At the Total Upscale hair styling business, Latoria Boggan, center, poses with one of her favorite art pieces alongside daughter Jamyrical Moore and father Larenzo Harry. Photo by Coleman Warner

“I grew up drawing from as far back as I remember … my mom encouraging me all the way.”

–Artist Larenzo Harry

 

The Meridian pencil, charcoal and acrylic artist Larenzo Harry has steadily built a following through on-site sketching in local restaurants and public spaces, social media posts and his sense of mission – urging parents to give their children creative outlets, and calling on citizens to appreciate local history and culture.

 

Mostly self-taught (with some art training while attending Meridian Junior College), the striking figure with the given name Larry Harris, 69, known to many as simply Larenzo, has focused on capturing the “spirit” of his subjects in portrait drawings.

 

His production is voluminous, and he has many pleased customers. There has been added public attention as a result of special shows at the Meridian Museum of Art and The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience.

 

But Larenzo’s story takes on greater meaning when one learns about his family. It’s all about passing on, from one generation to another, an appreciation for creative efforts that lift spirits and enhance a sense of community.

 

Larenzo has always been drawn to the visual arts, but that gained focus when he was a child and his mother, Dorothy Baskin, a longtime secretary at Meridian High School, encouraged him to be artistic during hours she was attending night school. He would create an art piece to show her when she returned home, and she encouraged more of the same.

 

“She wanted me to know there was more to life than being out in the streets,” he recalls. “She wanted me to be productive.”

 

While Lorenzo was known for determined efforts to incorporate art into his work with young people during 13 years as a staff member for the Weems Mental Health agency, he also took care to pass on art appreciation and knowledge to daughter Latoria.

 

Now 44, Latoria Boggan recalls seeing drawings by her father on the walls of her school when she was young, dreaming of a day when she could publicly display her own art pieces. In the past two years she has become a serious abstract artist, producing acrylic pieces that she can sell or donate to charitable causes.

 

Many colorful examples of her work can be found at the hair styling salon, Total Upscale, that she runs with her husband.

 

Boggan’s embrace of art as an adult was prompted by her need for a therapeutic outlet after a shoulder surgery for months disrupted her work as a hair stylist.

 

“I needed something to do; that was my therapy,” she said. “That’s what I got up to do every day.”

 

Mostly self-taught, Boggan says, “My dad of course has always been my inspiration.” So too was her grandmother Baskin, who, while not an artist herself, was “the type of person that wanted you to embrace your creativity.”

 

Baskin passed away five years ago during the COVID epidemic. Larenzo said he got through his own devastation over the loss of his mother, his mentor and inspiration, through renewed artistic efforts.

 

“Art saved my life,” he said in one social media post.

 

Carrying forward the family art legacy, Boggan’s daughter and Larenzo’s granddaughter, 13-year-old Jamyrical Moore, relishes producing pencil sketches for friends or for her own enjoyment.

 

“They (friends) appreciate it because they ask me to draw something for them,” said Moore, an eighth grader and art club member at Southeast Middle School.

 

Boggan and Larenzo applaud her efforts, just as Baskin did theirs. I will be personally surprised if Jamyrical (also a musician) doesn’t make waves in the art world one day.

 

One sobering note: Larenzo’s home art studio was destroyed by fire a couple of years ago. His efforts to rebuild this beloved work space, with community help, have bogged down due to construction costs. In recognition of his positive influence, it would be a fine thing if a charitable builder stepped in and helped to finish the job. Meanwhile, he continues to draw and interact with art enthusiasts around town.

 

Warner is a veteran journalist and cultural historian, and can be contacted at legacypress.warner@gmail.com.