I'm not really a portrait painter but I dabble! During the pandemic in 2020, inspired by Tom Croft's incredible idea, along with hundreds of other artists, I did loads of portrait paintings of and for NHS heroes. Here's some of them (plus Reggie) in the form of a collage:
The movement (I call it that because it took off in a huge way that nobody was expecting!) culminated in exhibitions, a book, and some of the portraits making it into the Google Arts and Culture collection Paintings in Hospitals:
Paintings in Hospitals
London, United Kingdom
Paintings in Hospitals is a national charity dedicated to using world-class art to inspire better health for people in the UK. Founded in 1959, the Paintings in Hospitals art collection is the first and only national collection curated with the specific purpose of improving people's mental and physical wellbeing.
The collection holds 4,000 artworks, including pieces by Bridget Riley, Antony Gormley, Josef Albers, Maggi Hambling, Ian Davenport, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, Elizabeth Blackadder, Helen Chadwick, Alexander Calder and many more.
Artworks from the Paintings in Hospitals collection are on public display in over 100 health and social care organisations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
This page features artworks from the Healthcare Heroes exhibition, an incredible series of portraits painted to celebrate the staff, caregivers and role art played during the COVID-19 crisis.
Here's my painting of Dr Cole in Google Arts and Culture
The same painting is in the Bloomsbury book Portraits for NHS Heroes available on their website.
Many of the artworks can be seen on Instagram
Paintings in Hospitals is a charity, please take a look at their work and consider donating if you can - art changes everything.