PICTURES: Inverness artist paints portraits of NHS staff to say thanks during coronavirus pandemic
Easier access to your trusted, local news. Subscribe to a digital package and support local news publishing.
An Inverness artist has been producing paintings of health workers as part of the Portraits for NHS Heroes initiative.
The project aims to thank staff for their hard work during the coronavirus crisis.
Ian Whyte had previously worked at Raigmore Hospital as an eye surgeon between 1994 and his retirement in 2017.
When the 63-year-old left work he decided to try his hand at something completely different, so pursued his lifelong interest in art more seriously.
Usually the self-taught artist is based at the Inverness Creative Academy but, since the Covid-19 lockdown, his kitchen has become his temporary studio.
He said he heard about the project when he saw an interview on the TV news.
“They set up this initiative on Instagram – it was set up as a thank you for the NHS workers,” he said. “Anyone who is on Instagram can ask for a free portrait.”
Mr Whyte said so far he had received requests from doctors and nurses across the UK.
“It’s a way for me to say thank you for all their hard work – the feedback I’ve had has been tremendous and it has lifted their spirits,” he added.
The portraits can either can be of the subjects in their NHS scrubs or away from work and Mr Whyte said: “A lot of them have face masks on and PPE.”
He said he was also using NHS colours in the paintings, which include a lot of blue, and he can usually complete one of his sketch portraits within a day.