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by issy dimauro
The renowned artist, Sam Shaker has stormed the industry with his impressive paintings, focusing on both natural and abstract portraitures. With a creative background, having studied and trained in Europe, in Italy and France, Shaker has honed in on his unique artistic techniques. Perfecting these techniques, Shaker has accomplished a huge amount of success for his compositions, and even released his first book in 2012 ‘Art I Love’, which guides his readers through his distinctive approach to art. Shaker fulfilled his dream 39 years ago, by opening his bar ‘Jazz After Dark’, which is based in the heart of Soho. The bar has both supported the rise of stars performing live, and Shaker’s art, which have simultaneously attracted a range of different cultures and communities. ‘Jazz After Dark’ offers a space for visitors to feel like their upmost authentic selves, as it celebrates diversity and uniqueness. Shaker displays his vibrant artwork around the bar, inspiring his guests to explore their individuality and connect through a shared appreciation for art, music and culture. This exposure has enabled Shaker to sell his art to an extensive group of people, while creating unforgettable experiences and establishing new connections. Decades later, and the bar is still booming, introducing a newer generation to the style of iconic jazz music.
How did you first get into art and who or what were your earliest inspirations?
‘My dad was an art teacher, and we were a very poor family. So, when I was twelve years old, during the summers, I used to go to museums and sit in the street and try to sketch tourists so that I could get some money to go to school, buy [a] shirt and shoes for me and my brother or something to eat. And that’s how we started.’
How did training at the Leonardo Da Vinci Academy of Art in Italy and your experience as a street painter in the Montmartre Paris influence your style of art?
‘[At the] Leonardo Da Vinci, they direct you, but they don’t teach you how to paint. They give you the subject, one man, lady or child and they tell you to paint them from where you are sitting and that’s how they see if you are really an artist or not. If you cannot do this, you won’t get admitted to the Leonardo Da Vinci college and it’s a three-year study. But after that I had to go to Paris to be a street artist. I loved it. I was in Paris for 21 months. Until now, I still go between Montmartre and Pigalle and sometimes I go every other month.’
During this journey as an emerging artist, how do you draw inspiration from other artists while developing and defining your own style?
‘I studied Picasso, Claude Monet, Matisse, all these people were my heroes. For example, in Paris, I used to go to where Monet built his house, and this is his garden [pointing at his painting] and I would sit and paint what I can see, it helped me. But this is my hero [points to painting].
What does your creative process look like for your oil paintings? And what piece has taken the longest to paint and why?
‘It was Amy Winehouse, sometimes she cannot decide which colour I can use. Of course she is like my little girl, it’s her artwork and I do what she wants, she wants
people to look at her portrait and admire it, it was great. Like this one for example [he points to his painting in the centre], sometimes she likes to put the stud here or here or she says no, I don’t want you to put it on, not on this one, but may be on another one. They take about three weeks, and oil takes a long time to paint and then you can build it up, and I prefer oil. And this painting here, like her and Blake, I was going to do her portrait only, but she said no. Because Blake gave her this white bag. And this is the only gift Blake gave to her. And in this white bag, she only had Chanel No.5. And anywhere she went she would use her Chanel No.5 spraying it all over the place.’
Your artwork merges the idea of naturalism and abstraction. How do you navigate the balance between these two styles, and what factors guide your
decision to lean towards one or the other in a particular piece?
‘Everytime [that] I do a painting, I just listen to some music, classical music like André Rieu, and it depends on where I’m sitting, the atmosphere. And what sort of wine I’m drinking, sometimes red or sometimes homemade wine.’
Your first book ‘Art I love’ focuses on your unique artistic techniques. What inspired you to share your knowledge with others? And what is one piece of advice that you hope readers have taken away from the book?
‘To teach art students how to paint portraits step by step. Something like this painting, you don’t know if it’s right or wrong but when you do a portrait, you can look at it and recognise the person right away. This is very important. And this book, I was very lucky that one publisher in Los Angeles, decided to publish this book for me, and I didn’t have much money, but she was very kind to me. She said [if I] paint her portrait, she’d publish the book for me. It’s an academic article, to teach art students to paint portraits through the steps. Only one copy of this book here. I put Amy on the cover. It’s been about ten years since I wrote the book, and it took about 5-6 months to write.’
How would you describe the area of Soho to someone who has never been there. And, in what ways do you think the area has changed since the earlier days of ‘Jazz After dark’?
‘Earlier on, was so bad, lots of mafia around, Caribbean and Chinese mafia, I’m not from these places but I brought this shop from Bob Marley. He ran it as a Caribbean restaurant, with a Caribbean menu. Then they told him the sad news that he had cancer in his foot. Sadly, the staff were like who’s going to work tomorrow, who’s going to cook. The restaurant lasted six months, and the council came to check the hygiene in the restaurant, and there was no kitchen actually. Then, I bought the lease, with a loan. I turned it into a French restaurant, with French staff and menu. The first six months, it was extremely difficult. And the council didn’t think I would last. But I was very lucky, with ABBA [the] musical in theatres on Greek Street, suddenly, one lady came, and she said she wanted to book twenty seats for twenty ladies from Sweden and one of them is Greta Garbo. And she said please don’t tell the media, no paparazzi, nothing. And I said OK and twenty ladies came. And I tried to find which one [was] Greta Garbo because I didn’t know. And after that, the paparazzi were waiting outside, and the place never stopped serving Swedish people from all over the place. And that’s our success story.’
With Jazz After Dark offering you a space to display your artwork. I’m eager to find out what has been your favourite piece you have sold. And who did you sell it to?
‘Money for me, doesn’t matter. It’s very important to tell the customer, pay me whatever you want, it’s not important, but please please invest in art. Don’t sell it, keep it because you never know, some famous artists, like Vincent Van Gogh, I studied his history. He painted 250 paintings and could only sell one. And that’s why he decided to cut his ear off and commit suicide. He never thought that he was going to be a famous artist or that they would sell at all because nobody knew him. So, [after] he died, if you buy one of his paintings they go for millions. So that’s what I thought, buy my art pay me whatever you want. I’m getting old, God knows how long I am going to live and when I’m not here, sell it for many of thousands or millions. This one of Amy, she was so happy, [a] mix of portrait classic and abstract and it’s actually a huge painting. She was my favourite to paint.’
As a fellow creative, I am curious to hear your insights on overcoming creative blocks? What advice or strategies do you recommend to prevent these moments and to stay inspired?
‘Be patient, practice, when it comes to art, you have to put energy into [it]. If you paint something and you’re not happy [with] it, wait, be patient and start again and again. Sometimes I find a painting from twenty years ago in my storeroom, and I think now I’m not happy with it so I put it in a new frame for refurbishing it and it will look completely different.’
I read that you had a twenty-year hiatus from creating art until Kate Moss inspired you to go back. Could you tell us a bit about that interaction and how she encouraged you to return?
‘Kate Moss came suddenly with Pete Doherty; he started “the Libertines” two years before I saw Amy so he’s like my son. Kate came with Pete, and she said to me can you introduce [Pete] to Amy because they could write a number one together. I said what’s in it for me? She said, I’ll ask you to paint my portrait, and I’ll put it in the newspaper and help you. So, one night, Amy came, and I said Pete Doherty wants to see you and she says she doesn’t like him blah blah blah. I said he’s like my son, just give him a chance and meet him. And [that] night Amy was here, I called Pete, and they met, and they became like one item. They ran together all over the place day and night and the paparazzi were taking their photos. It annoyed Kate Moss a little bit and she was not so happy about that. But I don’t know, I haven’t seen Kate moss [in a while]. It’s in the newspaper, it said Pete paid £5000 and all I asked [for] is just £200 [for the painting].
Who has been the most unexpected celebrity to visit ‘Jazz after dark’? Did they have any memorable moments? And did they come back on another
occasion?
‘George Michael. He used to come suddenly and he was lovely. He would come with his friends and Kevin Spacey. I’ve got photos with him, and I’ve painted him and gave him his portrait. He’s a very nice man, very kind and so modest. I’m glad and I feel so happy for him that he’s cleared from this bad publicity. After that, two years ago came Art Garfunkel. Sitting Infront of me and some of my customers were taking photos and he had a beautiful girl with him. He was so kind he took and kissed my hand.
What is your favourite song of Amy’s and why?
‘Back to Black. She called me [one] Saturday morning about 3am after I closed. She said Sam, don’t close, I’m coming. She came crying, her face full of scratches and blood. She had a fight with Blake and was very upset. I gave her a bottle of vodka and my speciality was meat balls, she liked to eat meat balls, and she [didn’t] use knife and fork with it. And she goes out to have a cigarette with her face full of tomato sauce and kisses everybody in the street. Those in the street are saying “I love you Amy” and kissing her.’ ‘When she came at 3am, they fought because he asked to borrow money from her. How nasty from Blake. And she came here crying and I gave her some paper, pen and vodka and she starts writing. [That] morning she slept and cried on my shoulder, I’m sitting with her and thinking she must have a problem. She stayed all day on Sunday until about 8 o’clock at night and she’d written the most beautiful song “Back to Black”. ‘What Amy wants, she must have it. And when she talks, we all must listen. When she wrote “Rehab”, Mark Ronson said you have to say, ‘just one no, no, no’. She said if you want it, I have to have all three, if you don’t want it, I give it to someone else. If I tell her to stop drugs, stop drinking, I will never see her again. I know Amy. And I feel sad because she is victim of very bad people. Like, once she was madly in love with Blake, she met him [playing] snooker, and Blake was always in and out of jail. And he never had money, but Amy had. [Shaker shared personal details here on Amy and Blakes turbulent relationship]. It’s sad. No matter how many times she goes to rehab, it’s not that easy. The fact is, I lost her and that’s it.’
As the owner of a bar that holds such deep memories of Amy Winehouse, how does Amy’s presence and legacy remain in your bar to this day?
‘Every day, I get several people, especially when they’ve seen the photos or my art. They tell me can you tell us about Amy, you know, what happened to her. [They ask] Is this your artwork? [I say] Yes, I teach artwork. When it comes to Amy, I don’t stop painting. At the end of the night, her room is destroyed, people dance on top of her table, they put their feet on top of her table, they scratch the walls, the glasses break and beer all over
the carpet. I thought if I sell any of the artwork I have here, I [will] try to get some decorator. [Because it’s been] 11 years since she died, and her room is in a very bad condition. And that’s what I’m going to do.’
If you’re comfortable sharing, could you give me your thoughts on the newest film based on Amy Winehouse. Have you watched it? How do you think it compares to your own perception of her life and legacy?
No, I don’t watch this new film because its bad, its mad, its fake. Someone devious and nasty, tried to promote themselves as a good Samaritan or something. But it’s not my kind of film. They make money that’s all. But everybody knows this is not Amy, it’s not correct. And people please avoid wasting your time watching such rubbish like this. It’s a sad film, I don’t like it.’
Moving on, could you tell us about some of the acts you have on at the moment? Or maybe the band that’s playing later tonight?
‘We have so many bands and every night is a different band. Tonight, we have [a] jazz [band], [with] an amazing singer, it’s a big band about 5 or 6. But the council give us a licence for Friday and Saturdays from half past 10 to half past 2. The [public] have to buy the tickets on the door of course, [the money] all goes to the band. If you go to Ronnie Scott’s, you have to pay about £45 and over there you cannot talk, you cannot stand, you cannot laugh or dance. Here, people are dancing all over the place. It’s like family, you come here to have fun and its very very cheap. So, that’s what we do Friday and Saturday. During the week, they gave us a licence from 9pm to half past 1. So, we follow the council regulation.’
If you are a jazz enthusiast, an art appreciator or an Amy Winehouse fan, I highly recommend paying a visit to Soho’s ‘Jazz after Dark’. Meeting the owner, Sam Shaker was a pleasure; his kindness seemed to radiate from within, and his passion for art and music adds to the venues soulful charm. I’m eager to return and I have plans of purchasing an Amy Winehouse portrait!
pictures by ash hussain and issy dimauro
@issydimauro_photos
