The Art of Pickleball

A pickleball rolling into the grass or disappearing beneath a tree might mean the end of a point to most players. To Meryl Dee Feuer, it could be the beginning of her next painting.

The Westhampton Beach artist has carved out an unusual niche as what supporters call the world’s first pickleball artist, transforming the sport’s distinctive perforated ball into suns, moons, flowers and other unexpected images.

“I feel like anytime I have a circle, the sun for example, it makes me think of a pickleball,” Feuer said. “If it’s a moon, it could make me feel like a pickleball, or even a flower.”

The inspiration comes spontaneously. Feuer plays regularly and says the sport began working its way into her imagination, sometimes when the balls roll away from the court.

“It inspired me to get different opportunities for pickleballs,” she said. “It’s not just a net game or a hitting game. I see the balls in all different settings and it sparks my imagination.”

Feuer, who studied film and fine arts at NYU, works in acrylics, oils, markers, collage and, increasingly, spray paint. Her pickleball paintings have found buyers among players who immediately recognize the imagery and share her enthusiasm for the sport.

“Once you get into it, it just seems you want to play it every day, or even more than once a day,” Feuer said. “You could talk to people while you’re playing. With tennis, you can’t. You’re too far from them.”

Her work has been reaching beyond the pickleball court. A painting was selected for display at the Raynham Hall Museum, and Feuer is pursuing additional exhibition opportunities, including a sports and entertainment show at the Nassau County Museum of Art and the Manes Art Center in Westhampton Beach.

Her next pickleball depiction is already taking shape.

“Right now I have a pot of flowers,” Feuer said. “The flowers are very round, and maybe they’ll be pickleballs.”