The Rt. Hon. Roméo Leblanc, Speaker of the Senate in Canada and Governor General

Le très hon. Roméo Leblanc, Président du Sénat et Gouverneur général

The primary portrait sitting was at the subject's home in Shédiac, New Brunswick. Prior to my visit I had

researched M Leblanc's professional life only to discover that this and his personal life were one and the same.

The consituency of Shédiac were all treated as friends. M Leblanc loved Shédiac and its people as much as he

loved being in Ottawa as a Federal Member of Parliament. Everyone knew he was torn - when in one place,

wanting to be in the other.

The subject and I met at his home whose dining room window overlooked the Northumberland Strait which

separates the New Brunswick shore from Prince Edward Island. After several hours of conversation and

casual posing. I chose this particular stance as the best for my purposes. He sat on the edge of the dining

table (which I could easily turn into a desk). The window light was a perfect ambience. It put him in shadows

as, despite the high profile positions he held over the years, he much preferred to be. (A lesser ostentatious

man is difficult to find). The light would also be used to represent the influences in his life the needs and ideas

of his hard-working constituents. To link both M Leblanc's love of New Brunswick (view from the window)

with that of Federal Politics, I incorporated the framework strength of the Parliamentary window

configurations and stone walls.

As M Leblanc would not be available for further posing I asked a friend, Mr Paddy Dussault of Ottawa, to be the

stand-in model. Paddy wore the proper Speaker regalia. I was then able to study how the "to be portrayed"

robes flowed and folded in that particular pose. I then added the official tie (legal bib) and other details as

required.

Time to complete the details in the

formal coat and robe.

Note: In the two images to the left,

a light house and the seashore

appearin the window. The

appearance of these symbols through

the windows of Parliament remind

viewers of M Leblanc's linked

attachment to both his home province

and to the Federal Capital.

With most of the ambience and architectural background features completed, I concentrate on giving the hands their due. Once this is done, Iam advised that the bow tie must be changed to a formal legalbib as the bow tie is not appropriate

for the position of the Speaker of the Senate. (I had received the wrong "accoutrements" when I had picked up the robe and coat for the stand-in's portrait sitting)