Fred Harper Fine Art
  • Prints
  • Home | Art By Fred Harper
    • Paintings
    • Drawings
    • Art By Fred Harper Blog
  • Events & Projects
  • About
    • Shows | Events | Projects
    • Downloads
  • The Store
    • Originals
    • Past Prints
  • News
  • Contact

Adventure in a small world

10/26/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
My newsletter people already heard this story.

Saturday, Sept. 17th, 2016. I am sitting in the office of Paul Booth. He tattooed my arm a while back and owns the gallery I show in. Someone loudly announces as they read from their phone that a bomb went off on 23rd St. We all pause. More news comes in. No deaths mostly minor injuries. We collectively exhale. But that is replaced with, WHAT THE FUCK??? We were bombed!!? I finish my beer and say my good byes.

I'm on my way home. Trains are suspended. I hop in a cab around 35th St. It takes about 20 minutes to get to 23rd St where the police are redirecting traffic back up town. I get out and walk. My new Dr. Martins are salivating over how they are going to savage my feet. I stroll a few blocks out of my way to see if I can get in on stand by at the Comedy Cellar. Boom! I immediately get in to see a great show!

Wil Sylvince is the MC that night. I approached him after the show on the sidewalk for a photograph. A month later, I do an ink portrait of him from the photo, post it and tag him on my Twitter and Instagram. He wants to buy it! I am in a bargaining mood because I didn't expect him to buy it. He didn't ask me to do his portrait and just spontaneously asking to buy it and me telling him my price ($500) probably would have been off-putting. So I said just get me in the Cellar next time you're around. Deal.

Yesterday, Sunday, he calls me around 5pm. Fred, what are you doing at 9:30 tonight? I was planning to see him at the Cellar. He asks if I want to see him open for Dave Chappelle at the Cutting Room? I walked in the door around 9. Got a special pass to be in the balcony during the show. Wil came out and killed it for 15 minutes. Before I realized it Chappelle himself was out there instead of the other openers. He came out and torched the audience for over an hour and ended the show on such a positive note... it was really special!

It was only midnight when the actual performance was done. Turns out I was sitting by one of Dave's good friends, Josh, during the show. The audience clears out. Wil had to skip to go back to MC at the Cellar leaving me with his friend Tina who went to the same high school as Dave. I suggested she go and approach him on the stage but she got cold feet. "Not while Naomi Campbell is up there." WHAT??? I've heard of her! I go to speak to Josh who is sitting at the front of the stage as Dave is still walking the stage and talking to everyone who came up as Naomi seems to be training some super model how to runway walk. Josh is very nice to me even though I had no idea who he was. As we spoke, Dave plops down right next to us and I get one of those fancy handshakes from him as it deteriorates into me sinking into my seat as it becomes obvious I don't know what I'm doing.

Ten minutes later and Dave is pouring Tina and I generous shots of tequila. He remembered her and I made him laugh so I was in. He decides it's time to go to the Comedy Cellar. I followed him and a few guys out the door and into a giant Escalade and we're off! We came in while Dave Attell, Ari Shaffir, and my new buddy Wil, are all riffing onstage. Chappelle goes up to close.

I was fascinated how the material he had just performed at the Cutting Room had evolved into different forms by the time we got to the Cellar. I hopped in a cab after saying goodbye to my new friends and by the time I got home, the Pakistani cab driver was giving me his card and trying to pitch his leather garment sportswear at 3am. What a night!
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    • Facebook

    Calendar

    JUNE
    Opening at MF Gallery
    213 Bond St.
    Brooklyn, NY
    JUNE 15, 6-10pm

    Please look over the Prints page and get them all. 
    Have a good Easter/Passover or month.

    Now is a good time to commission a portrait or purchase some physical art for the winter!

    If you'd like to commission me for a painting... Portraits with my surreal aesthetic only. The face you have and my paint brushes! Estimated turnaround 3 months. Shorter will cost more. Contact me now.

       Last Rites Gallery  325 W. 38th Street, between 8th & 9th Ave, NYC: (212) 529.0666


    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Tweets by @deadredfred

    FHarper.com

    Welcome to the Fred Harper Fine Art News Section

    Categories

    All
    ANNOUNCEMENTS
    Art Graf
    Bar Drawings
    Canson
    Coffee House
    Comics
    Drawing
    Ecoline
    Face
    Fairies
    Fantasy
    Figure
    Fine Art
    Fuckn Around
    Gallery 2014
    Gallery 2015
    Gallery 2016
    Last Rites Painting
    Life Drawing
    Live Painting
    Molly Crabapple
    Mushrooms
    Nude
    Pencil
    Prelims
    PRINTS
    Progress
    Reference
    Sci_Fi
    Show Paintings
    Spring Street Studios
    Stairs
    Videos
    Wondern

    Archives

    June 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    November 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    March 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014

    RSS Feed

​PRINTS+
ORIGINALS+
PAINTINGS+
DRAWINGS+
​COMMISSIONS+

© Copyright 2014-2023 Fred Harper, FHarper.com. All Rights Reserved. Powered by CMOSync.com.
  • Prints
  • Home | Art By Fred Harper
    • Paintings
    • Drawings
    • Art By Fred Harper Blog
  • Events & Projects
  • About
    • Shows | Events | Projects
    • Downloads
  • The Store
    • Originals
    • Past Prints
  • News
  • Contact