2023 Year In Review
2023 | No Place Like Home
I love Las Vegas. It is my home. And I want to tell its story well.
After our career best (and an exhausting) sales year last year, 2022 was going to be a tough act to follow strictly from a numbers standpoint. And while this year was incredible saleswise thanks to a very strong 3rd and 4th qtr., my goal in 2023 was centered predominantly around building new skill sets in order to photograph Red Rock Canyon from places that few people (if anyone) have ever experienced.
A rigorous training regimen and crash course in multi-pitch climbing allowed me to experience our Vegas backyard from thousands of feet above the desert floor opening my eyes on a new level to how magnificent and special the place we call home truly is.
I could spend a lifetime exploring here (and I plan to) and barely scratch the surface of its height and depth.
Friday Night Lights - SOLD OUT
Perhaps the most iconic release in our 13 year history, Friday Night Lights featuring the moon rising over the Vegas Strip sold out as we expected. Congratulations and thank you to the owners of this Vegas masterpiece.
Friday Night Lights
SOLD OUT
A Few of Our 2023 Installations
Don’t forget to share your pics of your space with us so we can feature them!
Giving Back
One of the greatest facets of building a platform in any respective field is using that platform to elevate the lives of those around you. In 2023, cash and silent auction donations from the gallery helped to raise nearly $15,000 for a variety of local Charities including the UMC Foundation (Las Vegas), Central Christian Church (Las Vegas) , Christo Rey St. Viator College Preparatory High School (Las Vegas), and the Leavitt Charity Cup for the DDx Foundation for Cancer (Southern Utah).
Las Vegas has given us so much to be thankful for, and I will never stop striving to honor that endorsement.
2023 Patrons’ Choice
Stars & Stripes | Las Vegas, Nevada
Photographed on 4x5 Film climbing the high peaks of Red Rock Canyon and then printed as a Negative, Stars & Stripes is the latest installment in the BWG’s Signature Film Negatives Series.
The piece offers modern art from an ancient landscape right in our backyard here in Las Vegas, and it hangs in homes from coast to coast.
On Location with the 4x5 Camera to Photograph Stars & Stripes
Shooting Location of the Year
Red Rock Canyon, Las Vegas, NV
From the High Sierra Nevada to the Peaks of Red Rock Canyon, this year was a year of adventure in places that few have visited. This view of Red Rock is in my humble opinion perhaps the most stunning location I’ve experienced anywhere in the southwest.
An afternoon rock climbing culminated at one of the lesser known sub peaks of Red Rock Canyon offering a panoramic view of the iconic banded sandstone peaks that we all know and love.
Because of the difficulty in getting to this location with my full 4x5 camera setup, it has taken a bit to work out logistics to photograph it on Film. I plan to return early spring and hopefully capture a new masterpiece from uncharted territory. Stay Tuned!
Wine of the Year
1961 Chateau Lafite $$$$
I’m fortunate to have a group of friends and Patrons that are willing to generously share their more iconic and rare bottles, and this one will forever be tough to top. An iconic vintage of one of the most famed wines of all time from the Left Bank of Bordeaux, the 1961 Lafite was indescribable.
WINE OF THE YEAR (VALUE PRICE)
Vina Diezmo RV Rioja 2016 Reserva ($16 at Costco)
Consistently my favorite wine region on earth, Rioja makes great wines from the Tempranillo grape that are a perfect blend of old world and new world styles. This one from Costco would be incredible at $60 a bottle. It’s an absolute steal below $20.
A not-so-smart choice to climb sans rope in front of my wife.
My Dumba** Moment of the Year
For whatever inexplicable reason, I thought climbing a 35’ “High Ball” (Really Tall and Somewhat Sketchy) Boulder without a rope in front of my wife would impress her. Needless to say, it did not. Haha.
Might be the angriest I’ve ever seen her. Nonetheless, I made it safely up and back down, and it makes for a good story in retrospect.
She forgave me, but I had to promise not to climb high routes without a rope ever again.
View of the Year
Eisley overlooking the glacier lakes of the Sierra Nevada under starlight.
This was my first multi-day backpacking trip with my daughter, and one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever experienced. After a record snow year, we camped 3 nights overlooking the Temple Crag and the glacier-fed Big Pine Lakes below.
I’ll never forget the times as a kid when my dad introduced me to a world that is so much greater than the little box I so often consume myself with. My hope is that Eisley will continue to grow with wisdom and a sense of wonder that inspires her to pursue grandeur and honor the gifts that God has given her.
Proud Moment of the Year
Despite one of the biggest downturns in the history or her industry, my wife grew her mortgage lending business in 2023 by nearly 45% from the previous year.
I am a firm believer that “luck” is simply when opportunity meets preparation. She has continued to treat people with kindness, generosity, and gratitude, and it is no surprise to me that the list of people wanting to work with her continues to grow.
And we spent her 40th birthday in her (second) favorite city on earth, New York, New York.
In Summary | Upward and Onward
Our greatest visions are never realized within our comfort zone. Live Inspired.
Books Read
Thinking Big - Zig Ziglar
Mastery - Robert Greene
The Untethered Soul - Michael A. Singer
100 Ways to Create Wealth - Sam Beckford, Steve Chandler
Unf#@k Yourself - Gary John Bishop
Gnar Country - Steven Kotler
12 Rules for Life - Jordan Peterson, Norman Doidge
Get Out of Your Own Way - Philip Goldberg, Mark Goulston
Money in the Streets - Barry Habib
The Game of Life and How to Play It - Florence Scovel Shine, Joel Fotinos
The Power of One More - Ed Myles
10 Pillars of Wealth - Alex Becker
How to Be an Artist - Jerry Saltz
The Zen of Climbing - Francis Sanzaro
As a Man Thinketh - James Allen
The Bible
Book of the Year (Other Than the Bible, Of Course ;) | As a Man Thinketh - James Allen
2023 List of Gallery Works
Stars & Stripes | Red Rock Canyon
Solar Flare | Mojave Desert
Poppies & Lupine | Santa Ynez Valley, California
Viva Las Vegas | Las Vegas, Nevada
Emerald City | Sierra Nevada
When I Grow Up | Sierra Nevada
Several Magic Mountains | Red Rock Canyon
Knight Life (Cup Edition) | Las Vegas, Nevada
50 (2) Shades of Blue (Original Painting)
Untitled Red (Original Painting)
Untitled Blue (Original Painting)
Happy New Year from the BWG. Upward and Onward in ‘24
A beautiful end to the year as storms rolled into Red Rock Canyon just before Christmas
We know and love you guys, and we would love to know your friends!