Dallas-based artist Tom Hoitsma is riding high these days. The busy artist and documentary filmmaker just opened Hoitsma Art Studio which highlights his wildly colorful and inspiring wall hangings. Made of metal and canvas, they are show-stoppers in every room they are installed, from residential to commercial environments.  Here, our Lance Avery Morgan caught up with the artisan to learn about the personality that goes into the vibrant and heart-felt creations.

The best career advice I’ve received is…To do something every day. It does not have to be something ground-shaking. Focus on small steps.

Three qualities that got me where I am today as an artist are…Perseverance, self-belief, and blind luck.

Easiest career decision I ever made is…To quit my job with Paramount when I was 31 and start my own television production company. I was blissfully naïve.

What is influencing me creatively in my art right now is…The profound loss and joy I witnessed in my neighborhood after the Dallas tornado in 2019.

How I made my first dollar…Selling flower and vegetable seeds door to door in my New Jersey neighborhood when I was nine years old.

First music I bought was…Jackson Browne.

Book that left a lasting impression on me…I read between 25 to 35 books each year. Atlas Shrugged was the first book that made a lasting impression on me in my early 20s. The most recent was All the Light We Cannot See.

If I lived in a foreign city it would be…Anywhere in Italy, preferably Florence.

What everyone should try in their lifetime is…Playing in a band to a crowd of people even if it’s just a cowbell or a tambourine. There are very few feelings as good as entertaining for people, especially when they’re dancing or singing along. When it’s music that you wrote, now that’s next level…

If I could compete in an Olympic sport it would be…Pole vaulting. I have never done it, but it sure looks like the closest you can get to flying.

If I weren’t doing what I do I would…Continue to make television programming.

A celebrity I would prank phone call and what I would ask them is…I have never prank-called anyone in my entire life, so I find it unlikely that I will start now.

My style icon is…Not sure that I have a style icon, but I do think Bryan Ferry is pretty slick.

The classic designer I wish was still designing today would be…I don’t know, nor have I ever followed a designer. Maybe Levi’s or Adidas.

The last meal that truly impressed me was…Risotto at Taverna in Dallas.
In my fridge you will always find…Half and half for coffee.

My perfect day would end…On a deck overlooking the ocean with my kids.

On my tombstone it will say…He made a lot of stuff, but mostly he was a dedicated father, brother, son and friend.