Got my teeth into this one...

I recently had the pleasure of being asked to paint an NHS orthodontist nurse, as part of a local art challenge to celebrate the wonderful NHS staff working at Dorset County Hospital, and of course I jumped at the chance. 

Artists were paired at random with staff from the hospital, we were then tasked to create the portrait in any style we liked, and to then donate the piece to the staff member. The piece will be a part of a special free to visit exhibition in the hospital before taking pride of place in the staff members home! 

I had a great deal of fun working on this one and it was made all the more exciting by me having no say in who or what I had to paint! 

After seeing the photo I decided to hone in on both her specific area of expertise and the NHS colours. First of I got started with the background, but solid blue was a little too boring for my tastes, so I decided to take inspiration from the famous NHS blue and the fake choppers she's holding in the photo. Eventually I settled on a Tooth Fairy theme. 

​I am extremely happy with the end result and hope that it brings some joy to NHS staff who, regardless of what they specialise in, have all had one hell of a year! 

I'll update this blog post with more info and specific details about the local art challenge as and when I receive it. 

Update 10/04/2021: 

This morning I had the privilege of handing over the completed painting to the lovely Emma, as you can tell from the pics below she was delighted; and she loved the fairy theme too!