Edgar Allan Poe, 18 x 24, Oils

My goal with Poe was to render the facial features and be true to his look. Meanwhile, prioritizing levels of abstraction as I moved from the focal point or the face, through the rest of the painting.

I always found Poe mysterious and slightly disturbing and I tried to convey my perception of him through Paint. I created a bone like color with raw umber and white. I used this color to establish form and then played warm and cool tones off one another to create weight and facial features.

The reddish color used in the foreground and on his coat is the compliment of the background color and it was used to neutralize and unify the painting.

The funny little heart like shape at his waist, created by his coat pulling left and right resembled, to me, a heart, and it is accurate to the photo. I thought it was fitting because some say, he had an active role in creating the short story The Tell-Tale Heart.

Hope you enjoy the painting!
and this painting is for sale:

best-D