We were lucky to catch up with Tom Slack recently and have shared our conversation below.

Tom, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I had wanted to become a successful portrait artist but didn’t know quite how. I decided to call the office of the mayor of Greenwood, Indiana. I told the person I’d like to do his portrait as a gift to the city. His executive secretary contacted me to see if I was for real. She insisted on visiting me at my studio to see my work. I showed her a lot of my paintings, then she talked to me for an hour. Later on she called to tell me they had decided to let me do the portrait. She gave me fifteen minutes to meet him in his office where I could take several photos of him so I’d have something to work with.

I worked on the portrait for a couple of months. I attended the unveiling of his portrait at a city council meeting. He stood next to me as I presented it. He smiled, shook my hand and the audience cheered and applauded.

I was scared to death to approach the office about it, but I knew I needed to take a chance. I’m glad I did. It was the beginning of my portrait business.

Tom, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am an artist. I’ve always been really interested in art. From the time I was a little kid I was always drawing. The problem I had was that my parents were absolutely opposed to me going into art as a profession. They kept saying that they didn’t want me to be a starving artist. I decided I’d better go along with what they said. I went to college and majored in other things that didn’t interest me – – communications, accounting, business, etc.

It wasn’t an enjoyable life for me as I tried to be a businessman or whatever. In fact I was absolutely bored. I hated life, but I knew that I could not be an artist, according to my parents.

This all changed in 1995. I was out doing sales calls to businesses. I spent a day at it, then I checked into a hotel. I had more appointments for the next day, so I needed to stay there.

The next morning I got up and realized I didn’t have any appointments until 1 o’clock in the afternoon. I couldn’t think of anything to do, so I thought I would just do cold calls on the phone. Before too long there was a knock on my door. When I opened it, there was the hotel manager. He was upset – – he told me he had the room already booked for someone else and I needed to get out right now.

I hopped in the car and took off down the road. I saw a road going up into the mountains, so I decided to head up there. It was the first of March and at that time of year there was a lot of snow. Unfortunately I found myself stuck in a snowdrift and I couldn’t get out. I tried everything I could to get out of there but I was unable to. I thought that if I worked hard I could make it to my 1 o’clock appointment, but I wasn’t able to and I missed it and the two o’clock and the 4 o’clock appointments as well. I was just plain stranded.

I kept trying to dig out through the car window but the snow was old and it was like sandpaper. My hands and arms started bleeding. I couldn’t do anything. It started getting dark and I had no idea how I’d ever get out of there. Back then, cell phones were not invented yet and I had no way of telling my wife where I was. She accepted me to get home and there I was stranded on top of a mountain in the snow drift.

I was really cold – – I was freezing. No one was driving up that way and I didn’t know what in the world I would do. At about two or three in the morning I realized I would not make it out of there alive. I felt terrible – – not because I would die, but that I had never gone after my dream of being an artist. I promised myself that if I could get out of there, which I knew I wouldn’t, I would forget everything else and go get my art degree.

Eventually it started getting light. I could tell there was a blizzard outside and that if I didn’t get out I would be buried in the car and never would be found.

Somehow I ended up escaping from the car. I don’t know how in the world it all happened because I was in shock. Someone picked me up and took me to the police station. I don’t know who did it but they dragged my car back down to me and somehow I made it home, although I don’t remember a thing about it.

It took me a while to recover physically, but I knew I needed to go after dream. I ended up going to a factory and working there emptying trash all day while I made sure in my mind I was doing the right thing.

I went back to school full-time. I got a full-time swing shift job making hotel reservations for Holiday Inn. I registered for school and spent the next three years as a full-time student getting my art degree.

I graduated from the University of Utah, then I loaded a van with my furniture and my car on a trailer in the back. I drove across the country to Indianapolis where I settled down. It took me a lot of hard work but I eventually became a successful artist. I got representation from some galleries and started teaching art classes. Over the years it has really grown. I’ve been represented by galleries throughout the Midwest. I’ve done art commissions for people across the United States, in Japan and the United Kingdom.

I am a fine artist, dealing with oil paintings. I do everything from portraiture to landscape paintings. A lot of my work is commission, however I have entered many juried art shows and a lot of my work has been sold In galleries.

I have a business teaching art classes and a lot of my students have become award winning artists.

I’m really proud of the fact that I went after my dream, even when I had been told I would not be successful. I graduated from college at age 47 and even though it was later in life, I’ve been able to really make a success of it.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

To me the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the happiness that brings to others. I

Through my artwork I get a lot of joy. This comes from being able to express myself creatively and loving to see the work I create.

I love to see the smiles on the faces of my clients when I deliver commissions to them.

All of my art students have been beginners and I have taken them from that stage to be successful award-winning artists and I know they really love that. It makes me really happy to see it happen and to see the growth from that person.

It’s exciting to me when I am excepted in juried art shows or when my paintings are sold by galleries.

I’ve been interviewed on television and radio and have had several magazine and newspaper articles written about me. After having been told my whole life that I shouldn’t be an artist, it makes me happy that it has all worked out so well.

Sometimes I’ll do a piece of work just as a gift for people, for example if a member of someone’s family has passed away, I’ll surprise them with a portrait of that person. It makes me feel good that I can give people comfort during those times.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I have four main goals:

1. Be represented by galleries

2. Enter three juried shows each year

3. Develop my talent by drawing or painting every day

4. Pass along my knowledge by teaching others how to be excellent artists

Contact Info:

• Website: http://tomslack.com
• Instagram: Tom Slack Art Studio
• Facebook: Tom Slack Art Studio
• Youtube: My Canvas Excursion