Showtime
Original 16"w x 20"h // oil on canvas Ltd Editions 16" x 20" // 18" x 24" |
Her Fans Await
Original 16"h x 20"w // oil on canvas Ltd Editions 16" x 20" // 18" x 24" |
Leave Your Hat On
Original 30"w x 39"h // oil on canvas Ltd Editions 20" x 26" // 30" x 39" |
Breaking Through
Original 15"w x 23"h // oil on canvas Ltd Editions 15" x 23" |
Winds of Change 1995
Original 34"w x 44"h // oil on canvas Ltd Editions 24" x 31" // 34" x 44" |
Olivia's Cheesecake
Original 36"h x 48"w // oil on masonite Ltd Editions 22" x 30" |
Anticipation
Original 24"h x 48"w // oil on masonite Ltd Editions 18" x 36" // 24" x 48" // 36" x 72" |
Ziegfeld Follies Girls: Billy Dove
Original 16"w x 20"h // oil on canvas Ltd Editions 16" x 20" // 18" x 24" |
Ziegfeld Follies: Smokin' Gladys Gladd
Original 18"w x 24"h // oil on canvas Ltd Editions 16"w x 20"h // 18" x 24" |
Ziegfeld Follies Showgirls: Billy Dove
Original 16"w x 20"h // oil on canvas Ltd Editions 16" x 20" // 18" x 24" |
The Primadonna Casino & Chorus Line Showgirl facade from 1966 Reno, Nevada
It was an honor to be asked to paint the original Primadonna Casino on Virginia Street in Reno from the mid-60's era. Unbeknownst to the gentleman who commissioned the piece, my personal and family history with the Reno casino strip influenced my drawing and subject matter for decades to come. Following the casino's brief history and some of the rare images of this gambling landmark, I have included below the article written on me in 2005 for High Roller Life Magazine.
Primadonna Casino
Original 32"h x 42"w // Oil on Canvas
Ltd Editions 32" x 42"
Original 32"h x 42"w // Oil on Canvas
Ltd Editions 32" x 42"
Precious few photos were available to work from, but I hope I did this infamous landmark and chorus girls justice.
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The photos echo back to the 1960s when you could get a soup and sandwich for 60 cents. Downtown Reno still had much of its lustre back then. In 1955 The Primadonna Club opened at 241 North Virginia Street...the first major casino allowed to cross the "red line" and operate on the west side of Virginia Street.
In July of 1964 five showgirl statues were placed on the club's marquee; the center statue was 35 feet tall, the other four were each approximately 20 feet. The Primadonna Casino was a pretty colorful place! Among its many distinctions, The Primadonna was a real trendsetter with its bold colors and flamboyant decorations, its richly upholstered restaurant, the stunning carpeting with bright orange background and geometric figures, and its famous exterior with huge statues of showgirls. The Primadonna is gone now, the Flamingo Hilton occupies that site today. Primm died in 1981 at the age of 73. A Nevada Star editorialist once wrote that, "In the old days, when men like Primm dominated, the casinos were an extension of the owners' personalities, of their whims, gambles and dreams." Ernie Primm's management style was opposite of Bill Harrah's as one could get. Bill Harrah used every tool of modern scientific management while Ernie Primm was a "Rhodes Scholar" of the Seat of Your Pants School of Management . He very definitely ran his casino his way. Though hardly a match to Bill Harrah, Ernie Primm did have a significant impact on the gaming industry in Reno. Prior to the Primadonna all casinos were "red-lined" by the City Council to the east side of Virginia Street. Ernie wanted to open his casino on the forbidden west side. Primm fought with the City --and a coalition of casino owners, led in part by Bill Harrah, who opposed expanding downtown gaming -for four years to get a permit to build there. A decade later he battled the City Council and Mayor for over a year to gain permission to expand the Primadonna to Sierra Street --another landmark move. After the Primadonna was built, several more casinos soon followed: The Horseshoe Club, The Nugget, Circus-Circus, and others. In short order the downtown section of Virginia Street became the Casino Row we know today, as retail businesses were displaced by ever increasing gaming operations. Primm died in 1981 at the age of 73. |
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In recognition of the contribution Ernie Primm made to Nevada gaming, in 1996 a columnist for the Las Vegas Sun suggested "Primm" as the name for a town on the California-Nevada border in Clark County (wherein lies Las Vegas). The town was then called Stateline, and since there already existed a community with that name on the south shore of Lake Tahoe (Harrah's Tahoe is located there) changing its name to avoid confusion seemed like a good idea. "Primm" was a logical a choice, considering that the town had three casinos --all owned by the Primadonna Corporation! The Primm-Harrah's rivalry carried on into other property interests in Nevada. After Ernie Primm's death, his piece of the Gentlemen's Ranch was sold in 1984 to Richard G. Campbell. Campbell in turn sold it to Paul Bancroft in 1989, John Harrah bought it in 1994.
Victoria's ties to the Primadonna
Growing Up On Gambling Strips & In Players Clubs Pays Off For Artist Victoria Moore.
HighRoller Life Magazine: 2005
Artist Influenced by Gaming Lifestyle & Casino Showgirls
When your father likes to gamble and wins like a racehorse, you find yourself growing up in gambling hot spots. I always had my little art box and sketchbooks ready to go on a moments notice, because winners’ stay in the game, and the games can run late. From big name theme casinos to private games and players’ lounges, he and my mother worked a system that paid off for our family. As far back as I can recall, I would sit and sketch while my father drew hands at Blackjack tables. Reno, Tahoe and the Las Vegas “Strips” were magical wonderlands for a child of the 60’s. The sea of lights and dizzying sounds were mesmerizing, but most inspiring was the exotic nature of the clubs and the lifestyle. Their adult playgrounds infused my childhood fantasy worlds on paper. I would sit on the strips sketching people and practicing architectural perspective drawing glistening clubs as they faded off into the horizon.
At sundown, when the clubs vibrant colors intensified and the energy really started crackling, neon lights turned the night into a kaleidoscope. Faces lit up and jewelry sparkled. Rooms came to life in a swirl of dice, cards, chips and money changing hands. The range of emotions found in a gaming club was artistically challenging. Roulette Wheels and Craps tables beckoned with frantic highs and wild gestures. I’d try to capture the essence of the room, the concentration of a dealer, the disappointed loser to the ecstatic big winners. These studies influenced me towards portraiture.
In the days when these were adult towns, families were not so catered to as they are today, I had to entertain myself. It felt safe to wander the streets and clubs as I pleased. It was wildly curious to spend so much time in an endless sea of adults feverously throwing money around. Eroticism and sensuality were pervasive themes in these environments and they captured my artistic eye. The showgirls and their exotic costumes were most often my subjects. With their curvaceous lines, glistening clothes and fluid movements, costumed casino hostesses with trays of cigarettes or drinks looked like pin-up girls come to life. As a young girl, I would easily talk my way into dressing rooms and sketch the girls making up for a show.
My parents were well-educated life adventurers with wanderlust. He was a military cryptographer and pilot who had gambled all over the world. She was an outgoing broadcast personality, researcher and musician. Gambling junkets were monthly events, and almost every holiday trip we took involved a gambling stop, including Mexico for games occasionally. The border-towns of Tijuana and Juárez were vibrant with inviting colors and textures. Colorful markets on dusty streets, bullfights and cantina card games seemed worlds away from San Francisco. The differences intrigued me and sparked my interest in other cultures that appear in my work today.
Club designs were pure fantasy that enhanced my architectural rendering skills. From elevated hotel rooms I would draw cloud formations and expansive horizons which have continued to emerge in various series throughout my life. It wasn’t just the casinos, they took in the horse races and I loved to watch the ponies run. The excitement at the gate and sinuous lines of a horse reaching for the finish line inspired me and I became proficient in drawing them. At fifteen, their gambling destinations started paying off for me when my first paid portrait came from a breeder who saw me sketching and commissioned a painting of his prize palomino, or a jockey would tip me for my random sketch I’d offer them.
It was easier to draw than paint while traveling and I eventually became a skilled technical illustrator and designer in the high-tech world of the Silicon Valley corporate giants. A near-death experience in my early 20’s infused more abstract and surreal elements into my work and propelled me on both spiritual and creative levels while living the free-to-be-me lifestyle of 1970's San Francisco.
By the mid-80’s I migrated to the west coast of Florida to concentrate on painting. While the subject remained beautiful women in elegant settings and draping fabrics, I began breaking down the elements and a new style emerged with bold free line-work. This work gained recognition in New York and attracted recognition from Manhattan Arts Magazine.
In the 90’s, private collectors maintained their interest making it difficult for me to hold a substantial body of work long enough for solo shows, so I’ve yet to really hit the gallery radar screens so I have begun working in series more recently. The direct influence gambling has had on my artistic development is without question. Some might think it was not an environment for a child to be so exposed to, but it was fertile grounds for figure studies and portraiture. While my work is widely considered Fantasy & Pin-up, I am a member of the Portrait Society of America as well.
I cannot recall a time in my life that drawing and painting beautiful women did not beckon me. Whether I was wandering the clubs, the streets, or bidding time in some hotel room, I was always consumed with lines and color on paper. I continue my studies now under specific artists and I feel I have a few bodies of serious work behind me. As an emerging artist, I pray the audience enjoys watching the transitions.
I have come to appreciate how gambling infused the richness of my childhood and were a major influence in developing my creative abilities. For my parents, gambling was part of their lifestyle. These gaming weekends which were an adventure for my parents, held wonderful opportunities for me creatively, and winnings often supplemented my artistic education. In my early twenties, when an artist was relocating, they bought out his entire studio as a surprise for my birthday.
While I still love the sights and sounds of the casinos, my favorite gamble is stepping before a blank canvas. It feels like shooting craps some days with the excitement of not really knowing which direction each painting ultimately will take.
Sonja: 2005 for High Roller Life Magazine
When your father likes to gamble and wins like a racehorse, you find yourself growing up in gambling hot spots. I always had my little art box and sketchbooks ready to go on a moments notice, because winners’ stay in the game, and the games can run late. From big name theme casinos to private games and players’ lounges, he and my mother worked a system that paid off for our family. As far back as I can recall, I would sit and sketch while my father drew hands at Blackjack tables. Reno, Tahoe and the Las Vegas “Strips” were magical wonderlands for a child of the 60’s. The sea of lights and dizzying sounds were mesmerizing, but most inspiring was the exotic nature of the clubs and the lifestyle. Their adult playgrounds infused my childhood fantasy worlds on paper. I would sit on the strips sketching people and practicing architectural perspective drawing glistening clubs as they faded off into the horizon.
At sundown, when the clubs vibrant colors intensified and the energy really started crackling, neon lights turned the night into a kaleidoscope. Faces lit up and jewelry sparkled. Rooms came to life in a swirl of dice, cards, chips and money changing hands. The range of emotions found in a gaming club was artistically challenging. Roulette Wheels and Craps tables beckoned with frantic highs and wild gestures. I’d try to capture the essence of the room, the concentration of a dealer, the disappointed loser to the ecstatic big winners. These studies influenced me towards portraiture.
In the days when these were adult towns, families were not so catered to as they are today, I had to entertain myself. It felt safe to wander the streets and clubs as I pleased. It was wildly curious to spend so much time in an endless sea of adults feverously throwing money around. Eroticism and sensuality were pervasive themes in these environments and they captured my artistic eye. The showgirls and their exotic costumes were most often my subjects. With their curvaceous lines, glistening clothes and fluid movements, costumed casino hostesses with trays of cigarettes or drinks looked like pin-up girls come to life. As a young girl, I would easily talk my way into dressing rooms and sketch the girls making up for a show.
My parents were well-educated life adventurers with wanderlust. He was a military cryptographer and pilot who had gambled all over the world. She was an outgoing broadcast personality, researcher and musician. Gambling junkets were monthly events, and almost every holiday trip we took involved a gambling stop, including Mexico for games occasionally. The border-towns of Tijuana and Juárez were vibrant with inviting colors and textures. Colorful markets on dusty streets, bullfights and cantina card games seemed worlds away from San Francisco. The differences intrigued me and sparked my interest in other cultures that appear in my work today.
Club designs were pure fantasy that enhanced my architectural rendering skills. From elevated hotel rooms I would draw cloud formations and expansive horizons which have continued to emerge in various series throughout my life. It wasn’t just the casinos, they took in the horse races and I loved to watch the ponies run. The excitement at the gate and sinuous lines of a horse reaching for the finish line inspired me and I became proficient in drawing them. At fifteen, their gambling destinations started paying off for me when my first paid portrait came from a breeder who saw me sketching and commissioned a painting of his prize palomino, or a jockey would tip me for my random sketch I’d offer them.
It was easier to draw than paint while traveling and I eventually became a skilled technical illustrator and designer in the high-tech world of the Silicon Valley corporate giants. A near-death experience in my early 20’s infused more abstract and surreal elements into my work and propelled me on both spiritual and creative levels while living the free-to-be-me lifestyle of 1970's San Francisco.
By the mid-80’s I migrated to the west coast of Florida to concentrate on painting. While the subject remained beautiful women in elegant settings and draping fabrics, I began breaking down the elements and a new style emerged with bold free line-work. This work gained recognition in New York and attracted recognition from Manhattan Arts Magazine.
In the 90’s, private collectors maintained their interest making it difficult for me to hold a substantial body of work long enough for solo shows, so I’ve yet to really hit the gallery radar screens so I have begun working in series more recently. The direct influence gambling has had on my artistic development is without question. Some might think it was not an environment for a child to be so exposed to, but it was fertile grounds for figure studies and portraiture. While my work is widely considered Fantasy & Pin-up, I am a member of the Portrait Society of America as well.
I cannot recall a time in my life that drawing and painting beautiful women did not beckon me. Whether I was wandering the clubs, the streets, or bidding time in some hotel room, I was always consumed with lines and color on paper. I continue my studies now under specific artists and I feel I have a few bodies of serious work behind me. As an emerging artist, I pray the audience enjoys watching the transitions.
I have come to appreciate how gambling infused the richness of my childhood and were a major influence in developing my creative abilities. For my parents, gambling was part of their lifestyle. These gaming weekends which were an adventure for my parents, held wonderful opportunities for me creatively, and winnings often supplemented my artistic education. In my early twenties, when an artist was relocating, they bought out his entire studio as a surprise for my birthday.
While I still love the sights and sounds of the casinos, my favorite gamble is stepping before a blank canvas. It feels like shooting craps some days with the excitement of not really knowing which direction each painting ultimately will take.
Sonja: 2005 for High Roller Life Magazine
