Well ... after all this talk of art, our wonderful Rafateer-at-Large, Rafan, took a trip today to La Galleria Pall Mall in London to go and witness the exhibition of the paintball paintings that the top players and The Sod have done for charity prior to this year's World Tour Finals at the O2 arena in London.
She had a lovely chat with the gallery owner and was also given a personal tour and a sneak preview of the Berdy picture (not yet released as he hasn't qualified yet) and was told that they have 4 pictures ready for the final 3 places. Bidding has already commenced on The Sod picture and it is currently standing at $1,200 !! It is not known if that bid was made by a member of the Soderling family (or the man himself ) but the gallery owner advised Rafan that the real bidding will start when the Rafa and Rog pictures go up …
The draw for the WTF is also taking place at the gallery next Tuesday at 11 am, but sadly, it is for the press only. The owner is hoping that the draw will be made by either Rafa or Roger, but expects that it will be Andy Murray that shows up. Sadly the owner's generosity to Rafan today didn’t extend to a press pass.
In further exclusive news, the owner reported that when he was negotiating a fee for the use the gallery, the ATP offered him cash, tickets and the one thing that completely brokered the deal, a promise of ... “a kiss from Rafa for his wife”. His wife is currently waiting on tenterhooks, but doesn't want to get her hopes up too high …
As you can see, Rafan was able to take photographs of the pictures and has had her photo taken with the Rafa painting itself!! Once the final 8 are known and the draw made, the paintings will be transferred to the O2 arena for viewing, but personally, I think Rafan has seen them in the best context of a gallery and was lucky enough to have it to herself whilst viewing. She tried her best to be a true tenniss fan and hide her inner *fangirl*, but the draw of Rafa's painting and memorabilia was too much for her, and in her excitement, she even forgot to look at Novak's and take its picture ...
I think this latest experience is right up there with Rafan’s many, many, many Rafa achievements. Well done, my lovely and thank you for sharing it with us … She has also had her story published on NadalNews ...
http://www.nadalnews.com/2010/11/10/the-art-of-tennis/
Roger Federer ...
Andy Murray ...
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Thank you!