This is my "Magic Mural"; my homeage to magicians whom have all performed in Las Vegas at some point in their careers. I painted it on the wall of my studio around 2001 and it measured around seven feet long and four feet high. And in case you were wondering (okay, you probably weren't) it was painted by myself with acrylic paints. How long did it take? Well, since you're asking....it was completed over the course of a few weeks. I worked on it in my spare time; a few hours here and there. Okay you wanna know how many TOTAL hours it took? Now you're getting NOSY! But all right, I'll tell you. It took....around....50 or so hours. I am not sure because I didn't record the time I spent on it but I think that's about right.
As for the mural itself, I believe there are seventeen figures here (I counted the white lion as one I think - HEY I caught his likeness perfectly!) The cast included some lesser-known (but no less awesome) magical performers that I have come to respect and enjoy as well as big time headliners. These performers are (from the left and working clockwise) Shimada - shown here with jeweled thimbles on his fingers as part of a routine). And above him are the husband/wife team of the Pendragons; two buffed performers who are doing a routine in which Charlotte appears to float opon the very tip of a very large sword. To their left, holding the pink balloon which he is beginning to impale with a needle is Doug Henning. To his right is (my personal all time favorite) David Copperfield whom I met on the night of my 18th birthday and whom was so nice and wonderful to me and my mother and girlfriend that I will never forget it. Below him (in the bottom right corner) and lookin just smokin' is Las Vegas favorite Melinda. Directly to her left are Siegfried and Roy; two legendary performers (whom were also very nice to me). To their left; another Vegas duo Penn and Teller. These guys are just so awesome, I just don't know where to begin... To their left and slightly below is Lance Burton whose dove act is one of the coolest routines EVER. Going up and to the right sits Al Goshman with his big moustache and laid back attitude; he was a master of closeup magic. Above and slightly to the right is Richard Ross shown doing his mindbending version of a magic classic; the Chinese Linking Rings. To his right (directly above Penn and Teller) is Jeff McBride; clad in his Chinese Kabuki style makeup and a top hat. To his right is an odd sight; comedy magician The Amazing Jonathan showing off his beautiful Las Vegas ShowGIRL body! (Yeah, I did it. I just took a photo of his head and put it together with my picture of a showgirl and VIOLA!) I showed him a photo of it a few years ago and I don't know if he got it...he just kinda smiled and walked away.... Personally, I thought he had a pretty smokin body.... Anyway to his/her right is Jimmy Grippo; closeup performer at Caesars Palace for many years. He's shown here performing the trick in which he "splits" one silver into two on his outstretched hand. Directly above him is the "Professor" of magic, Dai Vernon performing his legendary version of the Cups and Balls trick. And (finally) to his left and sporting a beautifully embroidered sport coat is the "Master" himself, Slydini. Being an amateur magician myself, I have learned lots from the writings of Slydini as his approach to magic was always so natural and seemless.
Below the group the magicians I added a skyscape scene showing Vegas at night. The surrounding mountains are contrasted against a bright red sky. Look closely and you'll find a of the few hotels out of place. I felt that a few of them had to be moved in the interests of good design (and because many of the buildings were being blocked by others).
If you're still with me here, check out the photos of the next post which show the mural in progress as I was working on it all those years ago...
