This is a watercolor portrait of Ellie the year she graduated from Syracuse University. Ellie used to work in the coffee shop in Hendrick's Chapel. Ellie knew everyone's name, knew how they preferred their coffee, and met everyone with enthusiasm and a great smile. She was also delightfully "crazy" and yet had a "no nonsense" side to her as well. She would make a wonderful teacher and eventually entered a graduate program leading to teacher certification. Just before Ellie graduated, she posed for me in the great light of the Hendrick's Chapel. I've turned two of the over 100 photos of Ellie into paintings. My first painting was done with pastel and the second (shown here) was painted with watercolor. Both paintings show Ellie in a serious or contemplative mood. I'm not quite sure why I was drawn to the more somber mood, but it surely wasn't her typical demeanor. The more technical goals of this painting were: to loosen up, cut back on detail, leave white paper, and reveal some of the defining properties of watercolor. I made some progress toward meeting those goals, but I still have a long way to go.
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