Classical Head No. 32 by Tom Hilborn

This painting is a study, one of many studies by Tom Hilborn called Classical Head No. 32.

This is contemplation with the beautiful arch of the next, like the studies by Michelangelo, blended, somewhat obscured by what seems to be nature, the trees, the woman’s head rising from the waters like Venus or Aphrodite.

This painting is one of the Saints from the Saints & Hards collection.

Dick Vance by Tom Hilborn

Now Dick Vance by Tom Hilborn is a painting that Tom gave to me.  I love the rhythm, the flowing colors in the painting of early American jazz musician Dick Vance.

Dick Vance was born in Cleveland in November, 1915 and died in 1985.  He was an American jazz trumpeter and arranger.

Somewhere along the way, I noticed that this painting of Dick Vance had images of animals and fish woven into its face.  Tom was not only close to the Saints of the Renaissance, the heroes of American rockabilly music, he is also close to nature.  If you look carefully into his paintings, you will see small images of animal life, flora and fauna and sometimes the night skies.

This artistic work of Tom’s has stayed upon my wall for many years.  I still enjoy the painting immensely.  There is always something new that I find in the painting.

Classical Head After Rafael by Tom Hilborn

This painting by Canadian artist Tom Hilborn once hung upon the wall of a little girl who is now a big girl named, Mikaela.

Mikaela was the most beautiful little girl, adored by Tom and me.

This work of art is called “Classical Head After Raphael,” named thus because it shows the influence of Raphael, an artist from the Renaissance,  in the paintings of Tom Hilborn.

This paint on canvas is done with beautiful blues, the eyes are hollow, I wonder why?

But there is something haunting, something sad in this painting of one of the Saints.  From the Saints & Hards collection, circa 2002.

This painting must be hanging on a wall in a room wherever beautiful Mikaela lives now.

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.

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.

A landscape painting of “The Countryside” by Tom Hilborn.  This is Tom’s vision of the countryside around London, Ontario, Canada.

This abstract painting shows a view across a river, the blue sky littered with its white clouds, the forest and rock formations along the river.

Closer to the river, we imagine the land dissected in a cross section,  a dead fish perhaps, buried on its way through history to becoming a fossil for future generations to find.

It is not only the saints of heaven and the hards of American rockabilly, but also nature which holds a fascination for Tom, a fascination which is found in so many of his paintings throughout his life.

Another Madonna by Tom Hilborn from the Saints & Hards Collection.