Sunday, October 9, 2011

"They Can't Take That Away From Me"

I I have just bought the latest "duets" album by Tony Bennett. What an inspiration! His voice sounds as strong as ever, he swings with the likes of Lady Gaga and he paints! He has a career that spans over five decades and has nine Grammies to his credit.
His first ambition, however, was to be a painter. He has followed up his childhood interest with training, sketching and painting every day, and now has exhibitions in galleries around the world. Many paintings now at the Smithsonian, have been done of Central Park from his window,  and many more from his world-wide travels. He was chosen as the official artist for the 2001 Kentucky Derby and was commissioned by the United Nations to do two paintings, including one for their 50th anniversary. He is also the founder of the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Asotria. His paintings sell for as much as $80,000
They can't take away the creative drive of Tony Bennett who is still going strong at 85. One of his books, Tony Bennett in the Studio: A life of Art and Music, 2007 has this wonderful quote; "The more you paint, the more you realize how beautiful life is. To be alive, how wonderful life is. What a gift we have. That helps you get past the bad times."
Check into www.bendettoarts.com but until then here are a couple of samples of his work.




Live long and paint!