sketch: tennis return action

A sketch, capturing action of a return of serve, during the French Open. The men’s final is today. Good luck to Nadal in his attempt to match Bjorn Borg’s record of six wins of the French Open tournament. Congrats to Federer for proving he is still the best player in tennis history and for beating Djokavic’s six-month streak.

sketch: tennis swing action

The French Open tennis tournament is currently going on.  Ana Ivanovic inspired this drawing of mine.  Unfortunately, the former number one, and winner of the 2008 French Open, is not advancing past the early rounds.  Ivanovic has one of the best forehands on the tournament, but her serve needs improvement.  Her toss is erratic, causing too many errors.

sketch: tennis forehand

Today’s competitive game of tennis is not for the faint of heart. No longer is it about gently tapping the ball back and forth. Sorry Chris Evert. Both male and female players are as muscular as a Marvel comic superhero. The loud grunting of top players, Sharapova and Azerenka, is a testament to how hard every swing of the racquet is. Here is a quick rough sketch of Goerges, who through her fiery desire to win and powerful forehand was able to beat even the number one seed, Wozniaki, in a recent clay court tournament.

sketch: tennis receive stance

Just a quick sketch of tennis player receiving the ball.

illustration: before the toss

Indian Wells recently ended with Jelena Jankovic winning on the women’s side, beating the talented 19-year-old Danish, Caroline Wozniacki. I am pleased in Jankovic’s victory, for she had been ranked #1 in the world, and yet never won a championship.

As for her countrywoman, Ivanovic, she is unable to live up to her win since the French Open, a couple of years ago. The problem is her inconsistent serve.

I am building a series of tennis panels in hopes to illustrate how a serve in tennis. The artwork I created (above) is of course, the first step – the preparation stance.

I am looking forward to the next Grand slam event which is Roland Garros, aka The French Open. The dates for that tournament are from May 23 – June 6, 2010.

Are there any tennis fans in this side of the blogosphere? Who are you a fan of to win the next major?

painting: olympic downhill ski

My watercolor in celebration of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.  This one is of slalom skiing.  Feel free to visit my store, including prints for sale.

sketch: before the toss

Drawing of a side-view stance during the Australian Open, day 3.

sketch: tennis ready stance

Drawing of a player in preparation to receive a ball in the game of tennis.

sketch: tennis serve

The Australian Open is on now which means hours of watching Tennis Channel and ESPN2.  The Open will run two weeks.  This is a sketch of the Croation, Cilic, serving.  I always wanted to capture the motion of a serve.  Cilic is a very tall slender player at 6 foot 6 inches.  He is so tall that it looks like I’m exaggerating his extension.

illustration: antique bicycle

Watercolor of an antique high wheel bicycle.  Circa 1885.  The print is for sale at my shop.