The Hero Behind the Mask

"Haneen wanted to show herself in PPE to remember the difficulties during this time. We decided on just the respiratory mask as I really wanted to capture her eyes as she is an ophthalmologist. The painting was carried out over several weeks using oils on a canvas board." 

"Even though you cannot see her smile, you know it is there, shining through the mask. It felt important for me to capture that. During a crisis, the personal touch could all but be forgotten but Susan is a perfect distillation of the spirit of the NHS."

"I was immediately enticed by the reflections in Adam's visor and the look in his eye; I endeavoured to paint the kindness and concern emanating from that tired, overworked eye. I aimed to portray the thin transparency of his visor; he was shielded and yet approachable."

"We discussed the use of PPE which we felt was important to include as it has quickly become a common part of all our lives, especially all key workers. This became the focus of my portrait; it reflected how Rebekah and her team viewed each other in this 'new normal'."

"Sashi sent me three photographs to work with. One of them showed her beautiful smile and I was tempted to paint that one. I chose instead to paint a portrait of her wearing her protective mask as, these days, her patients only see her eyes".

"It was so difficult to get a sense of the brutality of the working conditions by the wearing all the PPE and also to show the real person behind the mask through just their eyes."

"Whilst a mask may hide the face, the eyes reveal a personal story of service and sacrifice, for which we must be forever grateful. Thank you to the NHS."