Steven H. Davis ... The Former Chairman of Dewey & LeBoeuf

A quick progression for you.

The original plan was to paint the guy straight-up.  But I got to about the second image and said to myself: "Dog!"

That's what you said to yourself?  Dog?

Yeah.  Why?

Does it ever bother you that people come to you seeking some form of The Great Truths, or a subset thereof, and what you give them is "Dog!"?

No.  Never.  Besides, I was just about to delve into at least one Great Truth when you interrupted me.

So now, continuing.   I looked at the second image and, after exclaiming Dog!, I started thinking of having the whole guy just kind of fading to white.  You'll remember the discussion below about having a kind of volcanic rising of color coming up through his neck?  Well, this has been discarded in place of the exact opposite.  This is the cloud of smoke after the volcano has erupted. 

Channeling Dickens, it's like the ghost of Law Firms to Come. 

In retrospect, I wish the salmon-y red that seems to outline his face was a slightly different color.  A ghostly blue might be nice, so long as there was enough contrast with the ghostly blue that his face has become.  Or just a less intense red.

And don't think there wasn't some extended anxiety about the goober of brown that spurts out of the right side of his head.  You think this stuff is easy?  I'm gonna go have some chocolate milk and watch the Mets.