Artist's Bio

Merlene Ellis is an internationally acclaimed artist who was born in Guyana. She lives in Guyana. Ms. Ellis is a watercolorist who also paints on canvas with a unique self-taught impasto application using oil and acrylic medium. 

Seventeen of Ms. Ellis’ paintings are part of the Guyana National Collection of Guyana.  Acquired paintings are in institutional collections, private collections – locally, regionally and internationally. In 2013 Ellis was honored by the Guyana Cultural Association of New York, and awarded with a plaque and two City Council Citation Statements for Originality and Production of Cultural Themes.

Statement

This is a painting of a Guyanese boy dressed up in an Emancipation outfit. Guyana will be celebrating Emancipation Day on August 1st. The painting celebrates the heritage of Guyanese of African descent.