Manaia (Parnell)

by Godfrey J. Ellis – 14×18 Acrylic Feb 2025

This little tyke is my next-door neighbor. I painted the other three children and now this fourth one. I loved all the colors in the photo.

Getting the shape of the wheels (an angled oval, not a circle) was tricky. This one was fun to paint.

Here is the family holding the finished portrait. They were extremely happy.  Darryl said it was the best of the four paintings we had done for them.  Dorothia said it looked “exactly like him.”  Even Manaia, the two-year-old, was delighted, pointing to his colorful scooter and saying “mine” with a huge smile. 

Here four photos of the painting as it took shape: