Margate artist creates fantastic NHS and key worker portraits as part of national ‘thank you’ scheme

NHS worker portraits by Louise Hynes

A Margate artist has been creating fabulous free portraits of NHS workers as part of a national project.

Mum-of-three Louise Hynes has created four portraits as a way of saying thank you to NHS and key workers who have put themselves on the frontline during the coronavirus pandemic.

Louise, who also creates works showing Thanet’s coastline, was previously shortlisted for the Turner Fringe prize and complimented by  judges including Tracy Emin for her painting of the Nayland shelter at Margate Sands made famous by TS Eliot.

Louise (a selfie)

She said: “I decided to do a small thing to say thank you to hard working NHS staff by joining in with the Portraits for NHS Heroes scheme just over a month ago.

“Artists offer completely free portraits as a show of gratitude to all NHS and key workers. This is a national project and thousands have taken part.

“It helps that I love to paint and I’m grabbing any opportunity to practice painting portraits because I love looking at faces and find something fascinating in every face I see.

“Apart from that I paint our Thanet coastline, the skies and anything that inspires me . My work has been seen at The Pie Factory twice and soon a third time , Lovely’s in Cliftonville, Taddy’s Barn, and Westgate Galleria had my work just before lockdown started.”

Louise returned to art seriously around six years ago once her two daughters and son had grown up and left home.

She said: “I started an art degree but was persuaded by my family not to continue for fear I’d end up a starving artist! I’ve painted and drawn since I could hold a crayon but once I had a family, life got in the way.

“I came back to it seriously about 6 years ago as the family have all grown up and I can concentrate on painting again.”

Louise is open to commissions for any painting project. She is also offering free portraits to the first two NHS or key workers who contact her.

Find her on Instagram LouiseHynesArt  or on facebook here

Portraits for NHS Heroes

Artist Thomas Croft, at a loss as to what to paint during lockdown, put out an offer on Instagram in April, saying he would paint a free portrait for the first National Health Service (NHS) worker to reply.

This led to him painting a portrait in oils of Manchester Royal Infirmary Accident & Emergency nurse Harriet Durkin.

Croft received so many requests that he eventually put 500 NHS workers in touch with professional artists, who volunteered to paint them.

A virtual exhibition showing some of the portraits was installed at the Fitzrovia Chapel in May using strict government social distancing guidelines. It is available as a virtual tour.

It is planned to have an exhibition of many of the portraits once the pandemic subsides.