Image © Tom Hussey
It’s incredibly rare that Tom Hussey photographs something that doesn’t walk and talk. He identifies as Texan but lives in a world without boundaries. Running an impressive advertising production company based in Dallas, he’s mixing out work that repeatedly catches notice, honors, awards, features and praise. In 2011, he earned the distinction of being named one of the Top 10 Creatives in the World by Adweek from an international field of nearly 2,800 artists. That remarkable triumph came as a surprise to him, but not to anyone else.
Most notable about Hussey is that he allows himself the freedom to continue the random exploration of all things visual. He’s an extremely patient listener and practical man, often described as being one of the nicest guys in the business. Hussey is adamant about promotion, combining the need to consistantly market his talent with his desire to discover inspiration. Part of that is his philosophy that you have to be everywhere because you don’t know where you’ll be found, and the other part is that he’s been clear in his head from the start that he’s not in this to be a starving artist.
Hussey says the best thing about his business and career is meeting and learning about different people who do all kinds of different things. Recently he took a project that included “shooting” a series of radio commercials, finding himself directing talent in front of a microphone instead of a camera. That odd job exemplifies what’s at the heart of his creative drive and shows how he maneuvers his life to persistently embrace what’s new.