Phoenix Sun Art Chris Paul Point Guard CP3

Chris Paul Still Going Strong

Chris Paul is still doing it.  You would think he’d be slowing down just a little bit.  But at thirty-six he is staying ahead of other players the other night by having 23 points  and 16 assists with the Phoenix Suns.  We have to remember as one of the highest-paid athletes in the world, he holds endorsement deals with major companies worldwide.

 Chris Paul’s Nick name Cp3

Nicknamed CP3, he has won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, an NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award, two Olympic gold medals, and led the NBA in assists four times and steals a record six times. He has also been selected to eleven NBA All-Star teams, nine All-NBA teams, and nine NBA All-Defensive teams.  I’d say he is holding up, just fine.  You may be wondering how got his nickname CP3 Chris Paul's family gave him the nickname CP3 because he, his father, and his older brother all share the same initials.

About Basketball Art Chris Paul

The Basketball Art above is a painting of basketball player Chris Paul point guard for the.  Phoenix Suns.   Painting is 12” x 15” on 14” x 17” drafting film.  Watercolor, acrylic and ink.

Basketball Art Sports LA Lakers

Elgin Baylor Lakers Basketball

Before there was a three point line there was Elgin Baylor.   Before there was Michael Jordan there was Elgin Baylor. Elgin was named after the Elgin Marbles because his parents knew he would be a classic.  He was a mythic player rising above talents that played with him so you went to the basketball games to see him play.

LA Lakers Small Forward

Baylor’s hang time on a jump shot was like watching a guy shoot from a balloon.  And the basketball’s flight was so smooth it floated to the hoop.  His running bank shot was another classic launching other balloons that would float over bigger defenders.  Because of his height (6 feet 5 inches) he was considered an undersized rebounder.  Undersized?  That is like saying Magic Johnson is undersized, maybe standing next to "Shaq" O'Neal. As a “small forward” Baylor averaged 13.5 rebounds per game during his career, including 19.8 rebounds per game.   during the 1960–61 season — a season average exceeded by only five other players in NBA history, all of whom were 6 ft 8 in or taller.  (Thank you Wikipedia)  Those are “giant”  numbers. 

As a boy the NBA was still just starting to get attention to the general sports fan.  My dad took me to a lot of baseball games (Minor league as the Dodgers had not arrived in LA yet) and football. The Rams was the major sporting event to watch.  It wasn’t until the 1960-61 season that the Lakers  showed up in LA   When Baylor set a new NBA scoring record when he scored 71 points in the 1960–61season it was time for my dad and me to start paying attention to the NBA.

Basketball Art NCAA Tournament

March Madness

When you read this and see my painting of the basketball player holding the ball, the NCAA’s March Madness may have already passed.  Is there or was there a  fairy tale story in this March Madness?  Who goes down, or went down the crazy rabbit hole with the March Hare, runs with the mad hatter and comes out winning in wonderland.  The covid pandemic may have come and gone the way of other viruses or college teams.  A great college team comes along, stays together and sweeps everything.  And then goes into the doldrums.   

NCAA Basketball History Best Team UCLA

An NCAA team we have not heard from much in these last few years is UCLA.   Of course my all time favorite team (because I am from LA) is the Bruins under the great coaching leadership of John Wooden.  And, of course their run through the NCAA’s March Madness is legendary.  From 1963-75 the UCLA Bruins had an overall record of 335-22 (93.8 winning percentage); 10 national championships and four undefeated seasons. That’s as good as it gets.  How good were they? They had an 88-game winning streak, but what a lot of people don’t know is that the  Bruins went 205-5 (97.6 percent) during one seven year run.

Personal Meaning

On a personal level  putting those numbers into perspective is daunting.  I’m an artist and I paint a lot.  I used to say, “A painting a day keeps the creditors away”  Comparing those percentage points, let’s say that I paint 200 paintings - then only 5 of them would be bad.  If I was a baseball player I’d be batting .970.  That is outrageous.  When I am on a streak, as a painter I can paint three good ones out of ten.  I would be three for ten - batting .300.  That’s if I am really lucky.  Like a lot college basketball teams I just go along and have some good seasons and some great seasons.  Occasionally, not so good.  

The March Madness tournament is always like entering “ Through the Looking Glass”  because you never know what you are going to see.  Are the players going to play as if they trained with a skillful coach or are they going to act as if trained by a Hookah-Smoking Caterpillar.  That is what makes watching a college basketball tournament so exciting. They beat the pros for enthusiasm every time. 

A  highly ranked team pulls a “humpty-dumpty” and gets knocked off.  With every turn on the scoreboard the college basketball world gets stunned when a favorite loses and we watch the merriment of the underdog.  There is nothing more exciting than a true buzzer-beater.  That’s what great about watching the NCAA March Madness tournament – anything can happen an this year is no different than any other in that respect.

The March Madness basketball painting by sports artist John Robertson is 54" x 72" acrylic on unstretched canvas

Basketball Art Measure of a Man Painting

Measure of a Man 

It really makes no difference what you do, there is always a place for you to play sports - not just watch it.  In this case the basketball painting is a guy that just wants to play the game.   

He goes out on the weekends or maybe a night pickup game at the gym and blazes away with all cylinders firing, the engine cranking up the revs.  There is a guaranteed warranty on this guy that he is good for the whole game. He doesn’t come into the gym cleverly disguised as a poser in a NBA outfit.  He comes dressed to play.   He is going to run and block and try his best to to clock up the shots.  

Nobody comes to the gym to see him play.  It’s about playing the game as best he can with no apologies for when he loses.  And when he wins there is no fist bump or some fancy dance - but you can bet he has respect for the game. He has pride in his work ethic. He’s an original - with a player infused with dignity. 

This sports art basketball painting is approximately 4 feet by 8 feet, acrylic on unstretched canvas.

Basketball Art Dunk Shot Painting

The Dunk Shot

The dunk shot is a good reason we go to basketball games.  It’s the same reason some go to the ballet.  We want to see the basketball player fly.  We are not as much interested in seeing the ground game with a guy dribble a ball down the court.  What we want to see the spectacular leaps and bounds, the jumps (Superman flying, the sun coming up over the horizon), the amazing ability to defy gravity. That’s what we want to see - the dunk shot.

And we want to see it done with a basketball in the basketball player’s hands. We love “the air game” with the basketball grasped in the hand of a player reaching above the rim for the dunk. 

We want to see the basketball player takeoff from the baseline and the long soaring  outreach of the hand with a grip on the ball and to hear the swish of the net.  That is what we want to see.

And in this basketball painting of a hand about to dunk a basketball I am trying to capture that feeling of what it is like to watch a high flying bomber about to smash a basketball through the net.

The basketball art is 60” by 84” acrylic on unstretched canvas.  This means there are no stretcher bars or frame.  It is meant to hang like a  tapestry or banner.  Available for sale.