to job for a few years after 9/11. From was talking with a friend, trying to figure out what he was going to do next.

“In college, it seemed like all the artists were successful by the time they were 50 and 40, so I wanted to be successful by the time I was 40,” From said. “I was 38 then, so I thought, ‘I gotta do something.’”

The two talked about Denny Dent, who did speed-painting when they were in college.

After deciding to take a crack at it, From took a few months to draw up a five-year plan and did his first performance in 2007 at a friend’s pool party. Most of his business since then has come to him by word-of-mouth.

He started working out of his garage and then out of a room in his home before getting an Arlington Heights studio in 2012. He also has a gallery in Arlington Heights that is attached to his partner’s yoga studio, Bright Blue Sage.

From says he puts a strong emphasis on charity work. He hopes by the end of next year he will have helped raise $4 million for various charities through events he’s performed at.

Out of the more than 160 performances he does a year, about 90 percent are for charities, From said.

As an artist, From has drawn inspiration from abstract expressionists Jackson Pollock and Franz Klein. Even in college, From says, he was thinking out of the box.

“Nine out of 10 times I don’t practice the painting,” From said. “I have the color scheme in my head, and I let the spontaneity take action.”

But what happens if he makes a mistake or takes a wrong brush stoke?

“I think I mess up, but they (observers) think it’s fantastic,” he said.

Most of the paintings he does in Chicago and other cities are based on the area’s professional sports teams and architecture. He does about 200 Blackhawks logo paintings a year, he said.

From keeps it simple when it comes to his performance wardrobe. He buys black pants, 20 black shirts and three black leather jackets every year.

From, who doesn’t like to be referred to as a speed painter, observes simple rules when it comes to business relationships.

“Be nice, show up on time, say thank you,” From said.