While standing next to her booth December 4 on downtown Riverside’s Main Street, local arts vendor Sofia Tsakanias admitted she recently broke a three-month streak of not making a sale.
“I actually lost money, because I paid for the booth,” Tsakanias said. “I’m so passionate about my art, I want this to be my whole life so bad that I don’t even care that I’m not making a lot.”
The 19-year-old Riverside native is one of dozens of local artisans who regularly participate in Riverside Artswalk, a long-standing monthly community event, selling her work under the moniker Sofie Star.
She specializes in oil pastel portraits, painting well-known celebrities and characters like Bettie Page, Elvira and Cyndi Lauper. Their faces are presented in a punk-rock visual style that forgoes realism and emphasizes the use of dark contrasting colors to make each facial feature stand out. She also finishes each piece by giving the characters a signature pencil-thin Chicana eyebrow look.
“I feel like any subculture with strong women, they have thin eyebrows,” she said. “I always saw Chicana women as super strong, and I’ve always loved it, and I’ve always included thin eyebrows.”
Tsakanias was inspired to pursue a career in art when she was in elementary school, she said, after walking through Riverside Artswalk’s previous parking lot location and seeing vendors showcase their unique styles. She then began establishing her own style in middle school, painting rockstars from her favorite bands.
Now, Tsakanias is enrolled in the business program at Riverside City College, where she is looking to find ways to mix the art and business worlds together. She added that she’s excited to continue pursuing her art in her hometown and take part in what she said she felt was a growing art scene.
At the December Artswalk event, her table was filled with stickers, pins, cards and lighters featuring her designs.
“I really just want to focus on growing the brand Sophie Star and my art,” she said. “I’m very much in the beginning stages of this brand.”
Sofia Tsakanias sets up her Sofie Star booth every first Thursday of the month as part of Riverside Artswalk, located throughout the Main Street Pedestrian Mall. She is also available on social media @SofiaandComics.
Dispatches from Riverside County is a semi-regular feature where The Riverside Record highlights local businesses that make Riverside County what it is. If you know a business that you think should be featured, email publisher Alicia Ramirez at Alicia.Ramirez@RiversideRecord.org.
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