This is Las Vegas at night, done in acrylics on canvas sized 20'' by 24".I have tried to bring in Bellagio fountains along with the Paris hotel in the back drop. I took reference from a video that I took when I visited Vegas. Many of the largest casino, hotel and resort properties in the world are located on the Las Vegas Strip.It feels like a fairy land!From Echart Tolle to Deepak Chopra, I have read them all, trying to understand what it is to be in the present moment. Reading is one thing, practicing what is being read is all together another ball game! I have not been very successful to be in the present moment at any given point of time..either the mind is thinking about what happened in the past or it is worrying with anxiety about the future.To be in the present is the key to true happiness, say, the enlightened. For me, the present moment experience happens whenever I sit and watch ocean waves or trek through woods.Nature is so powerful that it makes you forget about your worries and anxieties. But surprisingly, I could be in the present moment when I was in Vegas strip, enjoying all around that was a feast for my eyes, everything man made, quite contrary to the nature that always helps me to be in the moment. All I could see on the faces of the people around me was joy, as if there was no real life existing outside, life that has ups and downs that pull us away from the present moment.
For me doing this city scape was challenging. I was not too sure as to what details I could include and what I had to ignore. I needed to really feel the place and decide the colors to be used. Just to give an impression of the trees and the lights that are in front of the buildings was hard for me since my brain is trained to think details.The sky looked dark in the video, but when I used just the prussian blue, it looked sober to the core and lacked drama.So I decided to go for lighter values near the lighted buildings. Anyway, It was fun painting this one and till I was working on it.. hmmm, I was in the present moment :-)
