Sidebar Classic - Thomas Blackshear

Originally broadcast in 2012, here is a classic interview from our 'Barchives' with former illustrator/fine artist/sculptor Thomas Blackshear.

Blackshear was an award-winning illustrator with clients such as Anheiser Busch, Walt Disney Studios, Lucasfilm, Universal Studios and National Geographic. Now retired from the craft, he has pursued his personal vision into fine art, religious paintings and sculpture under his company Ebony Visions. He has been highly lauded throughout his career and was most recently inducted in the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame in 2020. 

Our conversation with Thomas kicks off with his memories of growing up here in Atlanta, Georgia (just like us three!). He then details his path to art school in Chicago, launching his successful illustration career, creating his 'Ebony Visions' line of sculptures and finally making his deeply personal transition to fine art.

And be sure to stay until the end for Thomas' short story of how he met renowned artist Mark English and began his apprenticeship with him.

This episode continues our re-presentation of classic interviews and roundtables from our previous incarnation as SiDEBAR: The Pop Culture Podcast into our podcast feed.

We hope that our listeners, both new and old, will enjoy these vintage back episodes and follow us here for new episodes of Sidebar Forever!