Welcome to the 289th installment of A View From the Easel, a series in which artists reflect on their workspace. This week, artists find comfort in their library of art books and lock in before their day jobs.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.Jonathan Taub, Midtown, ManhattanHow long have you been working in this space?Four years.Describe an average day in your studio.I arrive early and turn on WQXR, classical music that’s become a daily ritual in the studio. Usually I am the first one in the studio, or there might be more people depending on the day. I usually come with a plan, having worked on the design at home. So the creative part starts away from the studio. Depending on the day, I might prep screens, mix colors, or continue a print series. The process, cleaning, layering, adjusting, is technical, stressful, and once I start printing, it becomes very creative all over again. I stay fully focused during my time there, and once I’m done, I pack up and head to work.How does the space affect your work?The printmaking studio at the Art Students League has a great energy and sense of camaraderie. I’ve worked mornings, afternoons, and evenings, and each time of day feels different. Mornings are my favorite. I have tons of energy, and I can disconnect, avoid my phone, and focus fully on the work in front of me. The space gives me a few uninterrupted hours to create, and once I’m done, I still have the rest of the day ahead, knowing I’ve put in the time I needed.How do you interact with the environment outside your studio?The studio is in Midtown Manhattan, surrounded by constant movement and noise, with Central Park just a few blocks away. I don’t have the whole day to make art, so I focus intensely while I’m there. The three or four hours I am there daily, I try to be fully at the studio. I have some coffee and usually go to the art store on the first floor to buy some materials I might need. Once I’m done, I head straight to work, usually catching the W train on the corner. The Art Students League is full of talented artists, and there’s a real sense of community. We share, support, and inspire one another daily.What do you love about your studio?It’s filled with life and a positive, focused energy. People of all ages walk the halls, and there’s something special about sharing our favorite part of the day together. That kind of quiet connection where everyone is deeply engaged in what they love — it doesn’t happen often in other fields or activities.What do you wish were different?More space and storage would be a dream. Silkscreen materials take up a lot of room, and things get cramped quickly. Also, I wouldn’t mind living right across from the studio. It would make those early mornings even easier!What is your favorite local museum?The Met and The Met Cloisters.What is your favorite art material to work with?Lenox paper and acrylic ink, retarder, and a transparent base.Stephanie Reiter, Park Ridge, New JerseyHow long have you been working in this space?Six months.Describe an average day in your studio.Painting for me is about capturing the light and time of the day. My favorite place to paint is outdoors en plein air. And when I cannot, my studio offers a safe, serene haven away from harsh winter elements or hot summer heat. I usually set up some interesting, beautiful flowers arranged to display some form of tension, space, and light. I tell Alexa to play the best of Beethoven and I am off expressing and reacting to nature indoors.How does the space affect your work?I have a beautiful north light with high vaulted ceilings that allow me to have the clearest seeing place. My collection of art books and artwork surrounds me, giving me comfort and inspiration.How do you interact with the environment outside your studio?I live in a beautiful community that is wonderfully landscaped, where I walk my dog several times a day and connect with nature. I teach nearby at a local art school, the Art School at the Old Church in Demarest. I teach five-year-olds once a week, inspiring them to hold on to their individual, innate art spirit. And I teach adults liberate and abstract nature in oils with a palette knife.What do you love about your studio?The best thing about my studio is that it is mine and I have grown comfortable to stand alone in it and transcend, go to heaven, and come back with a postcard. Many days, I am able to set up, react, express, and transcend, and have some evidence to prove it. My intention is to leave my mark on the board and hopefully translate that experience to the viewer with a leap of the imagination and spirit, reminding them of the magic and beauty in the world, that we just need to stop and take a moment to look at it.What do you wish were different?I wish that I had an elevator because it is on the fourth floor. But right now, that is not a problem.What is your favorite local museum?I live 45 minutes from New York, so my favorite museum is The Met. But locally I would say the Edward Hopper House in Nyack, where I am a member and currently in a show.What is your favorite art material to work with?My favorite materials are oils, painting on birch wood with a palette knife. As I have grown into my painterly predilections, I have come to welcome spontaneity. On an ideal painting day, I am able to let go of some control and let the painting happen without over-managing it. Ideally something happens that’s surprising and better than I could have planned. I can become completely lost in the moment, escaping and succumbing to my painting process. I majored in sculpting at Boston University, and still consider myself a sculptor first. But the immediate, transcending joyous qualities of painting better suit me now. People can feel the enjoyment in the paint.