An Aussie artist has been flown to the New York premiere of Black Adam by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson to personally present him with a portrait on the film’s black carpet.
The Australian artist, Danielle Weber, first struck up a friendship with the Hollywood star back in 2015 when she gave him a portrait she’d created of him and his mother. The pair became friends and have kept in contact since.
“He saw my work on Instagram and said he was looking forward to meeting me one day and as a thank you I did a portrait of him and his mum and hand-delivered that to him,” she told news.com.au.
Earlier this year, Danielle work up to a text message from The Rock suggesting that she fly out to the New York premiere of Black Adam to present him with another portrait in front of high profile media organizations, in an act to help boost her career.
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“We spoke in January about me creating a painting of him. At that point, the movie was coming out in July, but then he hit me up again and said the movie has been pushed back and that we have time,” Danielle said.
“At that point I didn’t have a painting, flights booked or a dress,” she said. “But I work best under pressure.”
Danielle completed the portrait which would normally take her 100 hours, in just six days. She said she was still up doing the finishing touches late at night before her 7am flight.
Regardless, Danielle made the flight and attended the event. A clip of the Australian artist presenting The Rock with the portrait on the film’s black carpet quickly went viral.
“I asked Danielle if she would be so gracious as to honour us with a special piece. I wanted her to present it to me and our Black Adam team,” The Rock says in the clip. After handing over the portrait, the actor is overcome with emotion and gives Danielle a heartfelt thank you.
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Danielle said she’s eternally grateful for the massive exposure the rock has given her, and how it’s helped her career.
“It kickstarted my career and his belief in me has made me feel I can do anything and not give up.
“I am just a girl from a small suburb in Melbourne. He is the busiest person and doesn’t have to do this nor does he have the capacity because I see how busy he is. How he has the energy to lift and help others and give them hope is just mind-blowing.
“My purpose is to inspire other artists – and to have them believe anything is possible.
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