Jumping Joy (Ellis)

by Godfrey J. Ellis — Acrylic 14×18 March 2022

For our Christmas present last December, Braden commissioned a painting from me. He said, “You choose any of my photos on FaceBook. Then, you paint it, I pay for it, and you keep it.” There was a highly unusual and creative Christmas present!.  I chose this photo of Katie and Tyler at the beach joyously jumping high in the air. 

Here’s the photo I chose. With the bright sun and blue waves behind them, the scene made them into a dramatic silhouette.  As I played with the photo, I used image-editing software to see if I could reveal any details in their forms. I set the “lightness” to maximum and was shocked when it revealed the grandchildren in vivid, if somewhat distorted color.  That also created a beautiful scene.  I posted both photos on the art website and asked 5 or 6 fellow artists to solicit their opinions.  All but one strongly preferred the brighter, lighter version.

Here are various stages in the painting: