A Friend (Houskeeper)

by Godfrey J. Ellis – Acrylic 14×18 May 2026

Here is a painting of my friend, LaVal Houskeeper shortly after he died. It was a gift for his widow. The challenge was to make the eyes dark. It is counter-intuitive because the mind wants to paint bright eyes with white sclera. As you can see below, the eyes are in shadow in the reference photo.

As you can see, the reference photo was quite blurry with reflections covering the eyes, so that was another challenge. Jennifer liked the painting and appreciated the gesture, which was very nice. Below is a photo of her holding the painting.

Below are some photos of the painting as it progressed.