My painting would be somewhat abstract in the background, but with realistic elements in the foeground. The left three-quarters of it would be smooth horizontal layers of muted colors, pale, misty lilac and aqua and cornflower, layered, hazy like fog or a scrim, a grayish effect with a feeling of semitransparency. Vaguely seen through or behind it would be indistinct shadowy figures and shapes, representing partially obscured history, some dimmer and more distant and some actually pressing against the scrim so that their shapes intrude into the foreground as convexities. Much is going on behind the calm surface. As the foggy grayish horizontal strokes approached the three-quarters mark, the layers would begin to be more agitated, and over a short space the smooth bars of color would deepen and intensify and become a jittery tangle of jagged up-and-down strokes like an EKG machine gone wild, and the colors would show purple and red and black, still muted but pronounced. The rightmost quarter would reflect a jarring future prospect of anxieties, worries, and fears shading into a cloud of darkness. In the foreground, left of center, would be a large old-fashioned wooden office chair with arms, turned at an angle, a bit battered but dignified, with its deep brown finish rather worn. The chair is empty but for an open hardcover book with a blue binding, turned face down, and a pair of glasses.