Las Vegas Drawings

Nothing on Google, but the No. 2 search engine, You Tube, has this result for "Las Vegas Drawings:"

Learning from Las Vegas

This is the original architectural drawing of the Stardust hotel sign, born on the Vegas Strip in 1958 and razed in 2006. As a flashing neon sign, its planetary-galactic theme was beyond seductive. But even without the high voltage, its twinkling is idiomatic of the artist's style.

Who exactly conceived of this design is disputed, but here is some excellent history on it.

And here is a link to the brilliant 1972 book that discusses "The Forgotten Symbolism of Architectural Form," (or "The Physiognomy of a Typical Casino Sign,") by Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown.

Las Vegas a la Ralph Steadman

After three days in Las Vegas attending a summit at one of the big hotels, I've decided to dedicate the next few days' posts to drawing inspired by what was my dad's favorite place on earth. Above is the seminal work by Ralph Steadman for the Hunter S. Thompson novel "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." It's a wonderful example of characterization and spontaneous ink splotchiness. But I think it also exhibits some amazing draftsmanship.

Enjoy an overview of some of Steadman's work in this video: 

Steadman's ink work is so distinct, it inspired a font called "Deadman," which is downloadable here.

This video, from the Criterion Collection DVD of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, offers a glimpse into Steadman's technique, demonstrated by Steadman himself: