An artistic conundrum.

This is two different versions of the same painting I am currently calling "The Neighbor" (see why I call it that below). The reason why I have two versions of this (and why I am posting it now) is this: sometimes when I go along, the initial drawing or the early stages of the painting captures me so entirely I don't want to continue. I want to keep the unfinished drawing or painting exactly how it is. And yet, it does not look DONE to me. It looks like a formal suit paired with house slippers. It feels like going to a pot-luck empty handed. So it looks wonderful, but I don't get that satisfied feeling I get when I feel something is "done".


So this time I tried something new. When I got to that place, I just set it aside and started another version. That is the second one. This one is close to being finished. So, my question is: What does the first "unfinished" one need in order for me to feel like it is "finished"? What does it look like to you?

Why is it called "The Neighbor"? This is from a small snapshot from my late stepfather's collection. As I was drawing it I realized that the house in the background is the same house in another shapshot I painted, called "Prone". The young lad in "Prone" I believe is Meryl's brother, Mark. So I concluded the young man in this snapshot must have been their neighbor across the street.
I only wish I could express in the painting what a wonderfully warm and good looking young man he appears to be.

This is the finished piece "Prone" 22"X28" Acrylic on panel. October 2008.