I (fortunately) had to give up on the first design because we were unable to get permission for a Picasso drawing the author wanted to use. Once I had the idea for the painting, everything went along relatively smoothly. I saw a book of Grau illustrations and I thought their look and feel perfectly illustrated the main character’s obsession with this sparkling, elegant, yet elusive young French teacher. I did a few comps using Grau’s work, but they showcased the clothes the models were wearing too much (as fashion illustrations should). So I decided to paint it myself.