I thought this terrific couple deserved a Lautrec.

I like the way Lautrec often divided his posters on the diagonal as in Reine de Joie, 1892, a piece advertising a book. (By the way, in order to allay any concerns over MY thievery, consider that Lautrec probably got HIS inspiration for this piece from a Japanese woodcut).

This particular work, and the novel upon which it was based, provoked a  scandal. The heroine of the book is pictured kissing the stout Olizac at a scrumptiously set table. As in so much of his work, Lautrec conveyed the scene using few lines and colors, techniques I adopted here.

In my piece, I depicted Jean standing thanking attendees at their anniversary celebration, which the poster announces, while Gene (in red) looks on proudly. I didn’t think facial expressions would improve the painting, so I didn’t put them in. Let me assure you that's it is often very difficult for an artist to know when to quit!