'A Night In London'

Acrylic on stretched canvas

60x28 in.

(From the collection of Shawn Pack)

This painting was one I'd wanted to do for some time. I recently got an oppurtunity by way of a private comission. The subject is of the character Lon Chaney Sr. portrayed in the classic 1927 film, LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT. In the film, Chaney's character dressed up as a vampire to stalk the nocturnal streets of London, conducting research and experiments. The image of Chaney, wide-eyed and grinning with a mouth full of fangs mustve been terrifying for those audiences some 80 years ago: it is still quite an arresting image. The film (which has now been sadly lost) was directed by Todd Browning, who would go on to direct the classic film DRACULA in 1931. There are some that believe that if Chaney had lived until then, he would've been chosen for the role instead of Bela Lugosi. Perhaps THIS is what Dracula would've looked like? Oh, what COULD'VE been!
In my painting, I added a bit more realism to the subject and used a mixture of blues to convey a foreboding sense of atmosphere. You can almost imagine coming upon the 'vampire', unexpectedly...in the cold, foggy London night.
There will be more photos of this painting soon, framed and on display in the summer home of the buyer.

ANOTHER ANGLE...

CLICK HERE to see the underpainting for this piece.

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