La Quinta, CA – February 25, 2014 – Celebrating it’s 10 year anniversary, Desert Smash is back! This year’s event is hosted by Will Ferrel at La Quinta Resort and Club; a two day blow out of golf, tennis, and celebrity entertainment on March 3-4. All set up to benefit Cancer for College, a 501c3 organization that has raised almost $2 million in college scholarships for over 1,000 cancer survivors in the past 10 years. Desert Smash has a host of events planned, featuring “The Will Powered Golf Classic” as well as the Desert Smash Pro/Celebrity-Am Tennis Tournament – where donating amateurs pay to play with celebrity players and WTA/ATP Tour Pros. Yet the fan favorite remains the Pro-Tennis Exhibition – the sell-out event notorious for bringing together some of the world’s best professional tennis players with some of Hollywood’s biggest stars for fun, entertaining tennis in addition to several exciting live auction items auctioned off with the help of the players.
After a raising $18,000 at auction at 2013’s Desert Smash, Brooklyn based painter Brendan Murphy is back for round 2, this time auctioning off limited edition prints of three new paintings. Done in Murphy’s signature style of contemporary portraiture, each piece is inspired by one of the driving forces of the event: with portraits of Ana Ivanovic, Will Ferrel, and Novak Djokovic. Each 30 x 40 print will be signed and numbered by the artist as well as the celebrity the print features. With a track record of success, Murphy has raised over 200k in the past year on the charity circuit, with his work featured at Novak Djokovic Foundation Gala as well as Richard Branson’s Necker Cup.
Brendan Murphy is currently doing a residency in Malibu; his work may be seen by appointment by calling Gallery Director Jamie Alarian 630.404.3655