Portrait of Isolation - Wash Your Hands!

This painting highlights the law of unintended consequences.

The subject of the paintings has struggling with OCD for many years - driven by the fear of being unclean and becoming contaminated by dirt and germs – leading to excessing handwashing - at times chapped and red raw with the over washing.

Something they had gotten under control – with a mix of medication and techniques including CBT … until Covid allowed the OCD to thrive and the hand washing to recommence.– sadly years of professional help, medication and family support had been undermined.

Sometimes the idea for a painting comes straightaway – when we talked about the red, raw chapped hands I instantly thought of the visceral paintings of Jenny Saville

RESPONSE : I feel you have completely reflected the inward struggles through the symbol of the hands. The colours also reflect the soreness of the hands and the turmoil of the mind. The viewer clearly knows there is angst in the narrative of the painting

I am completely blown away by it.

This is a link to a BBC piece about managing anxiety and OCD during the pandemic.