Powder Blue (Nies)

by Godfrey J. Ellis – 12×16 acrylic 2020

In this portrait of our friend Carol, I tried to strike a balance between realism of the wrinkles and flattery for the subject. I don’t know if I achieved the perfect balance but I tried. This was a difficult painting in many ways and I ran into roadblocks that I had to try and solve. It ended up being one of my favorite portraits.

Carol was very worried about my painting it because the photo that I took was spontaneous and she hadn’t “fixed her hair” but when it was finished, she was pleased. Here is a photo of her holding the painting.

Below are three photos of the portrait at different stages of the painting. The red markings indicated areas that needed more attention: