Recently I did a show in Melbourne at the Grand Hyatt - the theme was 007 James Bond. It was a charity fundraiser for the Burnet Institute.
Here is a photo of one of the speed paintings from the night. Everything just ‘clicked’ into place nicely on the night - especially the audience involvement during the shows which was alot of fun.
“Hi Brad, thanks so much for helping us out at the Bosom Buddies Charity Ball last Saturday night by doing the speed-painting segment, it was for me the absolute highlight of the night and really helped ensure that it wasn’t just another boring old black tie ball.”
Brendan Grail, Head of Fundraising and Events
Burnet Institute
This weekend I am down in Canberra for a Nationals/Liberal Party event..
and on Saturday I am in Melbourne for the Bosom Buddies Ball at the Grand Hyatt (http://www.bosombuddiesball.com/) where I will be giving a Michael Jackson speed painting a try. Apparently this event is near sellout with over 400 people, so I’m looking forward to it.
Next week I am up in Townsville, Queensland for the North Queensland Cowboys derby against the Broncos. I’ll be speed painting Johnathon Thurston and Matty Bowen (I’m big fans of these guys - visit www.cowboys.com.au for details of the event) at the Townsville Entertainment Centre.
Then I’m back in NSW in the Hunter Valley speed painting a ’spine’ at a medico gala dinner.
In between all of this, there is a hold on an event next week in New Delhi, India.
Last Friday was a big charity luncheon at the Hordern Pavillion - 750 people from the Australian Music Industry.
Performing on stage were legendary Aussie soloists/bands including Tommy Emmanuel, Radiators, Mental as Anything and Jimmy Barnes. Here is some amateur video of my spot on stage.
On Friday night, I performed at a ‘roast’ for Dr Shepherd, former AMA President.
It was a glitsy night with a celebrity mix of social commentators, politicians and doctors. My spot on stage followed an introduction from John Mangos (popular TV newsman), Allan Jones (social commentator and talkback host), Dr Brendan Nelson (former Federal Opposition Leader) and Dr John D’Arcy (well known TV doctor).
It can be a daunting task following such well known people, but I speed painted two great portraits in about 10 minutes (Bono took 3 mins - Dr Shepherd took 7 mins) which sold for $11,500
Ok.. I’ve finally decided… I’ll be speed painting Lee Kernaghan during the festival.. Australian of the year in 2008, cowboy hat, man you can’t get much more country than him.. I’ll let you know how it goes…
Coming up next month, I’m really excited about the Golden Stave Awards. I’ll be speed painting ‘live’.. wait for it… Jimmy Barnes! Can’t wait to meet him!
For those people who follow this blog from the USA, Barnsey is like our rock god here in Australia. When I was in the US two months ago, they always requested Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” as the last song of the night. In fact I heard it everywhere, I couldn’t believe it (sorry for the pun). Well here in Oz, we request Khe Sanh - which Barnsey sang with his band Cold Chisel.
I worked with Derek two years ago as we entertained in the corporate suites of Orrcon at V8 races around Australia. He is a lovely guy and I am thrilled that he is the face of the TV show Gladiators. He is also a very good speaker and he has spoken about his battle with Diabetes.
NEWS
I will be performing a show at the Diabetes Australia gala dinner “The Buzz Ball” at the Parkside Ballroom, Sydney Convention Centre. 26 July 2008. Tickets are $185. I am told that it is a masquerade themed night so it should be alot of fun. For further information, see http://www.diabetesnsw.com.au/homepage.asp
