Diary of a Painting - The Patient (213 x 366cm)
In 2007 I was invited by Aberdeen University and The Grampian Hospitals Arts Trust to submit a proposal for a work to be installed in the new Suttie Centre being built on the Foresterhill site to house Clinical Skills, the Anatomy Department, conference suite and lecture theatre.
The brief was specific, in that it should relate to the work experiences undertaken by health care professionals and to the Hippocratic Oath. The research was gathered in the form of a few hundred photographs taken in different areas of the Hospital and Medical School. The first response was a series of small studies looking at various possibilities then a large drawing putting it all together. I started the work in January 2008 taking a month to enlarge the drawing by means of a grid onto the panels. Once blown up in scale many alterations and additions had to be made. I finally completed the work in May 2009. The series of images show the painting through some of its different stages, starting with the original drawing. Where do you begin ? I began with the anatomical cast as it was the most colourful and difficult piece to paint and everything else had to relate to it , so it was not isolated. One of the last things I painted was the pattern on the patient’s nightdress. THE PATIENT - Oil on Panels 213 x 366cm Collection: Aberdeen University Click on the preview images below to see a larger picture. |