Atomic Liquors is the oldest freestanding bar in Las Vegas, with liquor license #0001. Back in the day, folks would head up to the roof with a cocktail to watch the nukes go boom in the horizon about 50 miles away. That seems dangerous to me, but I carry a cell phone in my front pocket — so what do I know? This baby has been featured in scores of movies… and is flat out one of the best damn neon signs in the world.
Here is a snap of the glorious sign, lit-up beautifully, on a warm Vegas night.
I’ve wanted to paint this for well over a decade, but I needed time to discover the right approach. Over the past year, I began wondering — what would the Hollywood Sign look like as a giant neon? There was precedent — at the turn of the millennium, the sign was ablaze in color — minus the tubes. So, with this as a general guide… I began to reinvent… on a large scale.
Howdy Stranger! I’d like to introduce my latest painting…
You can experience a version of this beautiful sign at the top of Teton Pass. Another once graced the Jackson Hole Airport exit… alas, the times, they are a’changin.
Would you like to see the entire painting come together in one minute? Fantastic! Do read on for a detailed, step-by-step process analysis.
Ah, that Four Seasons Jackson Hole view… I had the great fortune of setting-up my easel to capture the legendary slopes for a second time…
https://www.facebook.com/borbay/videos/1271636719586644/
Here is the entire process captured in time lapse… that soundtrack? Yes, MH the Verb is spectacular. Do read on friend…
It began as… the sun was setting behind the Teton Mountains. A late summer chill descended upon the crowd, patiently witnessing a gentleman exhume, skin and dismember a lamb. Soon, the performance became a barbecue. Huddling around a large fire spit, I turned to my left, extended a hand and introduced myself to David and Michelle Quinn. We discussed art, life and promised to continue the conversation over dinner. As our friendship blossomed, our circle expanded to include Avi Kantor, David’s partner, and Rachel Kantor, the owner of Ski Barre. On a freezing night in Victor, Idaho — we decided to collaborate on something special — a happening of our own. And so…
The Certior Group and Ski Barre invite you to… join us, on Saturday, March 4th, from 7-9pm at Ski Barre, for the first, one-night-only Art Barre Soirée. Peruse Borbay’s electric artwork, sip a signature Jackson Hole Still Works cocktail and mingle with fabulous people in Ski Barre’s breathtaking new studio.
Whenever I return to Manhattan, I find myself wandering the streets… memories, flowing like wine. In November, I met good friend, Tony Black, for a pint of the dark stuff at Old Town. Before leaving, I told the owner, Fitz, “I’m going to paint your sign.”
They say, “do what you say you’re going to do,” so I did… and here was my source image.
My legally issued artistic license allows for interpretation. If you’d like to see the entire process in one minute in time lapse, narrated by yours truly… view this video… more of a photo and commentary person? Read on dear friend.
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” — Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela was a passionate leader… someone who spent 27 years in prison for his convictions, fought apartheid, and triumphantly became South Africa’s first black chief executive. When I was commissioned to create this portrait of Madiba… I immersed myself in the life and times of one of the world’s great leaders.
You can view the entire painting process, narrated by yours truly, in one minute. Do read on for a step-by-step analysis of the process.
Allow me to introduce the Four Winds, Jackson Hole. This 48″X48″, acrylic on canvas neon painting has been dying to meet you.
Would you like to see how this baby came together in one minute?
If you would have told me, “man, you’ll be a married father-of-two, living in Idaho by your 36th year”… I’d have replied, “whatcha talkin’ bout”, and called you Willis.
Fittingly, 2016 began with my second self portrait — capturing this reality. Artist selfies take longer.
The following is a true story… prose by Ryan Ariano… photos by Borbay…
It’s a disturbing thought, that somewhere in the Idaho high desert lurks a nuclear submarine, carrying the mark of the beast on its fin and the skeletons of Kruschev, Einstein, Oppenheimer, a forgotten city named Arco and a forgotten man named Zinn in its buried gut. For now the devil sub is frozen under moongrass, a small but vital relief for the burger joint standing at its bow. But you never know if, once the city has returned to dust and the vast Idaho winds have unearthed the great hulking corpse, it will set sail through the loam and finally off into the atomic sunset that had been promised here so long ago.
