Painter and sketch artist LeRoy Neiman, best known for evoking the kinetic energy of the world’s biggest sporting events with bright strokes, died yesterday at age 91.

Neiman was the official painter of five Olympiads. His publicist, Gail Parenteau, confirmed his death at a Manhattan hospital yesterday, but didn’t disclose the cause.

“It’s been fun. I’ve had a lucky life,” Neiman said in a June 2008 interview. “Everybody who does anything to try to succeed has to give the best of themselves, and art has made me pull the best out of myself.”