Pinky Diablo (A.K.A. Tom Sale)

Tom Sale has been a part of the Dallas area art scene for over 20 years. After graduating with a Masters in Painting and Drawing from UNT in 1990, Sale and his artist wife Dottie Love have taught, produced and exhibited art all over Texas. They currently live near Ennis on a 25 acre ranch and raise miniature zebu cattle. Both artists teach for Hill College. About eight years ago Sale created a fictional persona named Pinky Diablo who has become a well-recognized artist in his own right. Sale has shown his art and given a workshop at the Visual Arts League in Lewisville, and now Pinky Diablo will have his turn to shine there. On Friday Oct. 3, Pinky will make a personal appearance from 6-9PM. Originally, Pinky was billed as traveling huckster with a pink trailer of oddities and art who visited art museums and galleries around the state. Often Pinky Diablo’s trailer would show up at the gallery opening of Sale’s work. Sale jokes, “It was performance art. Pinky Diablo is a lot more famous than I am. People had heard about Pinky Diablo, but didn’t realize until they saw him that it was really me!” Sale recently worked for a year as a zoo keeper at the Dallas Zoo, and put on an exhibit of animal themed watercolors to raise money for the zoo keeper’s pet project—rhino conservation. Avid gallery goers in Dallas know that Sale is interested in using animals as subject matter in his small sculptures, and so is his alter-ego, Pinky. “But when Pinky paints,” Sale explains, “he can get a lot wilder. He paints chickens, giraffes, elephants, and even skeletons in a quick, slapdash fashion that is both humorous and quirky. Pinky paints on the insides of discarded book covers because he can’t afford canvas!” Pinky’s trailer has been exhibited at galleries in Galveston, Houston, San Antonio, and to the Dallas Contemporary Museum. Recently Sale (in his Pinky guise) has been offering his services by the day to his collectors. He packs up his studio in a suitcase and arrives at the collector’s doorstep in the morning and paints on book covers all day. Sale also sells Pinky's art at Dallas' well-known fashion boutique, Dolly Python on Haskell Avenue. Sale adds, “Pinky can't paint fast enough to keep them stocked! These days Pinky and I are becoming more and more alike. It’s a good thing that I’m still glad I created him.” (Contributed by Tom Sale) Pinky Diablo, detail of "Chicken in the Wilderness" 2008