The Artist's Work Ethic
The Artist's Work Ethic
Episode 87 - Artist Tom Laura (BigToe)
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Drawing inspiration from surf culture, tiki culture, hot rods, vintage comics, and the Southern California lifestyle, Tom has spent decades creating a distinctive body of work that blends humor, nostalgia, and vibrant storytelling. His art has been exhibited around the world, featured in galleries, books, magazines, merchandise, and tiki collectibles, and collected by fans ranging from everyday enthusiasts to notable figures in music and entertainment.
Persistence and just raw dog willingness to put yourself out there. It's, you know, I it for me and I think for every artist, I'm sure it's the same for actors and screenwriters and everybody else. It's just you have to be your own best advocate. You know, you're not gonna find anybody to represent you um when you're, you know, just starting out unless you're a unicorn.
SPEAKER_01Welcome to the Artists Work Ethic Podcast. I'm Mike Pelak. I'm an actor, screenwriter, and filmmaker, and in this podcast, I talk to people from across the arts about their process, habits, and work ethic. You can find me on Instagram at the Artists Work Ethic Podcast, and I'd love to hear from you at the Artists Work Ethic Podcast at gmail.com. Today on the show is Tom Laura, the artist behind Big Toe Art, drawing inspiration from surf culture, tiki culture, hot rods, vintage comics, and the Southern California lifestyle. Tom has spent decades creating a distinctive body of work that blends humor, nostalgia, and vibrant storytelling. His art has been exhibited around the world, featured in galleries, books, magazines, merchandise, and tiki collectibles and collected by fans, ranging from everyday enthusiasts to notable figures in music and entertainment. Oh, it's my pleasure. Uh great to meet you. So you have a tiki art exhibition at the punk rock museum in Vegas. Yeah. What's your connection to punk rock in general? And has punk influenced the way you conduct yourself and your art and your business?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, you know, um just growing up uh in the 80s in in uh Los Angeles, punk sort of emerged, you know, as as the expression of what we were were feeling in the the current uh state of America back then. And um I I think it influenced very much um my aesthetic and my work ethic and everything. And primarily I'm what's known as a Polynesian pop um artist, a tiki artist. It's sort of built around this uh imaginary exotic culture that was invented in lost in pretty much in Los Angeles in in the like 40s and 50s, then sort of spread out throughout the world after that. Because for me, I was discovering these two uh cultures simultaneously, they sort of always were the same thing, you know, parts of my life back then. And and the museum asked me to curate a tiki punk art show here at the punk rock museum in Las Vegas. And um I was reluctant at first because I feel like if you're not in a band, a punk rock band or any kind of band, you kind of always feel like a poser. So I definitely didn't think I was worthy, but they they they persisted in saying I was the right person to do it. And so I we did it last year and it was super fun. Um, everybody was super receptive to the concept, which, you know, at first blush seems weird, but it's been a blast. And since the two cultures sort of emerged as as uh reactions against 80s sort of capitalism, you know, corporate culture that was happening. Um, it seemed like a natural thing to everybody, and it's been super fun.
SPEAKER_01I mean, I would I would assume from my POV, someone who finds themselves, like I would be, at the punk rock museum is gonna generally be open to something might that you might not have expected to see there.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think their their idea in bringing us in was um, you know, it's like are there people that are punk rock fans that that just don't remember how much they they love you know the the culture? And and you know, so I think that the people that my the what I like to say is that that tiki is like where all subcultures go to die. You know, it's like all the all the old rockabillies and punk rockers and metalheads and everybody just it sort of ends up in in in tiki culture because it's a fun way to place to vibe with friends, and you know, you go to have a a delicious rum drink and exotic you know environment in the tiki bar and just sort of forget your problems. It's been so yeah, it's been great.
SPEAKER_01So going back a little earlier, you spent some time in the apparel world and then went out on your own, it from what I gather. Yep. What did your work ethic look like in in like those early scrappy years where maybe you were making that transition from what may have been more of a job job?
SPEAKER_00So so I I went to school to be an artist. Uh I was uh I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Cal State Long Beach in Southern California. And I was going to be a painter. My passion is is um expressing narrative concepts in art. And when I graduate when I got out of school, the prevailing art wasn't narrative. It was uh, you know, Julian Schnabel, broken plates, and and art that that was very conceptual that I didn't relate to at all. So I went into the apparel business, um, specifically into the surf industry for most of my career. And I art directed at a bunch of surf companies, um, which I wouldn't trade that experience for anything. And I kind of at that point I was more interested in having fun and surfing than I was in in doing work. So uh it was a really good structural environment. It was really important for me to have that structure and having to show up for a job. It definitely uh served me in that regard. You know, I got to a point where I couldn't not paint anymore. So um after more or less having a career as a creative director in the surf industry, I I started painting again and started showing in galleries. And and um, so that's kind of what this is the evolution of.
SPEAKER_01How did you find that transition? Was it a a tough one to go from that more structured environment to your own, you're responsible for everything yourself?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I mean, I I wasn't a full-time degenerate artist until uh till the pandemic, you know, when I got sacked from my last job. Just uh the experience was we were all sort of working from home. And then the it seemed like the creatives with the highest earning level were the the ones that didn't didn't come back after the, you know, in the middle of the pandemic. So I mean it was the kick in the ass that I needed to focus on this earnestly.
SPEAKER_01What do you think has separated you from artists who maybe haven't been able to get their career off the ground?
SPEAKER_00Persistence and just raw dog willingness to put yourself out there. It's you know, I it for me and I think for every artist, I'm sure it's the same for actors and screenwriters and everybody else. It's just you have to be your own best advocate. You know, you're not gonna find anybody to represent you when you're, you know, just starting out, unless you're a unicorn. So, you know, you just have to be the one that that goes to galleries and introduces yourself, introduces yourself to the curator and and the the owners. And it's only when gallery owners see that you're really invested in in making the effort to do it that they'll give you a shot. And you know, especially in today's world where you can make a living just selling your art on Instagram or something, you really need still need galleries to take it to another level. So putting yourself out there and shaking hands and meeting other artists and networking and um just showing up is is what you really need to do.
SPEAKER_01I mean, it really is across the board, like you know, thinking a band isn't gonna get an agent or a manager or a label to take them on if they haven't shown the world that they're gonna at least get out there and get in the van themselves, you know, and go play the basements and the you know it's it's like uh that that paying your dues, I guess, if for lack of a better term.
SPEAKER_00A hundred percent. You know, I would say I kind of put the cart before the horse. I mean, obviously you need to do the the the creative work and you need to have spent the time to to develop your craft and and show people that you're still developing your craft and still improving and and still you know doing things that add value to the world, you know. So obviously that's the first step is is I don't I don't think everybody needs to to go to school. You know, I don't know if art school is right for everybody. There's a lot of great autodidactic artists, you know, self-taught artists. Um, but you do need to have developed your craft to a level that it's gonna blow some people away. But but then, you know, as you're saying, you got to get in the van. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01What what does a totally average workday look like for you?
SPEAKER_00Oh, dude, it's comp it's it's completely different. I I still, you know, even though I'm I'm selling art and and and creating art shows, I still haven't given up, you know, the the day job, which for me is is mostly designing tiki mugs, which is a super weird, tiny uh niche product that not a lot of people know about. But every tiki bar or a lot of tiki bars have custom tiki mugs, and it's never gonna be something that AI can design. So there has to be somebody that can translate the the personality of that tiki bar to a physical product. And for whatever reason, that's a niche that I found just by you know following the the path of least resistance, I guess. A lot of days I'll get up and um I'll spend my morning uh a few like a couple hours on correspondence and and um and doing business stuff. And then usually around one o'clock, I'll work on some graphic design, whether it's tiki mugs or logos for for different cup companies. And then um in the afternoon into the evening is when I devote to the painting, the art.
SPEAKER_01You find you you find you work better creatively at night than the morning. I like me personally, I'm a morning guy. So it's I find the the differences between people diff uh interesting, you know.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, I I think there's less distractions in the afternoon and night for me. You know, so after I, you know, f feed my dog and get finish the last of my distractions from the business world, then I can, you know, really be able to focus in an uninterrupted way on uh exploring whatever I'm working on in the studio.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I I'm I'm like I need to get up early before my kids get up. Because once once they're up, yeah, all bets are off. And then and then by by later on, I'm like, I can't even think straight anymore.
SPEAKER_00So yeah, yeah, my kids are grown. Um so uh it was really it was it was really hard to have a day job and you know take the kids to soccer practice and and swim team and then also uh have good unorupted creative time. So yeah, it's it's only been like 15, 20 years that I've been focusing on on the art.
SPEAKER_01What challenges have come from from making a career as an artist that you've experienced?
SPEAKER_00I mean, for me, the biggest thing is not having a 401k and a medical insurance. You know, uh the the um what is it, the ACC, the uh Obamacare, California care for me in in California, that's been the biggest thing that, you know, as a society, we've decided to make it possible for people to have careers that are um you know not in the corporate world. So, you know, I hope that as a nation we continue to offer that opportunity for people to uh take, you know, some paths less, less, you know, less traveled.
SPEAKER_01What's a goal that you still want to accomplish in your career?
SPEAKER_00Oh man, you know, I I'm not I've never been good with goals. I've always sort of taken the path of leave least resistance. Man, just the idea that I'm curating an art show at the punk rock museum, I'm fucking giddy, man. Um I I really want to do a docudrama of taking a trip to Rappa Nui, uh Easter Island, and uh take some artists there and um and and and produce art, you know, maybe some other uh island groups in the in the South Pacific. Um I did a lot of traveling early on and going to places like Tahiti and Hawaii and Fiji and Samoa. But back then I was looking for waves and and and inspiration for the surf companies. Um and now it's a little different. I'm looking to create you know art that is inspired by the the supernatural influence of the South Pacific, which is absolutely frickin' mind-blowing for me.
SPEAKER_01Um that sounds awesome. That'd be great.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so so I guess I guess if there's any goal, uh, you know, that's it. You know, maybe just meeting meeting some some grandkids someday. You know, it's uh the older you get, the more you realize how important it is, you know, to spend time with with family and loved ones and and uh and not forget about that in addition to the ambition of leaving, you know, whatever your creative mark is in the world.
SPEAKER_01Anything I know we talked about the punk rock museum tiki exhibit. Anything else that you want to plug or or talk about before we go?
SPEAKER_00Man, you know, uh thank you. I I just uh I appreciate the uh the opportunity to come and plug this exhibit, which it's gonna be up for at least two months this summer at the uh punk rock museum in Las Vegas. Um after that, you know, I my next sort of thing I'm excited about, things that I'm excited about are the um Tiki Oasis, that which is kind of the Super Bowl of Tiki in early August in San Diego. And then also I'm developing with my um partner Cessa at Pop Theory Pictures a documentary on the confluence of tiki and punk cultures, which is wild. You know, I didn't ever think that this was gonna be a thing, but the more people we talked to, uh, people in bands and other artists, the more we realized that that 80s sort of creative period where punk was emerging and tiki was being rediscovered from a younger generation was a really fertile, interesting time. And so we're gonna we're trying to document that and we're gonna be developing our our documentary Rum and Riot. Awesome.
SPEAKER_01Well, Tom, thank you for talking with me today.
SPEAKER_00Oh, it's Mike, thanks so much. It's it's been super fun.
SPEAKER_01Thanks for listening. I hope you enjoyed this episode. Please subscribe if you aren't already, and come give me a like on Instagram at the Artists Work Ethic Podcast.