I'm going to the Mann tonight with Joannie to see Tony Bennett live. I'm really looking forward to the show. I recently watched a documentary on him on PBS, and he seems like he still is great in concert. The more I find out about him, the more I like him. I've always been a fan of his music, but I only recently found out he was a really good painter and also was a civil rights advocate in the 1960's.
I know the chances are slim, but I am taking a drawing tonight I made for him. I'm going to try to hand it off to a stagehand or someone at the Mann to hopefully relay it to him. The drawing is of two people who are heroes to Tony and myself. Louis Armstrong and Charlie Chaplin are artists who had really hard upbringings, but tried very hard throughout their lives to make people happy. Chaplin wrote the song, "Smile," which is my favorite song of all time. Tony Bennett sings my favorite version of the song. Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong is also a profound influence on my work. I've seen Tony Bennett talk about Satchmo in documentaries about how much respect he has for him.
Even if I don't get the art in Tony's hands, I'm still happy I took the time to make this piece. If I had a Mount Rushmore of artists, Chaplin and Satchmo would both be on it.
1 comment:
That's awesome! I hope he gets to see it! And I hope the night is a memorable one.
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