Golf champion Pablo Larrazabal
Pablo Larrazabal winning the BMW Golf Open in Germany in June 2011 - by Miki
Watercolour painting.
I wanted to try again some golfer portrait, but in watercolour this time. The winner of the BMW open is certainly a good motif..
Rory Mcilroy: Total Eclipse!
Total Eclipse, Rory Mcilroy - by Miki
On the evening of the second day of the US Open, I made this painting of Rory Mcilroy. I had followed him with delight , to see how he had taken, kept and even consolidating the lead.I had discovered Rory some years ago, and was immediately captivated by the purity, strength and speed of his swing. As an artist I am addicted to beauty, in my case especially in the beauty of movement,and Rory’s swing is a BEAUTY, probably the best i have ever seen. And as a passionate golfer myself, of course, how could I not love it!!!
Well he did it, he learned from the recent Augusta experience and succeeded in winning. And not only to win, he broke many records, 12 if I remember well, What a tournament! The best moment being as he hugged his Dad on that Father’s day, and later, dedicated him the Cup.
In 2009 I made a portrait painting of Rory, published it here in this blog with the text
“This was the last time I saw him, in the Portugal Masters 2009. Unfortunately he was not playing that well, and I rarely saw a smile on his face. But I am sure that one day soon, I will be able to make a smiling portrait of him”
Rory Mcilroy in 2009 - by Miki
Well, he was certainly smiling yesterday, and if I have time, I will do a portrait of him smiling. What strikes me is the difference between Rory 2 years ago and now: he is now thinner, more athletic, more mature. This is good. I just hope he won;t lose his freshness, land somehow, never change. i do love his attitude on the golf course.
And if you are a fan of him and want to purchase a print (available in different sizes, on paper or canvas) or as greeting card, just click on the widget below
Rafael Nadal
Spanish Tennis Champion Rafael Nadal - by Miki
Acrylics on canvas – 60 x 80 cm – 2011
A while ago, as a follow-up to some cycling paintings on commission, I decided to start a series of sport paintings in acrylics on canvas. Having often attended the Tour de France in the Pyrenees in my childhood, and enjoying a bike ride myself very much, cycling is to me a very inspiring sport. I love the feeling of natural freedom and peace which one has riding under the sun in the countryside. And of course in the professional races, I love the movement, the fight and the colours!
Anyway, after the commission work, I started my sports series with some more cyclists paintings which you can see in my sports gallery here.
Then, having such great tennis players in Spain, I thought I should pay homage to that sport, which I personally practiced too in the past with much pleasure. In fact I learned to play tennis in Africa, in Congo! My parents were living there at that time, and when I visited them there, they gave me tennis classes as a gift, which I took with a fantastic black teacher. It was just a basic course, but I learned and enjoyed much. Later on I went on practicing, first in Germany, then in Spain. Some years ago, I had some classes by a Spanish teacher, trying to learn how to make a proper service… Well, I still can’t!
I found in the net a wonderful photo of Rafael Nadal, from which I strongly inspired myself for that first tennis painting. I would have loved to ask for permission to use the photo, but I had no chance to contact the photographer. It is really a wonderful photo, great colors and great composition, I could really not resist to reproduce it!
The original painting is currently for sale. If you are interested, contact me.
And if you want a print (on paper or canvas and many different sizes available) just click on the widget below
By the way, if the author of the photo reads this post, and does not want me to use this painting commercially, please contact me.
Miguel Angel Jimenez
This is a portrait i started some weeks ago, I don;t even remember at which tournament it was… I forgot to finish it, busy with some other painting projects and travels. But I have just seen that he is doing again great at The BMW Italian Open this week, one birdy after the other, and I suddenly remember the portrait. Well, i still haven’t finished the portrait, but after having looked at it, I think it is quite ok as it is. Anyway I can’t really work on past stuff, it is for me like drinking cold coffee, or wearing second hand clothes… i can’t1
I know that the similarity is not really reached, the eyes for example are to big, and the mouth is not exactly his, and the ears are not well-formet yet 
But still, I think I have caught some of that fantastic golfer in it, I believe one can recognise him. Funny is that today, on the third day of the Italian Open, he is wearing a golf shirt in that same orange colour, which is by the way the reason why I remembered the portrait: as I started it I had been strongly motivated by his shirt!
The Retirn of The Tiger – Stalking
Tiger woods, at the very first day of The Augusta Masters 2010…
Oh, just noticed that he had one finger too much!
Anyway, it was great to see him back that day, and above all to see him smiling and enjoying himself so much. I guess he appreciated the way the crowd welcomed him back. Unfortunately he smiled less the following days, and I saw the sadness back on his face… well, I say “sadness”, but I don’t know what it is. Fact is that he always looks like as if he needs comfort..
I personally believe he should enjoy life and himself more… whatever that means !
The Return of The Tiger – Redemption!
Tiger Woods at the 2010 Augusta Masters, 1st day
Touching to see the Tiger at Augusta, humbling kneeing in front of a redeeming Pope…
Man and Nature
Louis OOSTHUIZEN in the Trophée Hassan II
Royal Golf Dar Es Salam, Morocco
What inspired me to do that portrait was the harmony between the man and nature, they just look like ONE!
Unfortunately, this did not help Louis to win the Trophy, but nearly!
You’ll see the winner in my next post.
Men in The Pink
This is meant to be a portrait of Nick Dougherty, the leader of the first round in the 2010 Hassan II Golf Trophee, at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in Morocco, But his good score is not the reason why I chose to paint his portrait yesterday. It’s much more profound. The reason is that he was wearing a pink shirt, and I simply love pink.Well, his shirt had some kind of stripes too, deep blue, if I remember well, but I hate stripes, so I left them away.
Now, I have noticed a strange tendency in the golf fashions among our champions from the PGA Tour. Some years ago, I noticed that some men were starting to wear pink golf shirts on my home course, but it was a discreet pastel pink. One first wondered a little bit, and thought that these men had great courage, but in the end, it looked nice and it was accepted, kind of. And anyway, it was just the home course. But now… I couldn’t believe my eyes when some months ago I saw a player, I think he was an American- playing one of the Championships in pink trousers and pink shirt. and when I say “pink”, I mean really fat pink. Even more incredible is what I saw last week, at the championship in The Blue Monster in Florida: Ian Poulter was wearing bubble gum pink golf shoes!
Now, I don’t know really what to think about it… I’m certainly not a bigot, and I am generally very tolerant towards all kind of clothes tastes and habits. But here I must admit that I first was quite shocked! On the other side, these poor professional players, they spend almost all their lives in front of great swathes of green, and one should allow them some eccentricities. Above all, considering that the golf game and even the golf outfit are full of laws, no wonder that they sometimes try to escape into the colours.
PS: I wonder though why exactly “pink” and not another colour… except of course that green and pink match wonderfully together, as you can see on the painting. Not that I would have thought before to use these colours side by side, but yes, it works! But what is it exactly with the golf males and pink? does that say anything about the actual masculinity? I should perhaps have a look at what our golf champion girls wear nowadays on the golf course… blue perhaps?
Tiger Woods and The Tiger
A portrait of Tiger Woods, in a new style developed itself totally by accident, as I was working on some golf ecards for my
I guess there are many (too many?) portraits of Tiger Woods in the world, this is why I initially didn’t want to add one to the collection. But well, as that idea of juxtaposing him with the tiger occurred to me, I could not resist…
Golf Champions: Rory McilRoy
My new golf idol; the young Irishman Rory McilRoy.
This was last time I saw him, in the Portugal Masters 2009. Unfortunately he was not playing that well, and I rarely saw a smile on his face. But I am sure that one day soon, I will be able to make a smiling portrait of him
About
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Contact me at miki@goodaboom.com
