You just never know
While I prefer to paint en plein air, I take loads of photographs when I travel in hopes of using the photos as a resource for future paintings. While in France, I was packing up my paints to call it a day when a gentleman dressed in a suit, papers clutched in his hands, crossed a courtyard near a fountain. I was struck by his posture as he leaned forward in deep thought. It was not unique to see a well dressed man on the streets of Beaune but this fellow was clearly a notaire! You could hear the gears in his head turning about the argument he was prepared to make.
Fast forward, I was home and reviewing my photographs and quite frankly disappointed at the quality of the photograph of this man. He had been quite a ways away from me and the shot was fuzzy. I put the photograph away.
Several months later, I was once again looking for a resource to paint and came across the photograph of the notaire and this time, it spoke to me. The lack of focus actually helped me paint the painting looser. It so reminds me of my husband as he contemplates an argument before a jury and so I entitled it: To which I will respond. It hangs in his office.
