I have a passion for painting people, especially when they are unaware of me and feel no need to “strike a pose.” This painting is from a photo I took in Essaouira, Morocco. There is a very busy harbor filled with fishermen setting sail, working on boats, selling fish, and laughing and joking with one another. I saw these two men sitting on a sea wall together; I don’t know whether they had returned from fishing or were waiting for the tide to change so they could head out. I loved their quiet companionship. I knew I had found my next painting.