Pensive Moment

by Godfrey Ellis – 11×14 Acrylic Oct 2019

As she was on a walk with her father one morning, this lovely young girl (Jenna, one of my granddaughters) had a thoughtful moment. I thought the photo that her father, Braden, had snapped looked like a fashion model from a glossy magazine. I wanted to paint it as a Christmas 2019 gift.  It was, by far, the most difficult painting I had tackled to that time.  For one thing, Jenna was wearing a jacket and shirt that were essentiall the same color – how, then, to differentiate the two garments?  Even more difficult, Jenna was demurely looking down and to one side with unusual shadows on the face.  Still, the expression was very soft and sweet and I wanted to paint it for them as a Christmas gift. I was generally pleased with it and specifically liked how the water came out.

Below is a photo with her holding the Christmas gift. You might have noticed that Jenna’s teeth are protruding in the reference photo and painting. Between that photo and the one below, she was fitted with braces, as you can see.