Marc Ahr has spent his 2026 Winter Olympics time drawing people in Cortina d’Ampezzo—watching, cheering, playing and comforting one another—rather than trying to capture every movement of the athletes. At a luge event Monday night, the French artist focused on the spectators as their national teams rose or fell, and on the surrounding mountains that frame the competitions.
Ahr described himself as the “unofficial painter of the Games,” and he said Monday that what matters most to him is the feeling people carry to the event. Speaking as lugers hurtled down the icy track, he said, “I don’t really care if they go fast or not fast.” He added, “What’s important is, emotion of people.”
He said he uses his own talent to make people happy. “I use my talent to make people happy,” he said. “Why not? This is why I am happy to do it.”
In Cortina, Ahr worked quickly as the women’s singles luge event unfolded, using a black pen to draw the full scene during the competition. He sketched groups of spectators watching results on a screen and cheering, children playing in the snow, and fans dancing with the Olympic mascot, Tina. He also drew Italian parents comforting a child he saw in the stands.
People noticed Ahr while he worked, and many approached him after they realized he was drawing them. The artist said he could add names alongside the people’s likenesses, turning the act of watching into something more interactive. When Isabel Hernandez of Mexico stopped to see what he was doing, Ahr drew Mexico’s flag so she would be recognizable, and for a German fan he drew the face paint.
Ahr’s approach resonated with Hernandez, who said, “I also draw, so it’s nice to see people doing it for events like this.” She said it was “something that I will share with my friends,” and she added, “And people probably won’t believe me, but it’s fun to know that I have this memory of it.”
Ahr also drew Cynthia Brictson along with Bette Wiley and Cheryl Ann Husby, who stood together with their arms over each other’s shoulders while he put them into the scene. Brictson said she loved the experience, saying, “Have you ever been standing in the middle of the Dolomites and had a man sketch you? It doesn’t get any more unique than that.”
After finishing for the night, Ahr said he finally looked at the track in time to see a luger. He later added a directional arrow to the Olympic course that he had drawn in black pen and returned to the winner after the event, using watercolors to complete the artwork.
Ahr began the Olympics in Milan, drawing the opening ceremony, hockey, and a city panorama before traveling to Cortina. He has also said he will paint portraits of athletes after the Games are over, but during the Games he appears to prefer the moment when spectators and artists share the same view—capturing the “emotion of people” as the competitions unfold.