As a teen, Sloane ran away from home several times, often covering great distances. He once stole his father’s Model T Ford, forging the license plates in the process. He drove across much of the Continental Unites States, an escape that provided thousands of recollections to which an older Sloane would return in print and oil paints. He illustrated and painted along the way, trading menu lettering and decorations for meals, lettering windows and doors at hotels for rooms, somehow managing to keep enough fuel in the Model T. He also sketched and painted, most especially around Taos, New Mexico, by then an artist colony. When planning his return to New York City, Sloane decided that he would return as an artist.