Nurse Ellen was Lisa Timmerman’s ninth finished oil painting as part of the social media campaign, #portraitfornhsheroes, in 2020.
Ellen was twenty-three at this time, having raised her three-year old son during her nurse training. After qualifying in 2018, she spent six months on the acute respiratory ward. Shortly after, Ellen started working in the Intensive Care Unit at Kettering General Hospital, Northamptonshire.
Her friend, Beth, who nominated Ellen, said:
“She is a lovely, kind, caring, hardworking young lady who, in her second year of nursing, has been working in ICU due to her abilities.”
The consequential painting is a collage of photos sent to Lisa before and during the pandemic. Ellen, with a face of “perfectly contoured full makeup” on the left, has her arm outstretched as if she is taking a photograph. This not only demonstrates a sense of pride in her appearance, but also her dream role in an impressively short amount of time.
The central figure looks distinctly futuristic and would be unrecognisable if it weren’t for the pair of glasses also on Ellen’s forehead. This masked individual conjoins with an abstract section of Ellen’s face. It highlights the red marks left on Ellen’s nose from wearing the extensive protective clothing. Her drooping eyelids communicate a forlorn expression, as if from distress as well as exhaustion.
According to Lisa, there is immense joy within the family felt for Ellen as a key worker:
“Her mother, Claire, is so proud of her daughter and I can see why.”
To view more of Lisa’s portraits of NHS Heroes and read their stories, visit her website.
A Painter's Life 