9th Jan 2024 - Written by Brunelcare
Reading time: 3 minutes
Local Bristol Artist, Mandy, joined Deerhurst’s gallery opening after spending more than six weeks drawing and painting portraits of residents at our Deerhurst Care Home.
Mandy has completed 15 acrylic on-paper painted portraits and 30 sit-and-wait pencil sketches of the residents. All of these now take pride of place in Deerhurst’s art gallery, which had its official opening on Wednesday, 13th December.
Mandy said: “I really enjoyed drawing the residents; it was a pleasure to work with them. I wanted to do something different for the residents, all while captivating my passion for art. It’s a wonderful feeling to see all of my artwork displayed at Deerhurst Care Home’s art gallery, and it’s even more humbling to see how happy it’s made the residents.”
Mandy, who attended an art college in Cardiff, has over 30 years of experience in the artist world and has a creative flair and passion for what she does. Mandy decided to visit Deerhurst and let her creative juices flow after her friend’s father became a resident at the care home. Knowing all the fantastic activities that happen at Deerhurst, Mandy joined in!
Mandy completed 30 seated sketches where the residents would be requested to stay still for 10–15 minutes. Alongside the sit-and-wait portraits, she also photographed the residents and created 15 beautiful painted masterpieces, each one taking her 2–3 days to finish.
Mandy said: “All the residents seemed to love their portraits and were very patient sitting still. It was so lovely to talk to them, and they seemed to enjoy the fuss.”
Lesley Hobbs, Deerhurst’s Care Home Manager, said: “The residents enjoyed Mandy’s company and the attention and focus on them made them feel valued. All the residents thoroughly enjoyed the opening of the art gallery and seeing the end result.”
Mandy may return to Deerhurst next year to draw more of the lovely Deerhurst residents.
