The Jolly Sailor (Jolley)

by Godfrey J. Ellis – 16×20 Acrylic July 2021

This portrait was commissioned by Allen Jolley, the one for whom I had painted, “The Bay of Bengal” as a gift. Since his father was a sailor named Jolly, I had to call this painting, “The Jolly Sailor” and I must say that he looks quite jolly. This was of Allen’s parents when they were married in 1945 just as the United States joined in the struggle against the tyranny of Hitler in WWII. As you can see, the original was a small black and white photo. They wanted this large painting as a heritage of his parents to be passed down through the generations, so I felt a lot of pressure to capture the sweetness and gentleness of the couple, and particular of his mother as a young girl.

Here is a photo of Allen Jolley holding the portraits of his parents’ marriage back in 1945. The is the second painting I did for him. The first, called “The Bay of Bengal” was a gift and this one was a commission. Although he is not smiling here, he really liked this photo and especially how I was lucky enough to capture his mother’s delicate youth.

Below are four photos of the painting as it took form. In the first one, you can see the grid lines. In the third one, the grid lines have been painted over and the first glaze or wash of color has been added. The last one has colored marks for little corrections and tweaks need to be addressed.