I arrive at the house and am taken to a hall in which there are many large paintings. My client leads me to one that looks suspiciously like the Mona Lisa. It cannot be. I saw it in the Louvre in Paris only 2 weeks ago. “It is by a student of Da Vinci. He painted it at the same time as Da Vinci. It is well documented. See that damage here in the bottom corner? That’s what you’re here for. Take as long as you like, but I want a perfect repair. You are being paid $500 per day. I see you brought a laptop with you. I take it you will be gambling online while you wait for the paint to dry…”

I start work very slowly. It takes me four full days just to clean the area of the painting to be repaired. Then I spend another day examining the paint under powerful magnifiers. There is no online gambling during that first week; in fact I am so engrossed in the work that I don’t even check my email.

I begin with the paint in the second week. Gently, gently laying on tiny dots of color to match the existing. Soon I understand the crack about gambling online. Once a small area has been painted I have to wait for the drying to start. That’s when I fire up the laptop and log into the online casino. I play the slots so as not to get distracted from the work - after all I am being paid $500 per day.  But still I choose a slot machine that is clearly marked “Progressive Jackpot”.

The slots move along and I feed the machine with “Max Coins” so as to qualify for the jackpot which I see is standing at about two and a half million dollars. Enough to put a smile on my face as well Mona Lisa’s. I paint for an hour and gamble for two or three while the paint starts to set. The days pass slowly. After I call my client and show him the completed repair I take one more spin at the slot machine. That’s when I hit the progressive jackpot. A successful job all round!

Posted on: December 12, 2008

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