Portraits For NHS Heroes

Portraits for NHS Heroes

During the Lockdown of 2020, the artist Tom Croft created a project to find a way to thank all of the healthcare workers of the country, for their unwavering work during the Covid pandemic. He decided to give a free oil portrait to the first NHS worker to contact him. He was so overwhelmed by requests that he opened the idea to his followers on Instagram. I decided to join in; I wanted to do something to show my appreciation. I was very quickly inundated with requests, and chose the first person who had contacted me with a request. I enjoyed the process and found the whole initiative very moving. This led me to paint two more portraits. The joy in giving these portraits to the NHS staff that I painted was huge. To see how happy the portraits made them, and hearing the stories of the lives of the sitters, was one of the best bits of the lockdown period. I am so proud to have taken part, and am even more thrilled to have one of my paintings as part of the online exhibition that Tom curated in partnership with Google Arts and Culture. 
You can find the exhibition here:
You can find my portrait here:

I Am Smiling Behind This Mask

(Portrait of Dr Shohaib Ali, London)

Portrait of Dr Anna Stilwell, London

Portrait of Alison, Radiographer, Fife.

Copyright 2021 Jael O'Connor