About Me

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Laos-born Lay Chanthalasy never dreamt he would be an artist. In fact, while in college at MTSU, he was on his way to a career in medicine. Little did he know that a radio ad for Nossi College of Art would change his career path. He later enrolled there and earned an Art degree in 2000.

Lay actually had his first taste of the arts in high school. He took an Art class and fell in love with drawing. His Art instructor told him he was on to something. “It was my teacher who made it more enjoyable,” says Lay, who moved with his family to Murfreesboro, Tenn. in 1979. “He told me, ‘I think you have some hidden talent.’ I had a whole hour to just draw. I never realized I would enjoy it. And from that I figured that the more you enjoy something, the better you’re going to get at it. So I guess I started to push myself to draw better.”    

After leaving Nossi, Lay searched for jobs in Graphic Design, while also working to hone his craft. In 2002, he held his first artist exhibition at Plowhaus Artists’ Cooperative in East Nashville, where he sold his first painting “Sad Puppy.” “A customer walked in and said, ‘I want that one. I want to buy it.’ Ever since that event, my passion for painting has soared,” says Lay, who enjoys using several mediums including acrylic (“It dries faster”), watercolor and oil on canvas. “I want to show more of what I can express through painting.”  

Today, Lay is also passionate about teaching budding artists. He offers private lessons and has taught art to school-aged children for the last few years. “Teaching gives me a new purpose,” he says. “Encountering new and wonderful people has given me more joy to continue painting.” 

story credit: Kendra Story