A citywide Open Studios Tour will allow visitors to watch more than 500 painters, sculptures and others in their work space, ask them questions and see what inspires their art. You can also buy works fresh off the easel.

Sponsored by Emerging Artists International, the tour kicks off today between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. in Manhattan, with other boroughs featured in the coming four weekends (see isupportart.org for a schedule and map).

The Post was offered a sneak peak of five of the artists involved, who told us a little about where and how they work.

KAREN DIMIT

TriBeCa

Dimit, 49, creates fragmented, figurative sculptures using wood and stone. Her use of bicycle tires in this sculpture is tied to her ailing parents' loss of mobility. Dimit doesn't work in isolation; artists' studios fill the entire top floor of the building. "We share information and drink wine." Sculpting with power tools in close quarters can be problematic, however. "An artist moved in next to me, and her first day here she knocked on my door and asked if I was always going to be so noisy. I told her she's three blocks from the Holland Tunnel; the honking starts at 3 p.m." Images of her work can be found at homepage.mac.com/kkdimit.

Brooklyn

Working as a bartender in the Meatpacking District, the 30-year-old MG likes the 10-yard commute to her studio from her bedroom. "It's very intense living where you paint, because you can't get away from your work, but with the comforts of home available I think I wind up spending more time painting." MG attributes the brighter colors in her more recent work to the abundant natural light, courtesy of four giant windows in the apartment/studio. And with the high ceilings, she was finally able to invest in a real easel, which was marked down from $1,000 to $650 at Pearl Paints when she bought it. "I sold some work and wanted to treat myself," she explains. Details online at gallerymg.com.

JAMES AUSTIN MURRAY

Queens

When he's not working at the FDNY Special Operations Command, Murray can be found in his studio, a sparsely furnished room in his house in Astoria. Murray, 35, places his canvases on his hardwood floor and applies globs of gesso. When the gesso dries, Murray projects one of the hundreds of photographs he's taken onto the canvas, and sketches the image over the gesso. Murray used to own a gallery and studio in TriBeCa, and initially found painting at home to be difficult. "There are distractions here." But he does appreciate the critiques he gets from his wife, Cynthia Sisson, also an artist.

GLENN FISCHER

The Bronx

Fischer, a 39-year-old painter who works in the legal field, moved into his apartment in The Bronx two months ago and set up shop in the basement of his building. It's Fischer's third studio, and he says it's a big improvement over the last one in Harlem. While the move has worked well for Fischer, his basement studio is not without its foibles. "People used to store their furniture down here, so periodically someone will barge in with a couch they want to store." He can also hear every toilet flush in the building, courtesy of the pipes that run along the ceiling. Fischer shows his work at Rock, Paper, Scissors, a gallery in Asbury Park. Web site glennfischer.com.

KAREN MAYA KAAPCKE

TriBeCa

Kaapcke was surprised to find herself painting in TriBeCa after her lease expired on a studio she had in Harlem. "When I tell people that my studio is in TriBeCa, they probably think, 'Wow, she must sell a lot of art to be able to afford that.' But I'm paying the same rent." Kaapcke sees other ironies in the move to TriBeCa. "In Harlem, I had a bigger studio, but I was doing these tiny, tiny drawings." Since moving into her 500-square-foot studio downtown in December, her work has gotten much bigger. Kaapcke, 43, will be showing finished works as well as works in progress. "Having strangers comment on the work gives me a great perspective, and it's more intimate for the public as well. It shouldn't feel like a gallery." Work samples at galleryhenoch.com.