Slavík’s path to painting was by no means easy at first. He initially trained as a potter before attending the school of sculpture and stonemasonry at Hořice. He then studied sculpture for a year in Bratislava before being admitted to the Art Education Department of the Pedagogical Faculty of Charles University in Prague, where his teachers included Martin Salcman and Cyril Bouda, who encouraged him to paint. He first exhibited his work in the early 1960s, holding his first solo exhibition in 1964. The end of the 1960s was a crucial period for Slavík. He set up his own studio in Jungmannovo Street in Prague, exhibited at the Václav Špála Gallery and became a member of the Křižovatka (Crossroads) group of artists. In 1968 he gave up his job to become a full-time artist.