Meet Tom Slack | Professional Artist

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

Hi Tom, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I’ve loved art since I was a little kid. I really wanted to pursue it, but my parents were fiercely opposed to it, telling me I would be a “starving artist.“ So when I went to college I remember looking through the course catalogs trying to figure out what my major should be. Every time I found something that looked good to me, I noticed it had art involved, so I ignored it. Instead I chose to major in business and accounting, since it would be a respectable career.

I actually hated that kind of work. I tried to make a go of it for a while, but it was really a drag.

The turning point came when I was being a traveling salesman. I have spent one full day in a town far away and I checked into a hotel for the night. I woke up the next day, realizing I didn’t have any appointments until the afternoon. I figured I could just stay in the hotel and make cold calls over the telephone. After a while, the manager came. He told me I had to leave because the room was already rented for someone else. I didn’t have anything going for a while, so I decided I just get in the car and go for a ride.

I started driving up a road into the mountains – – and to make a long story short, I got trapped in a snowdrift. I was unable to get out and was stuck there overnight. I was freezing. I had been trying to dig my way out through the car window but the snow was coarse and it was like sandpaper. I had blood running down my arms. I was up there by myself and figured I would probably end up dying. I thought “what a shame,“ not because I was afraid to die, but that it was terrible that I had never gone after my true dream of being an artist. I told myself that if there was any way of getting out of there alive, and I knew I wouldn’t, I would just quit all of this job I was working at and go back to school and become an artist.

After a miserable night and horrible situation trying to get out of there, I did make it home. I was seriously injured so I had to recover for a while, but then I walked into my work, I told my boss I was quitting and signed up for art classes at Salt Lake Community College. To support myself during this time I got a swing shift job at Holiday Inn worldwide reservation center.

I was at the community college for one year, then transferred to the University of Utah where I studied for the next two years. I was taking more credit hours than you were supposed to – – sometimes 26 hours. So there was that plus working a full-time job. I was taking art and I absolutely loved it.

I got my bachelor of fine arts degree in painting and drawing. Within a couple of days after the graduation my wife and I loaded everything up in a moving van and had our car on a trailer in the back. We drove to Indianapolis. Neither of us had a job and we didn’t have a place to live, but we felt strongly about going there and becoming an artist.

After we found a place to live, my wife walked across the street to a retail store and applied for a job, which she got. I ended up getting a really crummy job which I totally hated, but it was just part of my plan.

I figured the best thing for me to do would to become represented by an art gallery. That was really tough – – it took me over a year before someone accepted me.

As the years went by I was represented by several different galleries throughout the midwestern United States. I had a lot of one-man shows. I was interviewed by TV stations and radio, There were a lot of newspaper articles as well as magazine features about me. I began doing commissions for people all over the United States as well as Japan and Britain. Eventually I was asked to teach private art lessons. I’ve taught dozens of students, and many of them received a lot of awards for their work.

There are so many other things that have happened since then. My life has been so fulfilling because I went after my dream of being an artist, and I am certainly not starving.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Probably the thing that sets me apart from other artists as far as my own work is my use of light and color. I try to portrayed them as I actually see them. I also try to use a lot of contrast to make my work dramatic. My art would be considered representational but with an impressionistic field to it. A lot of my work is based on experiences I’ve had, such as traveling places and seeing interesting sites. I do a lot of cityscapes, seascapes and tons of portraits,

I’m proud of the fact that I’ve had a very long and successful art career with many opportunities like shows, commissions, workshops and other things. I’ve been interviewed on television, on the radio, newspaper and magazine articles. I’m probably proudest of the students I teach, many of them who have become award winning artists.

I got to where I am professionally by a lot of hard work. I went back to college to get my art degree at age 47, I worked hard to get gallery representation throughout the Midwest, I have made a point to be in juried. shows. An important thing to me has been sharing my talent with others – teaching art workshops, being an art merit badge counselor for the Boy Scouts of America, doing demos for art clubs and other things. Probably the biggest reason I’ve had the successes I’ve experienced is because I have been willing to take chances, like offering to do portraits of mayors professional musicians etc. I’ve gone after things most people would’ve been scared to try like approaching major cities about having shows in their city halls. None of this was easy. I was scared to death, but I wanted it so badly that I just closed my eyes and jumped in.

The lessons I’ve learned along the way were to keep trying, don’t get discouraged, don’t worry about what other people think, and most of all, to be brave.

The big thing that i’d like to emphasize is that I wanted desperately to be an artist but had been strongly discouraged by all the people I know. Finally, after a near death experience, I decided to go ahead and get my art degree. I was 47 years old when I graduated and have worked as hard as I could and have tried as many things as I could imagine to become a successful artist.

I want the world to know that I love to do what I do, and I am working my hardest to do the best possible thing I can, using my own style and inspiration.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My friend comes for a week. The first day I take him to the Canal Walk and we ride in paddle boats through the city. When we are done with that we go to the NCAA Hall of fame, then go to dinner at the Ratskeller German restaurant. After dinner we go to the Murat Theater to take in a Broadway show.

The next day we take my canoe and fishing rods and enjoy each other’s company as we catch bass, crappies, bluegills, and whatever else might be biting. Of course my wife would’ve packed a big lunch that we’d eat during the day. We’d go out to dinner at Saint Elmo Steak House, then watch the Indiana Pacers play the Los Angeles Lakers.

The next day I’m scheduled to teach a portrait painting class so I take my friend with me. I introduced him to all of the students and have them show their work. to make him feel welcome, I’ll have him sit on a stool and be the model for the portrait lesson. My favorite student invites us to her house where she makes a delicious Mexican lunch. To carry on with the theme of the day we visit some art galleries, then stop to see my paintings that are in a group show. The other artists invite us to join them for dinner at their favorite restaurant. When we are through eating we all decide to go to Fountain Square where we will do swing dancing to a live band.

The next morning we go to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. First we will explore their museum where we’ll see cars that have won the race over the past several decades. Next we’ll climb on a bus and drive completely around the track. We will stop at the finish line. We’ll get out, bend over and kiss the bricks. The local Latin Festival will be going on nearby, so we’ll stop to see dancers from most of the countries in Latin America perform. I’ll take a lot of pictures to use in future paintings. That evening we will eat at The Crow’s Nest, a rotating restaurant that’s several stories above the city. We’ll enjoy seeing the stars, the moon, and the lights of the city.

The next morning my friend tells me that since he’s leaving the next day and that he hasn’t really seen what my friends and I like to do, we go to Turkey Run and float down the river in inner tubes. About halfway down the river we stopped at a small island. One of our friends has brought a portable barbecue grill. We enjoy ourselves eating hamburgers, drinking soft drinks and cracking jokes. When we get done, we are just plain tired. We decide to go back to my home where my wife fixes us a simple dinner. The rest of the evening we just sit around in the living room, reminiscing about the good old days.

His flight leaves at 8:30 AM the next morning so we are up at five and I drop him off at the airport. He’s been my best buddy my whole life and this past week has been fantastic.

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?
My education at The University of Utah, the gallery owners, the students I have taught, my art clients, and my wife, Norene who has stood beside me every step of the way.

Website: https://tomslack.com

Instagram: tomslackartstudio

Facebook: Tom Slack Art Studio

Youtube: My Canvas Excursion