Today we’d like to introduce you to Loralea Landrum.
Hi Loralea, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’ve been an artist literally my whole life. As far back as I can remember, I’ve told people I’m an artist. It’s always been a huge part of my life. It was what grounded me during a very troubled upbringing at home and eventually group homes, children’s homes and a foster home. I’m still close to my foster mother and several house mothers from the homes, because I found alot of love along those roads that helped shape who I am today. They always encouraged me and my art. But I didn’t really consider it a career until it brought me back from ruin when I lost absolutely everything later in my adult life, everything, including my home. I was homeless but I built a two story treehouse deep in the woods. Built a wood stove. Built a wagon. I pulled my wagon of paint and brushes into the city and started painting signs for a variety of businesses and then eventually small murals. This allowed me to have money for the things I needed but also brought the attention I needed to start gaining a reputation for my art. Eventually it led to bigger murals in other places, specifically Henderson, Tn, where me and my two sons found community and so much love. Since then the mural jobs have started to spread to other areas of West Tennessee and we have a home we rent and have a great life. Life in the treehouse wasn’t bad I have to say. We loved the woods. We bathed in a river and used our creativity to make our ” home” something wonderful. I’m grateful for that experience and grateful now to be scratching out a living doing something I’ve always loved. I also paint custom oil paintings and Even make firepits, welding and plasma cutting custom designs into steel. I dream of one day buying some land of my own and recreating the life we had at the treehouse but legit.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There were loads of obstacles. Like I mentioned, growing up was one big obstacle in itself, although it’s never seemed like a tragic story even then. I was a habitual runaway from all those places they put me and so there were alot of adventures lol. It really suited my spirit to be honest. And even later with the challenges of living in the treehouse, there was so much beauty and adventure. You really find out what your made of. You also find out that there’s way more good in life and people than it can seem. I wouldn’t trade those times for anything.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Im known mostly for doing murals, and I love painting them! I love helping my clients figure out what they want and what best suits their business or community. My work reflects a fascination with human presence in place—how memory, identity, and culture become woven into walls, portraits, and landscapes. Whether on canvas or across a building’s façade, I love to create images that resonate both personally and collectively. Oil paint offers me a medium of depth and patience, while murals allow me to extend that vision outward, to communities and shared environments. Through portraiture, I aim to honor individuality; through murals, I aspire to create spaces that connect people to one another and to their stories..
How do you define success?
Success to me is being able to do what I love for a living, surrounded by the people I love and being able to share my gift with the world. Also the hope that one day that will bring about my dream of some land and finally, finally, a real home.
Contact Info:
- Facebook: Loralea Landrum
