Miles

My 20th and last portrait of 2020 is Miles, a consultant endocrinologist at ‘Leicester Royal Infirmary’

Miles’ wife and GP Sarah bought him some painting lessons for his birthday to help him relax & he had just started taking one day a week, for himself, to practice with his band, ‘Suzy & the Commandos’, in the morning & coming to my studio every week in the afternoon to learn to paint portraits in oils and take his mind to a more relaxing place.

He was getting on really well when the pandemic struck & the painting lessons stopped as he was needed back at the ‘Leicester Royal’ in the Covid wards.

My husband is in the same ‘film-club’ as Miles & Miles sent this photo to the film-club to say ‘Ok Covid, we’re ready for you’, - they’d heard how bad it was from collegues in London in March & knew it was heading to Leicester.

I wanted to paint Miles as my final portrait of this year because it is a hopeful, victorious & defiant image.

We have a vaccine and we will defeat this in time.

Miles’s was the first family we knew to contract Covid this year, they recovered & have now had the vaccine.
He doesn’t know I’ve painted him so I hope it’s a nice surprise!
Big thank you to Miles & Sarah, who always seem so chilled & take everything in their stride!