+++++ What Thomas Kinkade said about this work +++++
"To create a vision of the Las Vegas skyline, all I needed to do was
take a plane ride. As I was swooping into Las Vegas during a recent
road trip, I instructed the pilot of the small plane we were aboard to
take an extra pass just above the Las Vegas strip. The sun was setting
and the light was perfect. The view that lay spread before me became
my painting Viva Las Vegas.
I never tire of visiting Las Vegas, the city of endless excitement and
dazzling lights. In my visual re-creation, my goal was to emphasize
the light and take dramatic liberties with the skyline itself. The
pools of color that draw your eye to the different areas of the
composition are like focused stage lighting in a vast theater. Of
course I had to include the famous “welcome sign” that has greeted so
many millions of visitors to Las Vegas over the years. The major
hotels of the strip are also clearly in evidence. New York, New York
stands proudly in the mid-distance (see if you can spot lady liberty
holding her torch high) and at the left the famous Luxor pyramid
shoots its beam of light skyward. I also included a wedding chapel (a
reference to one of my earlier paintings) and several other hidden
details worth spotting. Diligent collectors can play the “name game”
and spot the references to famous headliners who have delighted
visitors to Vegas over the years. Using a special “micro detail”
under-layer, I included references to Frank Sinatra, Celine Dion,
Wayne Newton, Don Rickles, Liberace, and countless others. Can you
find them?
~~Thomas Kinkade
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