Vegas Stripped: Graffiti canvas changes for ‘saved’ artist — VIDEO

Tom "Cruise" paints a model train at his home in North Las Vegas Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. Once homeless in the pacific northwest, he painted real trains and walls, but also painted model trains to make money. Today graffiti on ho-scale trains is growing in popularity as a legal way to collect favorite artists‘ work. The name he has written for ten years is "save me". Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @rookie__rae

Tom "Cruise" paints a model train at his home in North Las Vegas Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. Once homeless in the pacific northwest, he painted real trains and walls, but also painted model trains to make money. Today graffiti on ho-scale trains is growing in popularity as a legal way to collect favorite artists‘ work. The name he has written for ten years is "save me". Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @rookie__rae

Tom "Cruise" paints a model train at his home in North Las Vegas Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. Once homeless in the pacific northwest, he painted real trains and walls, but also painted model trains to make money. Today graffiti on ho-scale trains is growing in popularity as a legal way to collect favorite artists‘ work. The name he has written for ten years is "save me". Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @rookie__rae

Tom "Cruise" paints a model train at his home in North Las Vegas Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. Once homeless in the pacific northwest, he painted real trains and walls, but also painted model trains to make money. Today graffiti on ho-scale trains is growing in popularity as a legal way to collect favorite artists‘ work. The name he has written for ten years is "save me". Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @rookie__rae

Tom "Cruise" paints a model train at his home in North Las Vegas Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. Once homeless in the pacific northwest, he painted real trains and walls, but also painted model trains to make money. Today graffiti on ho-scale trains is growing in popularity as a legal way to collect favorite artists‘ work. The name he has written for ten years is "save me". Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @rookie__rae

Tom "Cruise" paints a model train at his home in North Las Vegas Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. Once homeless in the pacific northwest, he painted real trains and walls, but also painted model trains to make money. Today graffiti on ho-scale trains is growing in popularity as a legal way to collect favorite artists‘ work. The name he has written for ten years is "save me". Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @rookie__rae

Tom "Cruise" paints a model train at his home in North Las Vegas Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. Once homeless in the pacific northwest, he painted real trains and walls, but also painted model trains to make money. Today graffiti on ho-scale trains is growing in popularity as a legal way to collect favorite artists‘ work. The name he has written for ten years is "save me". Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @rookie__rae

Tom "Cruise" paints a model train at his home in North Las Vegas Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2016. Once homeless in the pacific northwest, he painted real trains and walls, but also painted model trains to make money. Today graffiti on ho-scale trains is growing in popularity as a legal way to collect favorite artists‘ work. The name he has written for ten years is "save me". Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @rookie__rae

Tom “Cruise” is known more as his graffiti name, “Save Me.”

At one point he was homeless in the Pacific Northwest, being arrested for tagging trains and walls, but also painting model trains to make money. This trend of painting model trains among graffiti artists is growing in California, where there are art gallery shows for model trains, but it has yet to take hold in Las Vegas.

As a legal alternative, it doesn’t halt artists from painting real trains, but monetizes their hobby. Some artists take a photo of the real train they painted, then paint the same work on a model train. Like an architect executing his plan, he says. 

Today he has been commissioned to paint murals in the Arts District and for the Linq hotel. His life is in far better shape. He has a full time job so he doesn’t have to rely on graffiti for money.

But where he is at now, he gives all credit to graffiti — both the good and bad things. The community of artists he met supported him when he was homeless and pushed him to develop his creativity. 

“Vegas Stripped” is a weekly profile series appearing on reviewjournal.com and on the Review-Journal’s Facebook page. Find Rachel Aston on Twitter: @rookie__rae