Go ahead and hate it.

More artists really need to be told how much their work sucks.

I cannot join any online art community. Inevitably there is a viewing of work and everyone digs deep to come up with something positive to say, "Great use of color!" (too bad your picture is ugly.) Everyone is slapping each other on their paint-splattered virtual backs. Oh, STOP. I much prefer it if someone tells the truth about what they are seeing.

If all work has value then how can anything really be "good"? Don't you need a "bad" to judge it by?

I'm all down with the process over product yadda-yadda-ya. You need that darn process to make the damn product. Just because the creation of it had meaning to the artist personally does not mean it must have merit for the viewing public at large.

Here is a kinda bad painting.

The viewer can zero right in on a problematic spot.

"This part is good but WHAT is going on in that corner?" 

"Right. I am having a hard time there."

"I can see that."

Those conversations are productive. A good friend of mine came to my studio one day and had no problem saying, "That kinda sucks." I was grateful because I was at a point where I could no longer determine if it really was bad or if I was just being to hard on myself.

Trust me. I went to art school. You can't say anything worse than what I have already heard.

So tell me, do you want the unvarnished truth about your work or should I just stick with "Interesting approach to your subject!" when I see it?

Heartbreak and Teals

My last bottle of Cobalt Teal. 

The mourning began last fall.  My beloved Cobalt Teal is no more. Golden Paints Just Paint Newsletter spelled it out. They could no longer get the pigments they need to make Cobalt Teal and will be replacing it with some newfangled hue-on-the-block that is just plain "Teal". Hmph.

Should I hoard as much of it as possible? You can get small 2 oz tubes online at Dick Blick or bigger jars at Pearl Paint. I prefer to use it in fluid form and can't find that at all. What if I buy it and am too afraid to use it? It will just make the parting more painful.

Oh, Cobalt Teal, I was just starting to learn how to love you.

Early Summer, 9x9", Acrylic on Paper 2012 Amantha Tsaros


The last piece I created using Cobalt Teal.

I can just see my name in PLASMA!

Who cares what I think about my reception at the Belmont Media Center?  (It was faaabulous!) Here is the report from attendee and guest blogger, Camilla Corcoran. Here is her walk through the event. Don't miss her review of my painting, "Chiffon":

Her name in plasma!

The Superstar herself!
With extra sass.

Chiffon! And quite possibly a wolf wearing a pink wig. Hey, I may not know much about art,
but I know what I THINK I see!

It's art with a capital R.

Pucker Up! That's an order!

Strawberry Mint Ice Cream! Rendered in acrylics, so,
y'know, zero calories.

The reception really was fun and I am so grateful to everyone at the Belmont Media Center for their support. A big ol' chunk of gratitude goes to Rachel Wiederhoeft for her organization, art installation and being the Grand Doer-Of-All-Things.

The exhibit will remain up until February 28, 2013.  

An Artist's Education

Skip art school and miss hilarious, vicious, overt, mocking or constructive criticism.

I hung a series of large monotypes on the wall for crit. My beloved instructor approached one in front of the class. He took a considered look. In his charmingly coarse voice he gestured to the top half of one piece. "THIS is a beautiful drawing.", he said. Pointing lower he continued, "but THIS? This is a bad drawing of a bus."

"Oh, come on! It is a newstand." I explained.

"My point exactly."

Amantha Tsaros, Blue, Monotype. © 2012

"Win as if you were used to it. Lose as if you liked it." 

- Isabella Stewart Gardner

Art Girl Apron

I do my worst cooking in the kitchen - 

- and I only wear aprons in the studio. 

Your Art is not your Child. It isn't.

Have you created a dynamic piece that screams holy hell in aisle 5; demands a "moon-shaped eggplant" and then bites you when you carry its shrieking body out of the store?

This is a child.

Some artists say their work is "like their children." They can't be.

If it hangs on a wall, stands on a pedestal, adorns a person, place or thing, then this is probably art. Children will always be a part of you and you cannot sell them. You also cannot stick them in the closet if they disappoint you.

Please note the difference.

The rectangular object on the left is the art.

Preschooler's Guide to Artistic Success

Being considerate and mature does not factor into Artistic Success. Look at Picasso - the selfish cad!

If I behave like a preschooler I could really start making some serious headway. For 2013, I will :

- Ignore what everyone tells me to do. They mean well but I am listening to my wild impulses instead.

- Paint with abandon. So what if I ruin it? I've got a ton of tempera and oak tag on hand.

- Hoard my important stuff -  time, that is.  It is mine! Mine! MINE! MINE!

- Reach for what I want. I want that big cookie.

-Wear comfortable clothes. I don't like itchy tags and  don't want to be restrained.

- Participate enthusiastically during Show and Tell. I will learn how to talk about my art with all of you during circle time.

Amantha Tsaros, Santa's Sled, Digital Painting. © 2012

Last one in the studio is a rotten egg!

You're Invited

Please join me for an Artist's Reception on January 17, 2013.

Amantha Tsaros, Pucker Up, Acrylic on Canvas, 24x24". © 2012
The reception is for my new exhibit at the Belmont Media Center, 9 Lexington St., Belmont, MA.

Thursday, January 17, 2012

6:30 - 8:30 pm

The exhibit will be on display from January 2 to February 28, 2013

Have a Very Gelli New Year!

Stay open to new things and work fearlessly - my resolution for this year.

It is easy to be fearless when some of the heavy lifting has been released. The thrilling new product from Gellit Arts, the Gelli Plate, has made printmaking a slippery, paint-blasted joy. This is a gel printing plate that produces clear sharp images with a light rubbing. You do not need a printing press or even a baren or wooden spoon. Just your good old-fashioned hand. I have been spending hours and using sheets and sheets of paper producing prints that sing, float and twist.

Amantha Tsaros, The New, Monotype, 11x8". © 2012

Golden OPEN Acrylics are the best paints to use on the Gelli Plate but there are lot of options for creating prints. In the prints above I have combined Golden's OPEN Pthalo Blue with Napthol Red and Golden Fluid Acrylic in Iridescent Gold to create this end of the year print.