Portrait of Sunny Burgess

Tom Hilborn’s Portrait of Sunny Burgess from the Saints and Hards Collection.

Jerry Reed & The Red Tailed Hawk

Tom Hilborn’s painting of Jerry Reed and the Red Tailed Hawk.

Jerry Reed was an American country singer, song writer and actor.  Born in 1937 and died in Nashville, Tennessee in  2008.  He also acted in about a dozen films.  His first official country hit was “Guitar Man” in 1967.

You can see another painting by Tom of Jerry Reed here.  If you want to see a larger image of Jerry Reed & the Red Tailed Hawk, just click on the image above.

Tom Hilborn's painting of Jerry Reid

Tom Hilborn’s painting of American country singer, Jerry Reed (1937 – 2o08).

Brilliant colors make up Tom’s perception of this guitarist.  Note the head of the Madonna.

Painted in 2003.  Painting with acrylic on masonite board.

Hayden Thompson by Tom Hilborn

Hayden Thompson, abstract painting by Tom Hilborn.

From the Saints & Hards art collection.

Buddy Bolden, better known as King Bolden in the Jazz world of New Orleans is a rather sombre painting by Tom Hilborn.

Buddy Bolden was born September 6,  1877.  Buddy had a rather sad life.  At the age of 30, he succumbed to schizophrenia and spent the rest of his life in a mental institution.  Apparently, there are no known recordings of his music, even though members of his band say that they did make a phonetic recording, but he survives in myth and legend. He died and was buried in an unmarked grave in a pauper’s cemetry – Holt’s Cemetary.  In 1998, Holt’s Cemetary erected a monument to his memory.

He is known as one of the most important figures in American jazz.

Music most famously associated with his band include:  “Careless Love”, “My Bucket’s Got a Hole in It”, and  “Get Out of Here and Go Home”.

Perhaps this painting of Tom’s  reflects the mystery of originator of jazz , Buddy Bolden.  Although this is one of the Hards from the Saints & Hards collection, maybe Tom’s vision of Buddy is that of a Saint, a hero.

This colorful, joyous abstract painting of Bill Riley by Tom Hilborn draws in its audience by its playfulness and touch of humour.

Bill Riley was one of the original American rockabilly musicians, born October 5, 1933 in Arkansas.

This is a short history of his claim to rockabilly fame from Rockabilly.net.
In the 1950s, Bill Riley:

“…recorded Flying Saucer Rock and Roll which was his first hit record. Recording at Sun Studio’s in Memphis, Tennessee, Riley ended up backing up many of the performers who came through the door to do session work at Sun. His guitar and harmonica work was called into play for any performer without a band. Joining him during these sessions were Roland James and J.M. Van Eaton. These three formed a group called the Little Green Men the name drawn from Riley first hit.”

Source:  rockabilly.net

I’ve included a second painting by Tom Hilborn of Bill Riley in this posting which gives you another perspective into Tom’s artistic vision of this “Hard” from the Saints and Hards collection.  This is a darker view of Bill Riley.  If you wish to read more about Bill Riley, go check out the website:  Rockabilly.net, the ultimate source for rockabilly information.

I wish Bill Riley could see these works of art.  There ain’t no Saints here.

Another painting from the Saints & Hards art exhibit.  This one is titled “CowBoy Copas” by Tom Hilborn.  This painting blends the image of  Cowboy Copas (Hards) and a Madonna-like image which floats above the musician (the saint), abstracted with geometrical shapes.

Cowboy Copas was a popular American country music singer from the 1940s who’s real name was Lloyd Estel Copas.  Cowboy Copas was his stage name.