This is my friend Jomart, classmate through most classes at university and all of medical school. We lost touch after graduating. He trained as an anesthesiologist and works in Boston, where we met again in 2013, soon after the marathon bombing. Even if there were signs everywhere that professed “Boston Strong,” the atmosphere was jittery. It was good to see a friendly face.

How surprised I was when he decided to celebrate his 50th birthday in Copenhagen with some of his closest friends in tow. We ate excellent Nordic food but the company was even better.

Some months later, we met again in Paris where there were suddenly eight of us classmates, five running the marathon. What a strange ride from 2013 to 2019, but that is how it is with Jomart, who has a deep appreciation for laughter and lightness in darkest times. Looking forward to more surprises!

This is the reference photograph taken at Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerød.	The drawing is for plotting the main elements on the canvas.	The outlines are redrawn using raw umber. The goal is to make sure the shapes are intact and ready for the next phase.
During color blocking, the entire canvas is covered with basic colors. The face is yellow, red, and blue. The background is green and raw umber.	The face is made more human by using brown on top of the base colors.	I bring back the colors on top of the browns. There is some likeness here. Later I add yellow-green and purple.

The drawing was done on 12 October. The painting was still wet when I brought it to the exhibit on 25 November 2021.