Wild and Wacky (Brewer)

by Godfrey J. Ellis – 12×16 Acrylic March 2023

This portrait was of – believe it or not – our Honda salesman. He was super-nice but, by his own self-identification, “wild and wacky.” We got to talking and I mentioned painting and he wanted one for his wife’s birthday. Long story, short, I did this as a freebie because I thought the photo would be fun to paint.

Another funny part of this funny story is that we ended up buying a Kia, not a Honda! My wife does NOT like the background but I think it grows on you. What do you think? We did not expect the reaction we got when we gave this to him. He erupted into an extended laughing fit. Then he looked at it again and broke into another episode of laughter. Then looked at it again, and broke into more laughter. He said he absolutely loved it — and he loved the wild background, too, which was a relief. He said it looked just like him and that he “has had to look at that nose for 38 years!” He was very happy. (The lighting is a little different but it still looks like him.)

Here is him holding the painting.

Below are four photos of the development of the portrait: