January 5-19, 2015: What a week! We flew to Orlando to perform for Honeywell. I painted Ray Charles, Einstein and a Honeywell laser scanner. Then off to Anaheim to perform for “The Special Event” trade show for event planners. We had a fun meeting and enjoyed visiting with the attendees, and performing on the showcase stage.
Then it was off to NYC to open for Terry Fator at the Waldorf Astoria for The 24 Karat Club of New York! This association has featured top entertainment for 100 years for this event. Bob Hope and many others have performed for them – it was an honor to be invited.
The ballroom is amazing: balconies and chandeliers and just gorgeous. I took the stage with Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra in the middle and finished with Lady Liberty in 2 1/2 minutes. As I finished, I yelled out, “I love New York!” And the crowd went wild! I really do. It’s an amazing town with so much going on. I never thought that this Texas boy would come to love what John Lennon described as the center of the creative world.
Terry took the stage and knocked down the pins that I had set up for him. What an entertainer! He does ventriloquism while singing and impersonating singers all with his mouth closed and performs duets with his puppets. It’s easy to see why he won America’s Got Talent and has a 100 million dollar deal with the Mirage in Las Vegas!
After the show, I visited with the guests and mingled as usual. We flew home just in time to load up the next day for a show in Conroe TX, a satellite city of Houston. It was an unexpected treat to see several of my buddies drawing caricatures at the same event!
I love my job, but after four bookings in seven days coast to coast with flight delays and all of the usual fun and games, I was glad to get home!