Yet another visitor to the Empress Hotel has felt that my totem painting is finished. There is something going on here. The fragment of a totem and bars of silver leaf do not feel like a finished work for me. How can I keep on painting yet keep this lightness of feeling? This has been ruminating in my mind since Friday. I may now have an answer. I am going to forego the background of forest in the actual photo and replace it with a conjured mist. This would keep it light … and real. It’s worth a try.