Spooks in the basement?

First of all, the "This blog is shut down ..." post was meant as a slam at the foolishness in DC. A couple of people sent messages wondering what was going on, so here are the lessons I learned.

1) Other people cannot read my mind.
2) I cannot read their minds, either.
3) A joke that has to be explained is (a) no longer funny and (b) probably not all that funny to begin with.

'Nuff said on that.

I just went down to the basement to look for some leather cord, and when I turned on the lights at the bottom of the stairs, this is the sight that greeted me.

Is it just me, or is that a little spooky? The weird light that seems to be emanating from the far wall is caused by reflections off the ventilation shafts on the ceiling. This part of the basement will be Tom's studio, and he has been playing around with where to put his easels. Here is a closer view of the face.

This is typical of one of Tom's styles -- monochromatic studies of male faces. Often they are based on people he knows or knew in Hyde Park. When I asked him who this was, he said it was just a face he had imagined. He also said he didn't like it and was planning to paint out the mouth. So I decided to wait and show you the before (above) and after (below). The paint on the "after" is not quite dry, but you get the idea.