Here is another example I came across where Powers went back to a previous painting and did a "paint over", changing the contrast and adding elements (abstract figures and flying gizmos), etc.
The original painting was done for the novel "Deathstar Voyage" by Ian Wallace (Book Club 1969). Powers later altered this painting to create the cover for "This Immortal" by Roger Zelazny (Ace 1988).
Personally, I love the redo! I have noticed a trend to his "paint-overs" whereby he routinely reduces the contrast of graphic elements, adding depth cues, and pushing the piece away from graphic illustration towards a more "fine art" approach.
I found another example of a Powers
cover that no longer exists...
As I mentioned in an earlier post, Powers was notorious for cutting up older paintings to create new ones. Having looked at many examples, I begin to notice a pattern -- if a cover worked well on its own as a "painting" he would apparently keep it intact and try to sell it. But if an illustration was too obviously composed as a cover illustration (i.e. all the interest is in the bottom third, obvious graphic elements to support text, etc.), it became fodder for future collage pieces.
Thus, poor "Beyond Infinity" got the axe (literally).
