Meet Athena Boas | Artist & Urban Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Athena Boas and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Athena, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
My work life balance has changed drastically within the last 4 months! I am actually a full time landscape architect and am an artist on the side. Last year, I was easily working over 45 hours every week at my full time job and it was a lot harder to find balance for commissions and my art while maintaining a social life. I decided to switch full time positions, still as a landscape architect but at a firm that valued work life balance more and I am so much happier! I have a lot more time for art both for clients as well as myself, which truly makes me feel fulfilled.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Art By Athena took off when I was able to get back into art during the pandemic. In 2020 we all had to put a pause on our lives which led to getting back in touch with our hobbies and passions.

Art had strayed away from me from my days in high school – I needed to reconnect, so I started using my iPad to create digital paintings and doodles to help get back into the swing of things and find my style. Along the way I met a famous wheatpaste artist in New York City who enjoyed my enthusiasm but let me know I had to “get back to basics” – essentially studying form, function, value, and color that I learned in high school. Although it was criticism I didn’t want to hear in the moment, that feedback motivated me to start putting more time into perspectives and portraits. Then, in 2022 I had an amazing local business peep at my instagram one day who loved my style (as sporadic and unrefined as my posts were) and they encouraged me to make prints to sell at their shop. A similar scenario happened at a coffee shop in Alexandria, VA, and I started to feel confident enough to sell prints there and be open to commissions.

Last year, I was able to accomplish my largest feat yet as an artist – designing a custom wedding card and itinerary for a client getting married in Spain. The process was very intricate and involved 10 paintings altogether in a very specific style but seeing the finished product and a happy bride was so fulfilling.

I want the world to know that diving into art as a profession can seem daunting, maybe imposter syndrome will creep into your psyche some days, but with time and practice those thoughts will dissipate. And heck, for all the times you doubt yourself there’s still people who think your work is great! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and art is up for interpretation after all.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My best friend is actually visiting me this week and I am so excited because I myself am new to the area and I’m excited to show her my new spots around town. From my short time in Colorado I’d take her to the Rocky Mountain National Park to Hike at Lake Isabelle, Winter Park to ski, Garden of the Gods to see the beautiful rock formations, and Red Rocks to see a house show. As for food I’d say we’d go to Dry Goods for coffee, Dragonfly Noodle for ramen, and Blackbelly for happy hour + drinks.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d want to credit my high school art teacher, Mr. Crawford for teaching me the ins and outs of painting during my years at Hanover High School – but then pushing me to teach myself charcoal as an independent study senior year, which was a very hard year for me in particular. I took three art classes that year, and would either start or end with an art classes each day, the way scheduling went. It forced me to really focus on my technique while working with a variety of mediums which helped hone in on my speciality – watercolor. It was also the first time I was introduced to the beautiful watercolor films of Hayao Miyazaki – one of my favorite artists!

Instagram: artbyathenaaa

Other: artbyathena4@gmail.com