hi Dana!

i added a couple pictures to blog post to clarify what i am seeing.

interesting thought that he could have been painting over an old canvas. could be.

i am thinking that quite possibly in the "work in progress" version we see some sort of cryptic commentary on painting. the idea of a painting within a painting. perhaps in the end he decided against it and simplified the entire piece design and concept wise. the finished piece holds no mystery for me. save for the hand held mirror. an interesting choice of objects used to be sure. the "work in progress" is where is see the mystery. if he had just left it that way i am quite certain there would be debate among the art critics, biographers and curators as to it's meaning and story.

hope all is well!
tom