Meet the 80-Year-Old Artist Who Paints Live at the French Open

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While droves of press photographers battle to get the perfect shot at the French Open, 80-year-old painter Joël Blanc documents the excitement of the tournament in his own uniquely expressive way. Each year, he makes the short journey from his Paris studio to the Stade Roland Garros, where he captures the energy of the matches as dynamic watercolor sketches.

Like the en plein air painters of the French Impressionist movement, Blanc prefers to work outdoors, painting his scenes as they unfold in front of him. Born in Toulon in 1946, he studied at the School of Fine Arts and the Julian Academy in Paris, where he was influenced by artists such as Georges Mathieu. Over time, he developed a spontaneous, gestural style defined by movement and expressive brushwork.

Blanc was first invited to the main court of Philippe Chatrier in 2004, and since then, he’s created around 500 paintings depicting tennis matches and other sporting events. He’s now earned the title of the official painter of the French Open, and has captured Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic, and more athletes in watercolor.

Beyond tennis, Blanc has painted golf, rugby, and horse racing, embracing the unpredictability and speed of live sporting events. “Every sport has its own specialty. For example, polo…it’s like a fight, it’s very quick and the movement of horses change in a second,” he says. “So if you don’t decide what you want to represent, it’s like rugby, it changes very quickly. If you don’t decide quickly, you are lost. You have to clear your mind in every sport.”