After 58 years the Las Vegas icon took its final bets today.

Two weeks ago we decided to paint The Sahara before it shut down.

Let’s celebrate with a recap…

Another dry sunny day in the desert.  Great weather for never having to urinate while painting on location.  It was particularly hot this morning.  We set up on the edge of the property with a fence to our back supplying some welcomed shade.

I sit down for a moment to put on my leg protection.

We set up far away from casino operations.  A security guard came out to see what we were doing and went on his way.

I decide on a bold composition that includes The Stratosphere.  I block in the main forms with yellow.  The proportions are off so I add some dark lines to fix the yellow.

Focusing on The Stratosphere, giving it volume.  I add some green to the sky to shake things up.  Perhaps inspired by the sounds of the rattling roller coaster and screaming riders.

Time to add the letters.  The font is pretty cool.  I like how they use the “S” as handles for the doors.

A few hours in to our new painting, the security guards changed shifts.  The new crew forced us to leave the property.  This is a parting shot of the first vantage point.

A cool view from inside the canopy as we went inside to try to talk to someone that could help us stay in the original location.  Of course the referred person was no where to be found.  Time to give up on the first location.

Once home to TV legend Dean Martin, now their claim to fame is a 6lb burrito.”It’s child size, literally.”  In 2009 the burrito had 275 wins and 4 losses.  I decided not to give it a shot.

Getting going in the new location across the street.  The wind starts to pick up.  At times I find myself holding the canvas securely while I paint.  For a few minutes I walk behind me to see what Borbay is doing.  As we are looking at his canvas I jokingly say “The wind is going to blow our easels over any second.”  Less than a minute later a big gust comes and knocks both our easels over.  Our other painting partner Jerry Shawback ends up with a painting covered in sand.

I have a breakthrough moment in the painting and decide to include aspects of both vantage points.

A few touches of detail in the highlights and shadows to wrap it up.  That’s Jerry on the left.

The imagery conjures up memories of driving down the strip looking up at the casinos.   The bold colors and improvised juxtaposition give the painting a dream like quality.  The Sahara may not stand much longer, but it will remain a pillar of Las Vegas history.

This is truly the end of an era.  The Sahara is gone, but not forgotten.

Borbay’s Sahara painting and recap:

View other paintings from the Las Vegas trip:

Welcome To Las Vegas Sign

El Cortez Hotel & Casino

Broadway Bares: 2 Hot, Las Vegas Live Painting

Check out this great time lapse video of Las Vegas that includes us painting, by Allan Gange.