Sorensen makes his mark with Freedom Rock®

By Kathryn Rice

Ray “Bubba” Sorensen, Greenfield, IA, is combining his love of art and history to make a living and provide for his young family.

Along the way, he thanks those who have served, whether in the military or as a first responder, one painting at a time. As founder of the Freedom Rock®, the artist is stitching with paint a varied mural landscape across Iowa with his Freedom Rock Tour.

He decided to extend his tour to the rest of the US at the same time the Maryville Pride Lions Club was looking for a centennial legacy project to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of Lions Club International. The rest is history in the making.

Appreciation of murals

Sorensen was encouraged in art from a young age by his parents and grandparents. This encouragement led him to work on improving and perfecting his work. While attending the University of Iowa, Sorensen developed his appreciation of mural art.

“Murals allow whole communities to see an artist’s work,” Sorensen said. “It’s not just where only a few can see it.”

Progression of art career

The movie “Saving Private Ryan” deeply affected Sorensen. Wanting to do something, Sorensen decided to paint the 60-ton graffiti rock located north of Greenfield and south of Interstate 80 on Highway 25 with a simple thank you and a silhouette of the flag raising at Iwo Jima.

This was in 1999. Some local veterans approached him about doing the mural again the next year; thus began the annual tradition of the Freedom Rock® now in its 18th year. Sorensen paints the original without charge.

After being told by one of his art professors that he could make a living with his artwork, Sorensen decided to forgo the degree and start his career. He and his wife, Maria, started Sorensen Studios in Greenfield. The couple specialized in wedding photography with Maria doing family and graduation photos, while Bubba was doing murals.

The couple kept getting requests for Freedom Rocks in other locations. In 2013, Bubba kicked off the tour with the goal of putting a Freedom Rock® in each of Iowa’s 99 counties. To date, he has completed 56 rocks and has booked all but four of the Iowa counties.

In 2016, he decided to expand to the 50 State Freedom Rock Tour with at least one rock in each state. His thought process was that he could paint during the winter in warmer areas while completing the Iowa tour from April-November, weather permitting.

The 50 State Tour kicked off in January with Wisconsin having the first completed rock. Maryville, although the first to book, will have the second rock with Sorensen traveling to Cape Girardeau to work on the third. The Wisconsin and Missouri locations are having to provide heated enclosures for the work to progress.

What goes into a Freedom Rock painting

“It’s been overdone,” Sorensen said about representing all five branches of the armed services in artwork. He wants to paint something creative and unique with actual stories from the communities the rocks are in.

“The American flag to me represents not only all veterans but all Americans,” he said, “so in the artist’s eyes we are all represented on each Freedom Rock.

“No veteran is more important than any other,” he continued. “The point is, somewhere we touch on something on your service.”

Maria and Bubba were married in 2007 while she was attending Iowa State. The couple has two children, daughter, Independence, age five, and son, Michael, age two. Maria continues with family and portrait photography while Bubba spends up to two weeks on site with each rock.