Santa’s Sleigh (Vern)

by Godfrey J. Ellis – 16×20 Acrylic 2020

The garbage collector came by on Christmas Eve wearing a Santa hat and riding in a most curious sleigh. I took a photo of him. No, I’m not desperate for people to paint…. exactly…. but it was cute and I knew it would mean a lot to him. He seemed pleased to have his picture taken, but he had no idea that anyone was going to paint his portrait. I spent the next week painting it as a surprise gift for him.
Below is the reference photo.

A week later, on New Year’s Eve, he came back around on his regular rounds. That gave me a chance to give him my garbage, err… I mean my painting! Ha, ha! He said that I had amazing skills, he thanked me for “making his beard look better than it really was,” and said that the other driver’s would be jealous! So, there you go. Below is a photo of him holding it.

I’m including some photos of early versions of the painting as it emerged.