Painting with Kids: My Miser

These are not preschool craft-related posts. This is for artists who have children at home, yet dare to make art.

My Acryl a Miser Palette in action!

If you are in the studio at 5:30 and have one or one and half hours to work before the world wakes up, you can't waste time. You need to just get to it.

Keep it easy.  Find a way to keep your materials ready to go. I use acrylic paint and would frequently be interrupted and return to a palette of sticky or dry paint.  I like to use a lot of paint but with the baby breaks I started to worry about putting out too much paint (wasteful) or not putting out enough paint (inhibiting).

I tried different palettes to resolve this and found the wonderful Acryl A Miser. Just plop your unused paint in and seal it up. Snap off the cover and your paints are as lovely and mushy as the day they were born. Put a damp little sponge in one of the wells before you seal it up.  Easy peasy.

The outside of the package offers a bunch of excited promises each with its own exclamation point. Too many interjections for my taste but after using this palette for months, I agree with their claims:

Waste less paint!

Save color blends up to 2 weeks!

Never needs washing paint peels off!

What timesavers get you in the studio lickety split?

Painting with Kids: How do you find the time? (Part 2)

These are not preschool craft-related posts. This is for those who have children yet dare to make art. 

Amantha Tsaros, Rhodies Gone Wild, 16x12", ©2011

Let’s talk about grabbing a few, fat hours of studio time.

Get up EARLY. I get into the studio at 5:00 a few times a week. Oh, you’re tired? Tired of not painting or weaving or carving? If you have cared for an infant you have proven you can function with less sleep than you would prefer. Working regularly is energizing.  Just do it for a few days a week.

You will look like a basset hound but honestly, we aren’t getting any younger so who cares? I’d rather feel hot with a rocking body of work than be hot with a rocking body.

Yes, I am dog tired at the end of day. Then it’s easy to fall asleep early and get up early.

What are your tips for finding work time? How do you manage to get into the studio?

Painting with Kids: How do you find the time? (Part 1)

These are not preschool craft-related posts. This is for those who have children yet dare to make art. 

Amantha Tsaros Summer Party 12x16" 2011

I wish I had more time to be creative. I wish I had more time to paint. How do you find the time? Oh, baby, the time is there. You just have to grab it. Ready?


I had a lot more time left once I quit bellyachin'. Whining time can be better spent painting. Get time to yourself.

You do know that it is okay to have a messy kitchen and unmade beds? Actually, the kids can make their own beds. It won’t look good, it will be all lopsided and “wrong”, but that won’t matter because you don’t have to do it. You’ve got art to make.

Hire a sitter. A young one who will play with the kids while you work.

Swap with a friend. Mark off a healthy four hour block and drop your kids off at the friend’s house. Return the favor the following week. Paint your stupid brains out. Eat a handful of peanuts as you rush out with paint in your hair to pick up the kids. Then order a pizza for dinner. I am not joking.

Online grocery shopping. For $10 get your groceries delivered. Don’t use your precious alone time in the grocery store.

Field Trip! Take your kids to the museum or gallery. Share your interest with them. They will learn to appreciate what you do. My favorite museum near us is the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park.  I discovered that my daughter loves sculpture – who knew? I sure didn’t. She had not known until she saw it. Amazing. The kids benefit and you get to do your art "homework".

Tiny easels. Get the kids a ton of paper and paint. Paint with them. Not necessarily in your studio but in their playspace. Use this time as an opportunity to work out sketches or color problems. This week I experimented with oil pastels and watercolors to try out new color combinations. It was relaxing, I got new ideas, did some preliminary studies, and spent time with my children. They never suspected that I was working. I felt I was getting away with many things at once.


Snag every piece of spare time and do not expect to have a luxurious range of hours to work with. But the time you grab will be a treasure. The precious snippets of  time will add up as you are able to build up more and more time and more excitement about getting into the studio.

Part two continues with my number one way to get time to work. It is a good one!