Saturday, January 17, 2009

Lamar Sorrento Tells It All On Canvas

Lamar Sorrento paints what he knows, and he knows music. As a musician and artist, Lamar has created bold, colorful paintings of Johnny Cash, Muddy Waters, Tom Waits, the Beatles, the Ramones, Bob Dylan and others that hang in the homes of fellow musicians, record label execs and art aficionados. For me, his work has an authentic folk sensibility that makes me think Lamar's a really good storyteller. Although he resides in Memphis, Lamar often exhibits in Oxford, Mississippi, his “favorite little big town.” My dialogue with Lamar for Indie Mosaic Music.

Indie Mosaic Music: As a self-taught artist, what was it that made you decide to pick up a paint brush 16 years ago and give it a go?
Lamar Sorrento: I had a girlfriend, Suzie Millions, who was a great artist and one day on a whim I asked for some of he
r art supplies to try to make a painting of Django Reinhardt, who is my favourite guitarist. I had no training or lessons at all, ever. I found it incredibly hard, but I painted two or three, in my crude style and then I found that I could not stop, and people liked them. They were so awful – I guess is why – and basically I haven’t stopped painting since then.

(IMM): Being a musician yourself, how does your personal/professional familiarity with the music industry impact your work?
(Lamar): My love of music and musicians is why I started painting. I have a gillion ideas in my head just based on music I like. Or, if it is something I don’t like and it pays money, I like that too . . .

(IMM): How would you describe your work to someone who is not familiar with it?
(Lamar): Awful . . . but somehow popular.

(IMM): You've painted an eclectic mix of musicians. How do you select the subjects for your paintings?
(Lamar): I often get specific orders. Or, I choose what to paint if nothing else is happening. Over the years, I have learned what will sell and what won’t so I sorta stick to what will. That doesn’t bother me. To me, every time I sell a painting, it’s an economic miracle. In early years, I painted people who were so obscure that only nerds like me would know of them and they took forever to sell. It’s a job. It’s not high art or high concepts.

(IMM): Do you have a favorite musician?
(Lamar): Bob Dylan . . . probably.

(IMM): You've done artwork for CD and album covers. Is there one that you are particularly fond of that translated well to CD/album cover?
(Lamar): The best one was the Sun Records 50th Anniversary CD on London Records. The music itself was kinda lame. It was all new versions of Sun Records music by current famous musicians. But I painted a bunch of cool stuff that was all inside the giant CD booklet.

(IMM): Do you like to play music while you are creating? If so, what kind of music?
(Lamar): Yes, but it’s all kinds of music and it changes as to what music I like to paint to. I often used to listen to whom I was painting [at the time] but not so much anymore.

(IMM): For the fun of it, here's an "off the wall, non-music/art related" question: What's your favorite movie or television show?
(Lamar): Favourite movie, Cool Hand Luke. I identify with Luke when they make him dig that big hole then fill it back in and then dig it back again till he passes out. I hate television except for Turner Classic Movies.
I love that channel.

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