Page 13 - Paul-Ygartua

we were having dinner at the Ygartua’s the next night. I fully

expected Paul to beg off the project. after all, I had never seen

him paint in anything like the Gainsborough style. when we arrived

he presented me with a copy, varnished and aged to look like the

original. I asked ‘how long did it take?’ Joanne said ‘about half an

hour.’ Paul corrected her, saying it was more like 2 hours, because

he had to fashion a one bristle brush, age the painting, and apply

varnish. I put the painting in a frame the next day and took it

back to the auction house to show them the copy. before I could

explain, the manager asked why I had changed the 18th century

frame. Paul can do anything.

a greater example of his talent was when a mutual friend, who

is a collector of napoleonic memorabilia, wanted a 3’x 6’ painting

of the Scots Greys charge at waterloo (a la Elizabeth butler). I

showed the concept to a few artist friends who balked at the

enormous project, quoting weeks or months for completion. My

friend approached Paul on Saturday while having dinner at my

home, about doing the job. he said he would fit it in the following

week, because it looked like an interesting challenge, and would

13