Olympic Pole Vaulting Moscow 1979

LeRoy Neiman made this painting of the Olympic Pole Vaulting in Moscow with bold strokes and a vivid, almost psychedelic palette of orange, green, and red. You can almost feel the energy in this painting. I'm imagining Neiman, maybe in Moscow, caught up in the heat of the moment, brush in hand, trying to capture the scene's dynamism. It’s like he’s trying to freeze time. The paint looks fairly thin and fluid. It’s not about the detail but the feeling of movement. Look at how he’s used these dashes of color to depict the crowd—it's less about individual faces and more about the collective excitement and energy of the event. Neiman was super interested in capturing the spirit of sports and leisure, and you see this come to life in his work. His art reminds us that painting isn't just about replicating what we see. It’s about communicating a mood. It's like painters are all in this ongoing conversation, exchanging ideas across time. They inspire each other’s creativity. For me, it’s a form of expression which embraces ambiguity and uncertainty.