Many
people come to Vegas to get married. Some people come to Vegas to live. This
bride is a lifelong resident, and her groom altered his career to join her
here.
Both
wedding and reception were at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, on the strip.
As I left
my hotel on my way to the Mandarin, someone in the elevator asked me if I was a
magician. I was wearing a tux and bow tie, with my mustache waxed, and carrying
an assortment of bags and boxes. I think I replied something like “well, my dog
thinks I am.” But when I arrived
at the ballroom, I realized this day I was to be a magician.
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| The Robbins-Atkinson Wedding, Las Vegas |
It is
common in the wedding biz to have a ceremony in the same room as the reception,
with the room “flipped” after the ceremony, during cocktails. The challenge at
this one was a sliding wall dividing the ceremony end of the room from the
dance floor end— with me on the end where I would eventually have a close view
of the couple as they danced. But I could not see the end with the chuppuh,
because of the wall. This was a first. But I have a maxim for overcoming
impossibilities: there is always a way.
Event
planner Andrea Eppolito had designed a breathtaking room, and I took some
pictures for reference. But the part I need to paint first isn’t done well from
photos: I always start with the lines and perspective of the room, as I see it
from my easel. I bend the perspective a little, like a wide angle lens, especially
in a long room such as this— and for an extra wide painting (this one is 24 by
40 inches). I establish this with the lines of the ceiling. Fortunately, the
modern chandeliers were mirror images of each other at each end. I could
transpose those in my head. But the real answer to seeing the lines came from
drawings: specifically, the architectural plan of the room. I asked the designer
for a printout of the room layout, and I taped it to my easel. I also did some
perspective sketches from the other side of the dividing wall, and voilà, I was
able to construct the room. Just like magic.
But the
real magic of the evening was the beautiful couple, who dominate the painting.
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