A Massachusetts artist is paying tribute to health care workers through his painting, part of a movement to honor the people risking their lives to save people with COVID-19 that started overseas.
“I have been sitting at home during this shutdown and I saw what’s going on and I thought, this is a great way to give back to those who are in the thick of it,” said Chris Lovely, who is also a framing business owner in Rowley.
It’s a project that took off in the United Kingdom and has now made its way to the United States. The portraits can be found all over Instagram under the hashtag, #PortraitsforHealthHeroes or #PortraitsforUSHeroes.
“It really means a lot. It made me really, really happy,” said physician assistant Jillian Crowley, who received one of Lovely's portraits.
The piece of art was a touching gift after weeks of emotionally draining nights on the front lines battling the novel coronavirus.
“It’s priceless and timeless, and captures a moment in my career that I will always be able to look back on,” Crowley said.
Each portrait takes Lovely a week to complete, working from a photograph the subject gives him. So far he has completed three.
Requests for him to create more portraits are beginning to pile up. Lovely described the flood of requests as “a little overwhelming."
The point of the portraits for Lovely, and many other artists, is to offer up their painting talent to pay tribute to those who are stepping up during the pandemic.
“Just keep them in mind, and what they are going through, that’s the most important thing,” Lovely said.
The artist said he is not sure how many more portraits he will create, but the reaction from the three health care workers he has painted so far was an overwhelming amount of thanks.
