In this series of paintings I am paying homage to some of my favorite writers from the 19th century. The first in the series was Edgar Allen Poe whose chilling words continue to thrill me today as much as they did when I first read them years ago. (The story behind his portrait can be read here). The second in the series just had to be Jules Verne. His stories filled my childhood with adventures to far off lands and beyond, firing my imagination and always leaving me wanting more. In this illustration I wanted to touch upon as many elements from his most famous stories as I could reasonably fit into one portrait including From Earth to the Moon, Around the World in 80 Days, Journey to the Center of the Earth, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Five Weeks in a Balloon all of which are still in print. His fantastic vision of imagined space travel, undersea exploration and science in general are so incredible when seen from the viewpoint of the mid 19th century. He truly was the Father of Science Fiction.