows, maybe in the future.
What is your favorite local museum?
So many ... Musée d'Orsay, Palais de Tokyo, Louis Vuitton Foundation, and Petit Palais.
What is your favorite art material to work with?
Always oil paint! It feels like cheating if I am working with other material.
