"Viva Las Vegas" is one of the most detailed paintings I have ever created!  And it makes sense because the city of Las Vegas has a lot going on!  I've been to Vegas a couple of times and the lights and action are almost overwhelming, but for someone who loves color and everything sparkly it was fun to witness the bright city lights in person.

This painting is going to a wonderful long time collector who owns the first painting in my "Celebration of a City" Collection featuring Hong Kong.  I'm so excited for him to add to his collection and hope he enjoys all the fabulous and painstaking details that went into this painting!  I'm currently working on another Vegas inspired painting that features just the Iconic "Welcome to Vegas" sign, and there will be more skylines coming up soon, including London, Chicago and Dubai, so keep an eye out for those as well!

Here are some fun work in progress photos to see how such a detailed painting is created.

As we are now in the busiest shopping time of the year, we are all looking for those great deals on the perfect gift, but this is also a great time to stock up on your Business and Art Supplies at unbeatable prices!

Here are some great deals to take advantage of from my go to suppliers; and also remember to keep a look out from some of YOUR favorite art and business supply retailers too.

STAPLES (business supplies):  Is currently having a buy 2 get one 50% off on ink and toner, I just stocked up on my Epson 1400 printer ink!

DICK BLICK (art supplies):  And, Dick Blick just HAPPENS to carry one of my all time favorite canvases ever, the Genie Canvas!!  Up to 20% off and Free shipping on orders over $89 ~ I need to go take stock of all my art supplies and see what I need or may need soon.

STICKER YOU (custom stickers):  I just LOVE the quality and pricing at Sticker You.  I usually purchase some fun stickers as giveaways or for sponsoring my MAD Outfitters Mountain biking team members.  The quality is amazing and the fact that you can get die cut, transparent backing stickers custom made just for you is great!  They are having a 40% off EVERYTHING sale right now!  I need to reorder some biking stickers and maybe some mailing stickers too.

Be sure to sign up for all your favorite art supply and business supply retailers newsletters so you can always know when they are having the best deals all year long.  This is the perfect time to stock up for the New Year, it will get you motivated to create new art and help on lowering that dreaded tax bill come April, a Win-Win! 

"All I want to do is travel the world and paint what I see" ~ THAT is the dream to me, to be able to see the natural and man made wonders and beauty of the world and translate it into fun, colorful paintings to share with the world.  

But, alas, for now I will just have to do a little traveling and rely on other's eyes into the world to create my travel inspired art. What are your dreams?  And what are you doing to make them happen?  I believe I can make my dream come true through hard work and putting my art out their to the world to share and this will provide me with the means to travel more and more and create more and more travel inspired art, a win, win!!

Whether it be a cityscape, amazing architecture or a tropical/exotic location, I want to put those visions of beauty onto canvas and offer my spin to create something new and beautiful.  I love the tropics and have been to numerous tropical places, I live in Florida so that helps :)  But, I've also been to Jamaica and Costa Rica and will be doing some paintings inspired from both of those beautifully exotic and culturally amazing countries.  Initially I will also be creating some cityscape paintings and landmarks based off a couple U.S. cities I have visited several times, including New York and Las Vegas.  Las Vegas is the first one I will be working on so stay tuned for several paintings featuring the colorful, bright lights of "Sin City"!  

Here is a quick little sketch with ideas for focusing on the iconic Las Vegas Welcoming sign, it will be fun and colorful with lot's of sparkle and funky details!