by Godfrey J. Ellis – Acrylic 14×18 July 2026 This is the third commissioned paintings for Robert Yancy. I absolutely loved the reference photo (below) and couldn’t wait to paint it. Her expression was priceless. Unfortunately, the lower part of the photo was blocked by a table and there was no way to reproduce his […]
Category: Friends
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 […]
The Straw Hat (Peet)
by Godfrey J. Ellis – Acrylic 14×18 Dec 2025 It can be surprising, sometimes, to tell which paintings will come easily and which will be difficult. This one was quite hard because so much of the face was in shadow with spots of light coming through the straw hat. The photo of the painting is […]
Santa Girl (Shoop)
by Godfrey J. Ellis – Acrylic 14×18 Dec 2025 This little cutie is the granddaughter of a friend of ours. This is the fourth painting he has commissioned. As you can see, I needed to add to the right-hand side and also lighten and brighten her face. Not everyone is onboard with the semi-abstract background […]
The Catch (Brunson)
by Godfrey J. Ellis – Acrylic 14×18 October 2025 This painting was a gift for our friend, Steve. He has done so much for us that this doesn’t begin to pay back. The reference photo is just a snapshot of a King Salmon he had caught on a trip to Alaska. I initially thought the […]
The Waterfall (Haslam)
by Godfrey J. Ellis – Acrylic 14×18 Merry traded a painting for a completed quilt based on cloth photos of our time in France. That was fine, but the quilter wanted a pose in front of a waterfall and that was unpaintable. We found another photo that was better and put it into the waterfall […]
Pinkie Fingers (Bang)
by Godfrey J. Ellis – 14×18 Acrylic – Aug 2025 This portrait is the engagement picture of Soren and Claire. I painted this as a wedding present for the young couple. I loved the almost admiration on the part of Claire. May this couple retain this connection always. As you can see, the original photo […]
Roses Among the Roses (Shoop)
by Godfrey J. Ellis – Acrylic 14×18 June 2025 These are the two grandchildren of my good friend, Ray. The roses were a challenge, but fun to do. The photo had a pink sheen over everything and I tried to tone that down somewhat. They are certainly cute little girls! Below is a photo of […]
The Prez (Nolden)
by Godfrey J. Ellis – Acrylic 14×18 June 2025 All of these wonderful young men and women that I have been painting – almost 100 of them – have to have a leader. This is their mission president. He is a very happy and positive leader and I tried to capture that. As you can […]
Vince and Marcie (for Swass)
by Godfrey J. Ellis – Acrylic 14×18 May 2025 These two are brother and sister and best friends of our friends, Cora and Matt Swass. they commissioned this one as a surprise for Marcie, who plans to come up from L.A. for a visit some time this summer. Below is the reference photo. As you […]