Big Maria Au Revoir

I sold Big Maria in, I'm guessing, 2007, to a pretty nice guy who lives in Philadelphia.  Or something like that.  The odd part is that I am only now delivering it.  Saturday, that is.

I hope you charged him a storage fee.
No, I didn't.  But I did have an additional seven years to enjoy the thing.  It's hanging in my study.
I'd have charged him a storage fee.
Well, I'm not you.

Back when we made the transaction we had a loose agreement to create a second, complementary painting of Erin Burnett.  Which I could just never get the hang of.  God knows I tried painting the woman but just couldn't make it work.  Sometimes that happens.

So instead of Big Erin, I've suggested two Map paintings, the studies for which look like this ...

This pair, let me tell you, hung side by side in black slat frames?  Be still my heart.  They are going to look unbelievable.

What is worth noting is that both Burnett and Bartiromo no longer work for the network that made them famous.  In both cases they probably got significantly higher compensation for making the jump.  But likewise, in both cases, I believe they lost some of their mojo en route.

Which is the shared theme of the pairing.

Is it en route or en croute?
It's whichever one that doesn't involve baking.