The Dark Reminds Me of Dying

I have been painting this one on and off for a while, though I now I am done. I had originally planned on adding facial hair but I found that I liked it better without the hair as it makes the subject appear a bit younger and more vulnerable.

The painting is based on a Lee Jeffries picture though I tweaked the colors and added/removed parts. Mr. Jeffries is well known for his photographs of people living on the fringes of society. His subjects are often homeless and/or addicts.

I find that a square canvas can be weird to work on. Either a picture is going to work perfectly with the shape, or it going to looks funky and forced, but with this one, it seemed to be the obvious and only choice.