Bubbles (Ellis)

by Godfrey J. Ellis – 12×16 Acrylic July 2020

This wedding portrait of David and Gina Ellis emphasizes the fun and bubbly personalities that both of them enjoy and share. It wasn’t meant to be a formal wedding portrait like others I’ve painted; it was meant to be a fun one, hence the bubbles and David’s open mouth   It was also unusual in that the bubbles floated outside the main part of the painting onto the mat (which was painted, not “real”). Godfrey posted an early version on a FaceBook website to get help, mainly with Gina’s eyes.  To his surprise (shock?), Gina’s mother saw it there and was horrified that it looked “disrespectful” of her son and unflattering of her daughter! She contacted me to recommend that I give up on this reference photo and begin from scratch with another painting.  That wasn’t the thing to say to, given that I was already frustrated with the painting and it was going through the awkward stage that many paintings go through.  Still, he was more worried about the mother’s negative reaction than actually hurt. Both Merry and I had chosen the reference photo specifically because of his open mouth and excited expression.  And Gina’s eyes were, indeed, not correct – they were also not finished.  It all ended well. Stephanie saw the final painting and said, “Well done” with a thumbs-up emoji.  That was a relief! Below is the original reference photo. 

Below is a photo of David and Gina with the painting.

Below are three photos of the stages of the painting, Gina’s mother saw the version on the far right at the point I was struggling with trying to capture Gina’s resemblance.