Thursday, August 21, 2008

Guy for the day! Alexandre Despatie!

Any search for Alexandre Despatie brings forth the "famous" bulge shot! Alex arching backward, red speedo straining to contain...little Alex. Naturally it must be the basis for my first drawing of Alex.


Despatie really puts his all into his dives. I'm amazed at the ability of athletes to control their bodies so precisely. Heck, I can't even walk through my house without bumping into doorways and rapping my knees on furniture. I'm just clumsy, I guess. But the way Despatie twisted his body on his last dive was just incredible to me. I also caught the trampoline competition and the same thoughts arose. How do they stay on target while twisting around, upside-down and with an audience of millions? The answer, I know, is skill and practice! But still...
Incidentally, I dated these drawings for the days I drew them, after Alex's silver win on Tuesday and Wednesday. You might have noticed that the other Guy a Day posts were back dated to catch up on July's missed days. Back dating the Alex drawings just felt wrong (if I look at the drawings in a year I might think that I had a premonition about Alex's Olympic win by drawing him BEFORE he actually competed).
best,
j.



11 comments:

leemajors555 said...

These are all so good (including the previous post)and look at all the barefeet! I love swimmers:)

OT: Picked up your latest Superfriends cover and, sure enough, Aquaman is the most prominent! Thanks and did I already say how much I like swimmers?

JonPHX said...

Great drawings of Alex! Thanks for sharing! He's something else, isn't he?

PORK-PIE said...

Beautiful work as always. And thank you baby jeebus for Alex. Yum.

Javier said...

Well, if you are on a bathing suit kick, as a fellow fan of Creature from the Black Lagoon, I have two words for you...

Richard Carlson.

j. said...

Lee Major 555 - Just to be fair I made sure Aquaman wasn't as prominent in the next few Super Friends covers. And I've finally drawn a cover where Superman takes center stage...he's usually been given the short stick on covers.

Phxguy0506 - Thanks. He is indeed something!

Luc - Thanks, Luc. And baby Jeebus says "Your welcome."

Javier - Indeed. Classic swimsuit movie...I love the old navel covering trunks. :)

best,
j.

Writer said...

Your Alex is just as beautiful as the real one.

I was very happy to actually get the opportunity to watch him in the Olympics!

Keep up the beautiful work.

musclsvg said...

The drawings of Despatie in the red speedos and pike position are fantastic. You've captured the hotness of his body while still conveying it's weight in mid-air. Can't wait for the final platform competition. I'd be interested to see your take on Michael Phelps and Jason Lezak. Lezak has an incredible physique and is perhaps the unsung hero of this Olympiad. Have you had a chance to catch any of the Men's Gymnastics? The guns on those guys boogle the imagination.

Andrew W said...

In the interests of fair exchange, I thought it would be nice to show you my own favourite photo of Alex, along with my five other favourite men of the Olympics. It's over at my LJ, if you want to check it out. :)

j. said...

Writer - Thanks. It's mesmerizing to watch the divers in slow motion replays.

Musclsvg - I've heard a lot about the mutant Phelps lately. From his height, to his shoe size to his fast pumping heart...he's bizarre :) I missed the Men's gymnastics. I especially wanted to see the Rings event because you need incredible upper body strength for that. I saw some clips and the guys where incredible.

Andrew W - Thanks for the link. You've picked some hotties I hadn't noticed before. I also love your article on the Bechdel-Wallace Movie test. It's been fun running my favourites through the rules. A lot don't hold up. But an amazing number of gay-friendly movies do! The first winner I thought of "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" The only man besides the father is the insipid "composer" hooking up with Jane. Other successes "Grease", "Emma", and "The SOund of Music". Although if you assume God to be a man then Sound of Music only just squeaks by with the song "How do you solve a problem..."

I think I want to make a post about that test myself. It's too much fun not to share.

best,
j.

Andy said...

That "bulge" sketch is awesome!! It totally captures what I love about Olympians... they're immensely talented and f'n hot as hell!
:)

JayCeeLoop said...

Thank you for sharing this! I love Alex. He's a great diver, an inspiration and a hot, hot man!

I love this, you captured his hotness, his skillful diving and his big bulge :)