PORT ST. LUCIE PEOPLE
TOM PRESTOPNIK
Age: 74
Family: his 99 year-old mother,
Suzy, whom he visits every
August; wife, Dee; two grown
children: daughter, Jill, 43, and
son, Paul, 39.
Background: Grew up in Little
Falls N.Y., on the Mohawk
River; joined the Air Force in
1960; earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in art education
from the State University College at Buffalo; moved to
Florida in 1971 and worked for General Development Corp.
during its boom time.
Why I chose my profession: It came naturally. I could still do
art in my free time while teaching students and have summers
it. While on a double date, he compared notes with a girl who
had a college class on designing bulletin boards. “I can do
that,” he thought, so after the military he attended the State
University College at Buffalo where he trained to be an artist
in design, technical drawing and studio arts.
While there, he learned printmaking (lithography, etching
and silk-screening) showing and selling work at the famed
Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, N.Y., and besting his
professors in competitions.
Stationed in England in 1963, Prestopnik saw the Beatles
in concert before anyone in the United States even knew who
they were — getting in for free. Before returning to the states,
he sent his brother their records, who in turn contacted a
JOHN BIONDO
Prestopnik is involved in promoting student artwork at the Arts Council of
Martin County. Their annual juried art show is on view at the Court House
Cultural Center in Stuart through May 26.
Port St. Lucie Magazine 59
off.
What inspires me: My family, meeting rock performers and
spending time at art museums.
Something people don’t know about me: I make my own
beer, collect oddball memorabilia (mostly autographs) and
own a vast collection of vinyl albums.
PIERCE
FORT
TOM PRESTOPNIK
Plein air painting in the steps of van Gogh at Auvers-sur-Oise, a suburb of
Paris, France, and the burial site of Vincent and his brother, Theo.
friend at a radio station, WPTR, in Albany, N.Y., to tip him off
about the band that would usher in the British invasion.
Retirement does not apply to this rock ‘n’ roll enthusiast.
He keeps busy as a roadie for the tribute band, McCartney
Mania, being dubbed as their spiritual adviser, doing most of
the publicity, videos and promo photos. He is also organizing
a reunion of Air Force buddies who get together every two
years. In his spare time, he plans gallery shows at the Court
House Cultural Center for the Arts Council of Martin County
including the Marvin S. Cone High School Juried Art Show,
which he has hung for the last 12 years.
A highlight of his teaching career was being selected as
Secondary Art Educator of the Year by the Florida Art Educational
Association in 2003. A personally rewarding aspect was
teaching a sixth-grader at Murray Middle School in Stuart.
“It was obvious to me the first time I laid eyes on him that
he was very talented,” Prestopnik says of author/illustrator
phenom, Tony DiTerlizzi.
DiTerlizzi’s formative years spent in Prestopnik’s art classes
continued from middle school on to South Fork High School
where Prestopnik transferred. Their relationship continues
to flourish as DiTerlizzi returns to his hometown as often as
Prestopnik can schedule him at speaking engagements for
the Arts Council. His breakout book, The Spider and the Fly,
which became a New York Times best-seller, received the 2003
Caldecott Honor Medal. George Lucas Studios tapped him to
write a compilation of the Star Wars saga, adding that to the
many projects in DiTerlizzi’s portfolio. E