I Take You… (Ellis)

by Godfrey J. Ellis – 16×20 Acrylic Sep 2020

Merry was the one who “commissioned” me to paint wedding portraits of three of our sons. AND, she wanted one of our wedding, some 47 years ago, as well. She wanted me to pick out which photo to paint some there was some element of “surprise” in the gift. Most of them had discolored somewhat over time so I tried to restore the true colors. I painted the double portrait when she wasn’t around, which wasn’t always easy in a time of Covid. One of the big challenges, besides getting the resemblances, was her cuff and the hands.

Here we are holding the painting 48 years after the wedding. We still look at each other with love in our eyes. That’s sounds corny, but it’s true.

Below I’ve added three earlier versions of the wedding portrait so you can see how it grew and progressed. The last one has marks around areas that needed more attention.