“Clifford Gibson” 

Oil on 6”x8” cradled wood panel

Born in Louisville, he moved to St Louis in his 20’s where he spent the rest of his life.  It is said that Gibson “is regarded as one of the earliest urban blues performers, with no pronounced rural influences.”  Like so many musicians from Louisville, he accompanied Jimmie Rodgers on his recordings.  Apart from his music, something that strikes me as wild, especially as I was painting him, was his incredibly long fingers.  They seem to be longer than Robert Johnson’s, which many say aided in Johnson's style of playing.  I saw an article from over ten years ago stating that some of Gibson's 78’s were going for over $3000.  Also, those of you who are fans of R. Crumb will recognize that the Gibson photo I used as source material for my portrait was also part of Crumb’s "Heroes of the Blues” cards.

$475