I've never been a huge vampire fan. Certainly not like the fanatic followers of today's vampire books and shows. In my youth I did follow the "Dark Shadows" TV show and liked the character (and the fin-de-siecle fashions) of Barnabas Collins, but I never fantasized about being, uh, bitten by a vamp or turning into one, even though I am nocturnal by nature. Later I read a few vampy novels by Anne Rice, but I gave up on the story after about the third book ("Queen of the Damned").
I have, however, done numerous vampire pictures as commissions for friends who are far more into it than I ever was. This is one of my better ones. It was painted for a fan in Lincoln, Nebraska, who ordered a portrait of Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's vampire hero, the "Count of Saint Germain," as a present for her sister. She requested that the Vampire look like a TV actor from the soap opera GENERAL HOSPITAL, Paul Rossilli. In the commission materials, she included a TV fan magazine with a picture of Paul for reference. As a fantasy portrait, this is one of my "oldies but goodies."
"Young Saint Germain" is acrylic on illustration board, 6" x 9", June 1983.
1 comment:
I don't think I want to invite that dude into my house!
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