Roger Williams

Game, set, match! Starting today (May 24), professional tennis players will descend on a surface that’s notoriously challenging to compete on: clay. It’s the start of Roland Garros, the second Grand Slam of the year, and all eyes will be on how the athletes handle what is dubbed the most physically demanding surface in tennis.

But while the world’s attention will be on the ‘terre battue’, some will turn their eyes to Box B17, to see if an unassuming man will take a seat, to convert the blinding strokes and the masterful slices into a piece of art.

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Meet Joel Blanc — the artist who moves the action from the clay to canvas.

Blanc’s introduction to the French Open

Born in 1946 in France’s Toulon, Blanc studied at the School of Fine Arts & the Julian Academy in Paris. Inspired by artists like George Mathieu, he developed a spontaneous style, focusing on movement and rapid execution.

Blanc became an artist much against his parents’ will. They wanted him to make a career in the field of medicine — either a surgeon or a dentist — rather than being an artist.

Nevertheless, Blanc opted for art and completed his education at the École des Beaux Arts. It was here that he first developed his passion for capturing the moment in equestrian events – making a living out of depicting horses and their riders.

It was only in 2003, at the age of 57, that Blanc got his first actual break; he was invited to cover the World Athletics Championships in Paris in 2003 by French television station France 2.

And the success there got him another invitation from France 2 to cover the 2004 French Open.

Painting the French Open

Arriving at his first French Open, Blanc didn’t know what to expect. But he knew that the possibilities were endless.

Soon, he put his watercolours to use, transforming on-court action to paper. The players, the chair umpires, the ball boys and girls all got captured by Blanc. Imagine while high-definition cameras capture your favourite players slice and serve their way through matches, Blanc uses watercolours and his experience to transform sport in art in real-time.

He’s captured the likes of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, and many others as they take to the red courts of Roland Garros. Speaking of his experience, he notes, “I have to be not inside (the athlete), but it’s something like communion – my eyes and my hand. I don’t take care of my hand, it’s only a problem of the mind.”

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In a CNN interview, he said: “With my brush… It’s like am playing with a racquet.”

Since 2004, Blanc has returned to the French Open every year, making him the ‘official painter’ of the tournament.

But what attracts him to the French Open? “It’s close to my studio,” he quips in one interview. Taking a more serious note, he states, “When I begin a painting, I don’t know exactly what will happen.”

And that’s what makes it interesting for Blanc to cover tennis. “It’s never the same. Despite the same events, there is fresh inspiration. If something new doesn’t happen, then the people will be bored by that, but every time we all witness something new without fail.”

And what are the biggest challenges for Blanc while he paints at Roland Garros? It’s speed. He has to keep up with the tennis players and the action on court.

There are two other enemies — the weather and jealous people. While the weather is self-explanatory, Blanc complains that it’s sometimes hard to paint while people are peering over your shoulder to see what’s happening.

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But Blanc paints away, nevertheless. As a result, he has over 500 works to his name today. Many of Blanc’s artistic transformations are stored in the official archives of the French Tennis Federation. Some others have been purchased by the tennis stars themselves.

What really sets apart his work is that he seeks balance. And that’s perhaps why his art is so pleasant to observe: they don’t ask for your attention – they earn it naturally.

Blanc’s brush with other sports

Blanc’s artistic skills are restricted to tennis alone. Over the years, he’s painted polo, rugby, horse racing, , and even judo.

He notes that he thrives on capturing these fast-paced movements. “Every sport has its own specialty. For example, polo … it’s like a fight, it’s very quick and the movement of horses changes in a second.”

In another interview, he noted, “I want to give sport a different and new image at the same time. For this, I use a very traditional technique. It is the context that is exceptional. My approach is based on colours, the colours of sport, and on movement, which is the very essence of sport. I am interested in all sports: rugby, tennis, and cycling.”

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We hope to see Blanc at Roland Garros this year, transforming the athleticism displayed on the red clay onto paper.

With inputs from agencies