Among the major influences on the art of Tom Hilborn (Aug 13, 1956 – ) is a concept put forth by Herb Ariss and Bert Kloezman who taught Tom at Beal Art in London, Ontario in the mid 70s.  The idea is that by engaging in extended sessions of drawing exercise, one’s “battery” is thereby charged up.  In other words:  a motivational potential is generated by the amount of drawing done. Also benefiting from a good workout on the drawing board is that part of us that learns to bring more and more factors into a single focus – when drawing one part of say, a human figure, you want to learn to think of the other related parts and the background shapes at the same time. A polarity existing between the Italian High Renaissance and the American Rock ‘n Roll era is the main source of themes in Tom’s art.  This and any related ideas are set down and in various ways abandoned in favor of the feel that emerges. Sam Phillips is a man famous for wearing out that word “feel.”  “It’s the feel!” he repeated over and over to describe what he wanted to capture on recording tape.  This led to a major focus on his record company, Sun Records in Memphis , Tennessee , as a point from where the global escalation of Rock ‘n Roll emerged. About 450 years earlier in Florence, Italy (not to be confused with Florence, Alabama, where Sam is from), the Italian High Renaissance marked the infancy of the western world view, very different from the sense of American world domination that led to the Rock ‘n Roll era. This is what Tom has to say about his art.

Photo of Tom Hilborn by Janet Donnelly.

Abstration

I spent the day recently at Tom’s house which he describes as his cottage and escape.  I had driven madly from my city Toronto to his town, the town of Dundas.  Never been there before.  It took me about an hour just to get out of Toronto because of traffic.  Then I’m following a round-about route through the countryside.  I’m thinking why the hell does Tom live here way out in the middle of nowhere?  I find driving through the countryside rather frustrating because it all, well, looks the same to me.  All of a sudden, I’m driving down this winding road into the valley where you’ll find Dundas.   Tom lives here.  It’s a very pretty little village like town.  So that’s why Tom lives here.  Ah – I get it.

Time was limited.  We photographed some of Tom’s works of art, ate lunch, madly scribbled away on the backs of paintings and note paper, details of the paintings.  I showed him his website on my little laptop.  He gave me an handwritten article to put on this website.  (That’s coming shortly).

Interpretation No. 325

Today, I hope to share some of the images of Tom’s paintings and post them.  At a later date, I’ll be posting more of his paintings.  Of course, some of these artworks are for sale here on Tom’s online art gallery which you can check out.   Details of the paintings will be found on the Buy Art page, as soon as it is updated.

If you want to see a larger image of the paintings shown here in this article, just click on the image.  This is true for any of the art works images by Tom you’ll find on the Tom Hilborn website.  The photographs have to be downloaded from my camera and then tidied up in PhotoShop.

Interpretation No. 567

And, guys, if you have any comments on Canadian artist, Tom Hilborn and his works of art, please feel free to post them. Love to hear your comments, opinions.   Spammers, forget it. You’ll get an instant “delete.”  This is a serious art site. He’s got a solo art show opening October 28th at Il Tenore and Art Fusion Gallery in London.  Don’t miss it – there will be drinks, live music and the art show.  I think it’s called “Divine poke in the neck”.  Cool enough name.

So stay tuned to Tom’s online art gallery for new images of Tom’s paintings and check Tom on Facebook and Twitter.  He has both ya know.

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.

Tom Hilborn - The Holy Trinity after Rafael

This beautiful piece of art work by Tom Hilborn is called “The Holy Trinity After Rafael” from the Saints and Hards art collection.

It is a beautiful piece of work, based on his impression of the Renaissance artist Rafael, with vibrant colors of gold and blue, a religious Madonna theme, the spherical earth, with representations of nature and geometric shapes throughout the painting.

This painting was created in 2004.

Elvis Presley No. 15 by Tom Hilborn

Abstract painting of one of the greatest American singers and legends, Elvis Presley.  Elvis No. 15 painting by Tom Hilborn, from the Saints & Hards art collection.

Painting shows the singer Elvis and in the background, nature, the world and the heavens.

Painting – acrylic oil on masonite board as the canvas.

Born in London, Canada, in 1956, Tom Hilborn attended Beal Art School where he studied watercolour and drawing with Herb Ariss and Burt Kloezman.  It was Kloezman who suggested to Tom that a creative potential can be generated through the drawing exercise.

Taking that idea to heart, Tom applied it to the creation of his paintings of early Renaissance figures which he juxtaposes against figures from the early American Rock ‘n Roll movement.  His use of the Madonnas in many of his paintings is not for religious reasons but rather to attract the viewer of his work into the work by presenting something familiar to its audience.

Tom also applies this idea to the music he plays in performance with a band called “The Black Holes”.  “The Black Holes” began playing in underground clubs in the mid 1990s.  His band’s musical practice is based on Rockabilly and early Jazz hot music of the 1920s, the music of Fletcher Henderson, Thomas Fats Waller, James P. Johnson and Louis Armstrong.

Tom uses a variety of media in a single work, painting with acrylics on masonite as canvas and building up texture with molding paste and grit for a three dimensional effect.

“Saints and Hards” is the title of an art exhibit put together when Tom’s art was displayed at the D.B. Weldon library at the University of Western Ontario.

A “hard”, by the way, is a word Tom recalls from his childhood used to describe tough guys.

Classical Study

Painted by Tom Hilborn, “Classical Head Study,” one of the “Saints” and a part of the Saints & Hards exhibit.  This painting is painted with acrylic on masonite board as the canvass.

In this painting you can view the influence of da Vinci, Rafael and the Renaissance on Tom’s works.