By Karen Freeman
Enterprise-Journal
Ask just about any local painter about his or her artistic influences, and more often than not, Roger Lawrence’s name will pop up.
Now, as the East McComb resident battles a debilitating neurological condition, his many friends are stepping up to say thanks and lend a helping hand.
A benefit show entitled “Celebrate Roger Lawrence with Bobby Lounge & Friends” will be held Saturday, Nov. 13, at the State Theater in downtown McComb. Doors open at 7 p.m., and the program begins at 7:30.
Lawrence’s many friends first came to his aid when he was hospitalized at the Veterans Administration hospital in Jackson in May after some of his art students found him immobilized in his home.
With the help of friends and loved ones, Lawrence has been able to remain at his home.
But he cannot paint.
McComb native and Nashville, Tenn., resident Bill Tyler, a longtime friend of Lawrence’s, describes the genesis of the upcoming concert.
The short answer is that Lawrence, who has always depended on his artwork for his livelihood, needs income. The deeper drive is that so many people wanted to help their friend and mentor. Tyler initiated an archiving plan to catalog Lawrence’s multitude of works. And through the Internet, online donations and discussions mushroomed.
“When Roger had a crisis in May, I created a Facebook page with the idea that by bringing his works from people who had them, he could look at them and enjoy his work again,” Tyler said. “I’m a visual artist, graphic designer. (Cataloging) is like your children coming home. I just started with my camera walking around my house, what I had, what my mother had. From there, about 200 works showed up through e-mail.”
Tyler came to McComb in August and began asking local citizens about their collections of Lawrence’s work. He began taking photos and digitizing them with the intent, and their permission, to produce prints.
“Over time, I’ve built a collection of prints with the intent of saying, ‘Hey Roger, remember this piece of work? Now you can sell them.’ ”
But, as is Lawrence’s nature, he’s used some of them to thank people who are taking care of him, Tyler said.
Lawrence has dedicated people who have been helping him during his illness.
His sister, Melba McKenzie, spends many hours with Lawrence, taking him to doctors' appointments and seeing to his needs. Friend Saul Mauer of McComb has regularly walked with Lawrence. Bill Catchings has been coming every Sunday from Baton Rouge to sit with Lawrence.
Phyllis Faust has helped him navigate all of the bureaucracies of the government and the Veterans Administration. Neal Randall and Bill Johnson also have been significant in Lawrence’s continuing care.
“The idea behind getting these prints together was to lift up his spirits and give him merchandise. That has been huge,” Tyler said.
Catchings, Tyler and Lillian Montalvo have been monitoring the site and the e-mails.
Prints of several of Lawrence’s works will be sold at the Nov. 13 show, and there will be a silent auction for at least one original. The prints, on specially ordered fine paper, will sell from $125 to $250, and range in size from 19-by-25 inches to 29-by-41 inches.
The event originally was intended to be a smaller art show, and McComb resident Jane Walman volunteered to host it.
She and a committee picked a date, and as they met, it enlarged from a private affair to something that would require a public venue. Committee members include Walman, Virginia Griffin, Robbin Daughdrill, Sharon White, Robbi Cox and Ann Jackson
“It grew,” Tyler said. “The stars aligned that Dub (Brock, who performs as Bobby Lounge), said yes. And Charles Schilling at the State Theater was happy to open up the facility for a good cause.
“Charles said, ‘Roger Lawrence has done so much for this community. It’s time for us to give something back,’ ” Tyler said. “Everybody has been terrific.”
Bobby Lounge has a very devoted following, and Tyler and other organizers expect he’ll deliver a rollicking show. His music is available online at www.bobbylounge.com.
Through all the planning, Tyler said Lawrence, a graduate of the McComb High School class of 1965, “has had a remarkable spirit. He is so excited about it.”
Tyler said he hopes the show “will melt people’s hearts and blow their minds.”
McComb resident Maureen Clark, who is co-chairing the event with Tyler, said the benefit is something that Lawrence’s friends are doing from the heart, with Tyler, a songwriter and graphic artist, taking the lead.
“They’re both artists and longtime friends. It just concerned Bill and others that Roger’s physical condition precipitated this. It was out of genuine love and concern for a friend who really needs his help, financially and in appreciation for his art.”
Lawrence, Clark said, has always flown under the radar.
“He’s never really quite promoted himself. By nature he’s not that kind of person,” she said.
But fans of his work don’t mind tooting Lawrence’s horn.
“He is indescribable — he is,” Japonica Gallery owner Robbin Daughdrill said earlier this year. “As any artist, he never finished a piece. Of course, to our eyes, it was always incredibly finished. ... He’s a naturalist but he’s a realist, too,” Daughdrill said, adding that his works demonstrate his love for the flowers, gardening, and the outdoors. “Horn Island and the Bogue Chitto (River) are his love.”
Tickets for the show are $20 in advance and $25 at the door and are available at PJ’s Coffee, Japonica, First Bank and Pike National Bank.
All money raised will go to the “Friends of Roger Lawrence Account” at First Bank.
For more information about the event and to share artwork for the archiving project, visit Facebook: Friends of Roger Lawrence.
