SAM EZELL (born 1953)

Untitled. Acrylic on wood.  Gift of the artist, 2013.14

“We are happy to be living now in Sam Ezell’s home town [of Hillsborough NC]! Turns out, Sam is one of the nicest folks anyone could share a town with. … Like ourselves, some years back Sam became interested in folk art and began to travel around getting to know the artists. He didn’t consider himself an artist back then. ... That started to change when he paid a visit to [Alabama] artist Bernice Sims. Sam and Bernice hit it off right away & Sam promised to lend a hand with whatever she needed. At the end of the visit she directed him to `go home & paint me a picture.’ Sam protested that he didn’t know how to paint, but there was no way to turn down her request.

“Sam uses bold shapes and bright colors to make joyful paintings of happy times. People are dressed up and having fun. Skies are blue, the sun is shining, birds have houses, and chickens come in lots of colors. His paintings are turning up around every local corner nowadays.” (from Mike’s Art Truck web site)

Ezell was born in Mebane, NC and was brought up in Durham. His profession since 1971 has been performing general property maintenance in Hillsborough, NC. His art depicts memories of better times, and includes farm animals, school buses, historic homes, baseball, and the infamous coal mining industry – things reminiscent of early rural America, when life was simpler.

Post by Karin Borei, HMA Project Coordinator, writer and editor as needed, and HMA blogger since our blog's inception in March 2015.