Rafael Nadal is undisputedly one of the greatest tennis players of all time. He holds the joint world record for 20 Grand Slam singles titles, has won 88 ATP singles titles, 36 ATP Tour Masters 1000 titles and two Olympic Gold medals. “Rafa” will forever grace the history books with highlights of his illustrious tennis career, and he’s not done yet.
Now you can own a piece of history with the first-ever, officially licensed painting of Rafael Nadal, titled, “VAMOS!”. Only 500 copies of this limited-edition artwork exist worldwide, and Game-Set-Match, Inc. is pleased to have four prints.
“VAMOS!” paintings feature a unique three-dimensional effect created by acrylic paint on top of layers of acrylic glass. They are personally signed by both Rafael Nadal and the artist, Bruce Sulzberg, who is a former high-level college tennis player himself. Sulzberg pours his passion and understanding of the sport into his one-of-a-kind artwork. His unique artistic style gives viewers a sense of motion, as if they were witnessing an athlete performing in the prime of their career.
Sulzberg’s stylistic concept stems from viewing a painting in layers as opposed to one flat image. This brings the artwork to life through motion and depth – an effect that cannot be created on simple canvas or paper.
Bruce states, “The style of how I paint came with wanting to create a style that no one had done before...through many years I was able to perfect the style. It was very difficult because the paint does not adhere to the acrylic well at all. It’s extremely translucent. I have to put many coats on, so it looks like a solid color. After a few layers of paint, I blend and feather each color together to give it a smooth and seamless look. The final part is called stippling, which is where I paint dot by dot to complete the realism of the image. All of this is done with a paintbrush the size of a pinhead.”
Four pieces of rare and meticulously-crafted “VAMOS!” artwork are available for sale at Game-Set-Match, Inc. We have both the standard edition ($1,950) and artist remarque edition that features a special 3D tennis ball cutout ($3,250). Standard editions are available for viewing at Club Greenwood and Denver Tennis Club (coming soon). Artist emarque editions are currently displayed at Randy Ross Tennis Center and Game-Set-Match, Inc.’s Centennial store.
To purchase or inquire about this artwork, please contact Adam Burbary, Owner of Game-Set-Match, Inc. at (303) 790-1991. A portion of the proceeds benefit the RafaNadal Foundation, which supports youth development through sports in Spain and India.