Larry Bird 1992

LeRoy Neiman made this dynamic portrait of Larry Bird with what looks like gouache or maybe acrylic on brown paper. There's a real sense of immediacy here. The kind of artmaking where you grab a brush and just go for it. I love the way Neiman uses that brown paper as a kind of middle tone, letting it peek through the strokes of color. Look at the way he builds up Bird’s form with these loose, expressive marks. There's pink, white, and yellow dancing across his skin, giving him this almost electric energy. Notice the juicy strokes of emerald green around his figure, like a halo of Celtics pride. The paint is applied so freely, with drips and splatters adding to the sense of movement, capturing Bird at the height of his game. Neiman was like a court-side expressionist, and you can see that energy in artists like David Hockney, who also had a knack for capturing the spirit of a place or person with a few well-placed strokes. Art is just a conversation across time, you know?