Painter · Jazz guitarist · Nashville, TN

TobiasPiarrot

Nashville native Toby Piarrot spent years playing jazz guitar for a living. When the instrument wore on his hands, he went back to the canvas. Now he paints musicians, places and other people’s dogs in thick, loud color, often live on the sidewalk in Hillsboro Village.

Flip through the work Commissions from $500
Sierra, a painting by Tobias Piarrot of a flower-crowned calavera singer

On the easel: Sierra · for sale

Dig through the crate.

Canvases stack up against the wall like records. Flip through them with the arrows, a swipe or your scroll wheel. Tap the one you like to ask about it.

PiarrotHandle with paint

01 / 10

Sierra

Ask about this one

The whole wall

Tap any piece to look closer

Strings to brushes.

Six strings, stretched across the page. Run your pointer through them, then keep scrolling: the color spills out until his paintings come through.

  1. 01Nashville nativeRaised on the city’s music and art scenes, and trained at the Nashville School of the Arts.
  2. 02Jazz guitar, UT KnoxvilleThen years performing professionally, in duos, trios and late-night jam sessions around town.
  3. 03The hands talked backThe physical wear of the instrument pushed him back toward the canvas.
  4. 04Figurative, impressionisticThick strokes and full color. He often paints live in Hillsboro Village, a quiet open-air performance for anyone who stops to look.

  5. He still improvises. He just does it in paint now.

    Flip through the work

Your subject, his hand.

Send Toby a photo and an idea. He paints the person, the pet or the place in his own loud, loving style, and posts the progress as it comes together.

Portrait of Jesse Welles with an acoustic guitar standing in a winter field

Portraits

Musicians, heroes, the people you love. Painted from your reference photo.

Pet portrait of a large dog and a tabby cat sitting side by side

Pets

Dogs in armor, cats in space, or simply your best friend exactly as they are.

Painting of a Nashville street scene in 1961 with vintage cars and storefront signs

Places

A street you miss, a skyline, even your old house.

Commissioned painting of a gray horse galloping through tall golden grass under big clouds

Anything else

Horses, owls and one-off ideas. If you can describe it, ask.

Commissions

from $500

That’s Toby’s own starting price. Final cost depends on size and detail, so tell him what you have in mind. Already-finished paintings like Sierra and the Venice scene are available too.

  1. Send a photo and the ideaA clear reference photo helps most. Say who or what it is and where it will hang.
  2. Settle size and priceCommissions start at $500 and go from there.
  3. Watch it come togetherToby shares progress shots along the way, then hands it over.

Start a commission

This writes your message for you. Send it by email, or copy it into an Instagram DM.

What should he paint?
Email Toby

Painted out loud.

Toby paints in public: at art shows, release parties and on the sidewalk outside The Villager Tavern in Hillsboro Village. Here’s where he has been lately.

Poster for Under Pressure, a Bowie-inspired art show at Hubba Hubba Tiki Tonk listing art by Tobias Piarrot
Poster for the DiZines Release Show at Elephant Gallery, Saturday, June 20

Recent appearances

  1. DiZines Release ShowPainted live at Elephant Gallery.
  2. Mardi Gras painting raffleOne of his pieces was raffled at The Villager Tavern’s Mardi Gras party.
  3. Under PressureA Bowie-inspired art show at Hubba Hubba Tiki Tonk. His first art show in more than a decade.
  4. Athens of the South Art WalkLive jazz with The Jazz Outfit at The Villager Tavern.
Toby at a sidewalk table outside The Villager Tavern surrounded by his paintings
A pop-up gallery outside The Villager Tavern
Toby seated on the sidewalk beside an easel holding one of his portraits
An easel on the sidewalk

Catch him painting

The easel moves around town. Instagram is where it shows up first.

Follow @tobias_the_jazz_outfit
Toby Piarrot and the Jazz Outfit logo, a shield shaped like a suit collar and tie

Still playing

Toby Piarrot & The Jazz Outfit

The brushes didn’t replace the guitar entirely. The Jazz Outfit is a Nashville-based entertainment service run by the Piarrot brothers, playing standards like “I Can’t Give You Anything but Love, Baby” as a guitar trio.

Guitar trioStandardsPrivate eventsNashville

Sit in for a second. Play a ii–V–I:

Book the band on Instagram

A sunburst archtop jazz guitar resting in its open case