Lockdown Self-Portrait, 2021, oil on canvas, 70 x 100cm

Tatiana Art Prize Finalist 2021

This painting encapsulates my time at home during isolation. I took the reference photograph for this painting using a self-timer. In this image I am seated, my face stares down at my iPhone. The handmade mask my friend made me is on my face. This image was captured and then painted in my home where I worked and cared for my foster daughter during lockdown. Next to the chair I am seated on I have placed the framed image with the text ‘Always be Kind’, this image is usually hung next to my garage door, reminding me and my daughter to Always be Kind as we leave the house. I never appreciated how much I relied on my face to communicate to others until my face was so often covered, I never noticed how often I smiled at others and my daughter in the supermarket or when we are out on our walks. In front of the sign are some paint brushes, a mug of coffee and a small vase of flowers. It was always the little things I looked for to brighten my days spent at home; time painting, enjoying a hot drink and fresh flowers. Despite being in lockdown with my daughter, I felt very alone and heavily disconnected from the world. I spent too much time on my iPhone, and yet I also had to constantly remind myself to use my phone to reach out to others.