Pinky, the White Mouse

by Godfrey J. Ellis – oil 1976

When I was 26 years old, Merry and I traveled to BYU to work on a post-doctoral research project studying family interaction.  The project director was one of my old professors, Darwin Thomas.  As a part of the project, I painting an elaborate game board onto the surface of several large card tables.  Dr. Thomas was so impressed that he asked me if he would illustrate a children’s book that he was writing. It was called Pinky, the White Mouse.  The idea was that the misunderstood mouse was revealed at the end to be an albino (hence the closed eyes in the painting that hid Pinky’s pink eyes).  The card tables are long gone, but here is one of the paintings that Godfrey painted for Dr. Thomas to use in his book.   

Below are two preliminary sketches and an unfinished painting of the “reveal” where Pinky learns she is an albino mouse. Did the book every get accepted for publication? No idea…. Not that we ever heard.