Maria

Inside the image.

A square photographic cover shows a man occupying the right half of the frame, seen from about the waist up. He has tousled brown hair and a short beard and moustache. Dressed in a dark coat and high-necked black clothing, he faces slightly towards the left while looking across the scene; his hands are held together near his chest, partly tucked into the coat. He is sharply defined against a brightly lit urban street at night.

The left side and upper background are crowded with out-of-focus lights and signage. White, yellow and warm pink glows cluster near the top, while red and white vehicle lights stretch into horizontal streaks across the middle-left. Beneath them, the road occupies the lower left, with pale lane or crossing markings angling towards the figure. The shallow focus and long light trails contrast with the comparatively crisp portrait. The man's dark silhouette blends into the lower right, where large translucent lettering lies over the image.

The palette combines black and deep brown in the clothing and shadows with bright cream, yellow, red and pink lights. The background is heavily illuminated and blurred, while the man's face is lit from the front and side, bringing out his features against the dark coat. There is no visible border.

The name “JOHN OWEN JONES” appears in small, thin, white uppercase lettering across the lower middle, over the transition between the street and the man's coat. Much larger, very thin pale grey capitals spelling “MARIA” span almost the full width of the bottom third. These letters are partly transparent and overlap the road and figure; their scale makes them a prominent graphic layer while leaving the photograph visible beneath. The artwork is photographic, with motion blur in the traffic and shallow focus in the city background.