Come to the Art Party!

Please join me for the Artist's Reception for my new exhibit, Fickle Forecasts

Saturday, September 10, 2011 from 2:00-4:30 pm. 

We will have treats and an artsy scavenger hunt.

Amantha Tsaros, Spring to Come, 12x16", (c) 2011

Fickle Forecasts: Landscapes by Amantha Tsaros

September 2-29, 2011

Piper Gallery, Cary Memorial Library

1874 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington MA

Leading a Double Life

Amantha Tsaros, Twin I, 12x4", ©2011

Amantha Tsaros, Twin I, 12x4", ©2011

The astute, no-excuses art biz coach, Alyson Stanfield, posted a question on her blog today asking artists what our day jobs are.

I love her question. It made me wonder how others manage their two work lives. Is one of the two jobs a secret?

My "day job" as a mom used to be a secret. I felt that people familiar with my art work would not take my art seriously if they knew that I spent so much of the day wiping noses and bottoms.

An old friend of mine is impressed that I am an artist. You know, an Artist with a capital "A". I was told I am "really being an artist. Not like those women who have kids that dabble but aren't really artists."  My friend knows that I have a BFA and an MFA from the School of Visual Arts and that I have studied with "real artists" that I have had work published, shown and critiqued by some stern judges. Even knowing my background and seeing my work ethic first-hand, there was doubt that I could still perform.

On the contrary, after having children, I am more committed to art than ever. I do everything I can to squeeze every minute out of my day. I get up early to paint before the kids get up. I stay up late to write and work on invitations and applications.  I know other artists who have children and work. We don't talk sippy cups or potty training. We talk materials, marketing and frames. We know very little about the kids behind the scenes.

Although I am no longer afraid of letting it slip that I have kids, I am concerned that I will automatically be dismissed out of hand as not being serious.

Should I keep it quiet? Does it matter?

Ooh La La Canvas!

Amantha Tsaros, Lisa's Bunch, 16x12", (c)2011

I am very particular about the surface I paint on. I had once been told that as an artist you must stretch your own canvas or you won't be taken seriously. Yet given the time limitations I am working with, I could spend all my time sacred studio time stretching my own canvas - and then obsessing about whether or not the corners really are right angles or if the canvas is taut enough.  I toyed with hiring some young hunky lad from a local art school with a nose ring to prepare my canvas. 

One day I googled, "How cheesy is it to paint on pre-stretched canvas?" And through a bulletin board I was introduced to my new love, French Canvas.  French Canvas is a company in New Jersey and I love them. They hand-stretch canvas to order. Every canvas is perfect. Right angles, and tight tight tight. Their pricing is comparable to what you can buy ready made at the art store. There is a shipping fee but with a minimum purchase they offer free shipping.  I can proudly say that all of my works are painted on high-quality hand stretched canvas. 

French Canvas is way hotter than any artsy boy with a nose ring. (Sorry boys.)

And what say you? Is painting on store-bought a canvas a no-no? Will you think less of me in the morning knowing that I didn't get my hands dirty in the construction of my surface?