On December 27, 2008, several citizens of Gifford, Ft. Pierce and Port St. Lucie Communities were in attendance to honor well known, hometown artist and Viet Nan Veteran, Jonathan "Joe" Riley. The event entitled "Jonathan "Joe" Riley Paint Live", was held at The Linsey Gardens Apartment Clubhouse located at 4875 38th Circle in Gifford, Florida and was hosted by three of Jonathan's younger siblings; Donnie Riley, Valerie Joiner and Shirley Riley who were home on their traditional Christmas Holiday vacation to spend time their mother, Ms. Mary Riley of Gifford, Florida and their Aunt, Mrs. Rosie Clemons. The special event, "Joe Riley Paint Live" was purely an act of encouragement, support and immense love for a very talented big brother.
Joe Riley, the artist, is a sheer force of God given artistic talent and imagination and his range is as realist as Leonardo Da Vinci and as abstract as Jackson Pollock. Moreover, he is a skilled barber, he enjoys woodcarving, leather works, scupper diving; and he is a great cook. Throughout the community of Gifford Florida, Joe is highly revered for painting Florida landscapes (painted his very first Florida landscape at age thirteen), murals, signs, and fashion art.
Jonathan attended Gifford High School and was a member of the Fighting Tigers football Team(defense). In the year 1968, Jonathan was drafted into The U.S Army and assigned to Special Forces - 82nd Airborne Division. Jonathan received an honorable discharged in 1970 and received the National Defense Service Metal.
Business owners in attendance were: Tommy Lee Turner of Turner's
Child Care & Preschool of Gifford, Florida, Hortense Spivey of Hortense & Mills Funeral Home - Gifford, Florida, and Hall of Fame Florida Highwaywoman Artist, Mary Ann Carroll of Ft. Pierce, Florida. Among other invited guests were family members and serveral life long friends who has revered Joe Riley's artwork for many years.
Jonathan extends his sincere graditude to everyone in the community for sharing and supporting a very special day in his life.