For over 40 years, East Bay Open Studios has provided an excellent opportunity for art lovers, collectors, and just the plain nosy who maybe want to see inside their neighbor's spaces.

This year, more than 200 Bay Area artists are included in its catalogue of self-guided tours that can take you all over the East Bay—Berkeley, Pinole, El Cerrito, Livermore, Oakland, and beyond. Everything kicks off on Friday, June 2, at Oakland's historic 16th Street train station with a party and an exhibition of some 100 artists (the soiree is invite-only, but all you have to do is join EBOS to get on the list).

Artist spaces will be open from 11am to 6pm the following two weekends (June 10-11 and June 17-18), and activities at each venue will be determined by the artist. You might encounter light snacks and wine, demos, live music, and opportunities to chat with painters, collagists, and sculptors one-on-one. To get you started, here are nine artists who caught our fancy.

GJ Smith, Ryan Lalonde

Illustrator, artist and designer Ryan Lalonde will be demoing his collage processes at his space at The Shed, plus visitors will be able to tour his garden space to view other works al fresco. "Color theory is integral to my creations, how people view color," says Lalonde. "My inspirations come from stories, too. Natural disasters and their intersection with people and fate really moves me to create works that tell the story in some way." // The Shed Studio, 2911 Windsor Dr., Alameda