Oh My Godard Gallery

If you love Vegas and like art, I definitely recommend stopping by the Gallery in Planet Hollywood, just to check his work and learn more about the artist himself. Michael Godard is a well known and very popular artist, not just in Las Vegas. He's been featured on HBO's "Cat House", A&E's "Mind Freak" and "Inked". I happened upon a documentary of his life on a Princess cruise last summer (his art was being auctioned on the ship) and he's lived a hard life and overcome some incredible challenges to get where he is at today. Unfortunately, one of those challenges ended in tragedy when his teenage daughter, Paige, lost her battle with cancer last year.

His imagination is incredible and his work truly embodies the stereotypical Sin City lifestyle. He's edgy and he defies the common perception of what fine art should be. His pieces have depth, a story, and often hidden elements and/or meanings in them.

I fell in love with his work several years ago when I saw one of his martini olive pieces and I've been a fan ever since. If you are interested in learning more about him, the gallery also sells a book entitled, "Don't Drink and Draw" which showcases Godard's works and provides a detailed biography of his life. You can find a lot of his works (including the book) online from various galleries as well.

Several interesting facts about Godard:
-Although almost all his works feature alcohol, he does not drink
-He used to be a caricature artist at a theme park (believe it was Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA)

If you wander into the gallery, make sure to have a salesperson show you the pieces and explain the history behind them as you will learn so much. And if you decide to buy something, they offer excellent shipping rates, which saves on sales tax! The sales tax on one of the more expensive pieces could obviously amount to quite a bit!

I know some people are hesitant to walk in galleries because they can be high pressure, I never encountered that here. It definitely draws from the tourist crowd walking through Planet Hollywood - all the sales people were very friendly and super knowledgeable as they know Godard personally.