Tom Vattakuzhy was born into a rural agricultural family at Kalloorkad, showed an artistic inclination at an early phase of his schooling. He completed a diploma course in art at a local art school at Muvattupuzha and then attended art lessons at a couple of art schools before he joined Kerala Kalapeetom in Ernakulam from where he learned about the possibilities of higher education in art. But, his family was not supportive of him to leave the job of a school art teacher which he had already entered into and go for further studies in art. He spent years doing the job, painting portraits and illustrating periodicals until he found a new lease of energy in the tutelage of senior artists like M. V. Devan and Prof. M.V. Krisnan. He Joined Kalabhawan, Santiniketan Visva-Bharati University located at West Bengal in 1991 and completed bachelor's degree in printmaking in 1996 followed by a master's degree at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda of Baroda in 1998.