The finality of good art

A fault in the canvas, yes, that would have had to be it. It was the only rational explanation that could be found there. A contamination that distorted the paint and left it to bleed out from the canvas and spoil the work itself. That must have been the case, the red seemed to be leeching out so terribly that it was staining the ground just before the picture itself. He would have liked to see if he could fix the fault before the piece was entirely beyond help, but he could not quite tell where it was the issue actually came from.
A steady, rich crimson staining the time-worn threadbare of the carpet that the painting rested upon, a growing stain that must have been pouring from the painting with more of the red than he could have recalled using for the piece when he was working on it.