"I play each point like my life depends on it."
Rafael Nadal.
I first saw Rafa in a French Open tennis game when he was a measly 17 year old playing on a big stage. I remembered not liking his smirk. But he had such audacity to hit ground stroke after ground stroke without a hint of doubt against more accomplished opponents. It is was matter of time before someone teach a lesson and stay in his lane, or so I thought. That moment never came, the audacity never stopped, and the tenacity increased with every match. Over the next few years, I started to think that this kid was the real thing, and he was gonna excel no matter what people think.
Fast forward to 10 years later, back in 2011, I wanted to capture that emotion using oil on canvas. I liked Federer but it wasn't much fun to paint his portrait. He was too elegant. Rafa would be an interesting subject. I started looking for the most 'audacious' look of Rafa on the internet. That tenacity and grit that only he can pull off on his countenance, and I found it. The choice of cool colors I picked were to 'cool' down that tenacity. 😉.
From time to time I look at this painting to invoke that Rafa's 'spirit' in myself when I'm facing radical challenges. It'd be quite a dream if someone would see me one day and think "What the audacity..." 😎.
I pray you have some 'audacity' to win the week! 💪