More than 40 amateur and professional artists, from painters to glass-smiths and sculptors, will take part in the inaugural Lake Macquarie Open Studios Tour, to be held across 25 locations on the weekend of November 2 and 3.

Organiser and artist Kate Belton said visitors were free to drop into the participating studios anytime between 9am and 4pm to meet the artists, learn about their creative process and purchase works.

"It's rare to go behind the scenes in an artist's studio, so the Open Studios weekend is a fantastic opportunity to meet local artists and see how they create," Ms Belton said.

Lake Macquarie City Council manager for arts, culture and tourism, Jacqui Hemsley, said the city had a proud history of producing top-quality artists.

"William Dobell, one of Australia's finest 20^th century artists, called Lake Macquarie home of course, but there have been many others in more recent times making a name for themselves," Ms Hemsley said.

"Our creative community is such an important element of Lake Mac's identity. We hope locals and visitors will see the Open Studios Tour as an opportunity to appreciate their work."

Blackalls Park abstract landscape artist Michelle Leilani said she was excited to teach people more about the creative process.

"Making art forces you to be entirely in the moment, it's a beautiful process of just being honest and truthful in every mark or action you take to create something," Ms Leilani said.

"The Open Studios Tour is an opportunity to meet the artists of our region, see art in the making, and to learn more about what drives our creative vision."

People taking part in the weekend can visit any studio in any order.

A map and information about artists is available on the Open Studios Tour website.

Brochures with maps are also available at Lake Mac Libraries.

The weekend of art will kick off with music and life drawing at Finite Gallery, Caves Beach on Friday, November 1 from 7pm-9pm. Entry is $15 and includes drawing materials, wine and nibbles.