Lavender (Banks)

by Godfrey J. Ellis – 14/x19 Acrylic June 2023

This lovely young missionary is new to our area. In fact, I took the photo on her first day in the field. She was very excited about the idea of having her portrait painted. When she picked it up, she said (her words), “It’s scary how much it looks like me! It’s like looking at a selfie.”

As you can see, the photo was taken on our back deck and I didn’t want that as a background. She wanted flowers in a lavender color in the background. They aren’t actually “lavenders” per se, but the colors match her bright and colorful personality.

Here she is holding her painting.

Below are three photos of the portrait as it passed through the various stages of development.