NHS Portrait Series
I have recently finished a free NHS Portrait Series, highlighting the diligent and attentive work from NHS staff during the pandemic. Each portrait in the series takes anywhere from 50 to over 200 hours to complete, and consists of thousands of dots in a pointillism style.
The portrait series is currently being exhibited at my solo show, Gobaith/Hope, an exhibition in Singleton Hospital from 16th of March 2022 debuting the full collection of portraits.
To find the nominees, I post on social media and send emails off to some contacts that I have that work in the NHS. The only requirement needed for the portraits is that they work for the NHS in any capacity, as I feel that it’s the least I can do to show my appreciation for their hard work during the pandemic. The nominee receives a free portrait, a high quality art print and the chance to be featured in future exhibitions and competitions.
Consisting of thousands of dots, this A3 portrait took over 200 hours to complete in a pointillism style with no outlines. The portrait is of Charlotte, who was nominated by Laura as part of my NHS Portrait Series. Charlotte is a critical care ODP working at Northampton General Hospital.
This is the second portrait in my NHS Portrait series and is slightly smaller than the previous portrait. This A4 portrait was drawn using a 0.05 fineliner in a pointillism style, taking over 50 hours to complete.
The portrait is of David, who was nominated by a friend and colleague for being one of the most hardworking registrars. David is a Respiratory and Intensive Care registrar in London.
This A3 portrait took over 100 hours to complete in a pointillism style with no outlines. The portrait is of Lettisha Howells, a nursery nurse in Singleton Hospital, Swansea, the third portrait in my NHS Portrait Series. Having worked for the NHS for 20 years, Lettisha is a nursery nurse working between neonates and postnatal and has previously worked on paediatrics and paediatric palliative care.
This is the fourth portrait in my NHS Portrait Series, consisting of layers upon layers of dots, taking over 100 hours to complete. The portrait is of the late David E Laws, a consultant paediatric and ophthalmologist at Singleton Hospital. David was nominated by Angela as a wonderful tribute to his wife. Dave cared for and operated on thousands of premature babies during his career and was adored by the patients, parents and staff. As I was born premature myself at Singleton hospital and for several months I was in the care of many doctors and nurses of the NHS, this was a lovely project to work on.
This is the fifth portrait in my NHS Portrait Series, consisting of layers upon layers of dots, taking over 100 hours to complete. The portrait is of a healthcare assistant who works in Morriston Hospital who would prefer to remain anonymous.
This is the sixth portrait in my NHS portrait series. This is Leona Yip, a community dentist who works with patients with challenging medical conditions, learning difficulties, mental and physical disability, special dental conditions and social and behavioral limitation.
This is the seventh portrait in my NHS portrait series. This is Prashanth Venugopal, a registered nurse who moved from India and worked on the COVID ward of Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital for 13 months during the peak of the first and second wave. This portrait took over 200 hours to complete, consisting of thousands of dots, layers upon layers.
This portrait is of Ria Clarke, a brilliant obstetrician and gynaecologist based in England. This is the eighth portrait in my NHS portrait series, taking hundreds of hours to complete, building layers upon layers.
The ninth and final portrait in my NHS Portrait Series is of Morfa. Morfa started Volunteering with the WRVS shop in 2002 at Morriston Hospital before moving over to the Health Board Volunteer Service in 2014. She volunteers on the front desk at the main entrance to the hospital, welcoming individuals as they arrive. Morfa enjoys her volunteering role listening to people who share their problems and directing people to where they need to be. As always, taking over 200 hours to complete, this portrait consists of thousands of dots to add depth and texture to the piece.
A few of the nominees with their copies of their portraits! It's been so lovely to see the participants so happy with the project.
The portrait series has been featured on various blogs and outlets. To name a few, my portrait of Charlotte has been printed in Obscurum magazine and the first issue of King House Art Magazine.
Both my portraits of David and Charlotte have exhibited at the Hearth Gallery in Cardiff.
My portrait of David has been exhibited online as part of the Digital Art and Illustration Print It Exhibition at the Aire Place Studios in Leeds with the physical exhibition TBD due to Covid-19.
The portrait series will be shown at my first solo show, Unsung Heroes, at the Plaza Exhibition Space in Cardiff from the 29th of June - 8th of August at the University Hospital of Llandough.
At the exhibition, I was interviewed by ITV Wales about my nhs portrait series. To see the interview, click here
This series was featured at my first solo show, Unsung Heroes, at the Plaza Exhibition Space at University Hospital Llandough from 29th June – 8th August 2021.
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Dave E Laws
David
Lettisha
Leona