Clementine Rees Brown speaks to Francis Salvesen about his upcoming exhibition.

This month sees the launch of a new art exhibition in London, themed ‘The joys of being British’. The collection of work features a wide range of subjects, from native wildlife and landscapes to portraits – one of which, Floreas Britannia, depicts a nurse. I spoke to the piece’s creator, Francis Salvesen, on the welcome tribute to one of the nursing professions, and why he felt it was important to have them represented in his latest exhibition.

Francis, thank you for taking the time to speak with me. When did your interest in art first begin?

FS: I have always made art, from a very early age at school. I used to leave the latch of one of the windows of the art block open so that on weekends and evenings I could sneak in and paint! Since then, I have always painted for friends and family, giving the work as gifts for significant birthdays and events. We weren’t really taught art as much in school, it was always viewed as a ‘great hobby’ to have by my parents. It was never considered a potential career, but it eventually became one of my greatest passions.

I started doing more and more painting when I was working on designs in telecoms, and I would have days between meetings when I would be waiting for the technical designs to be figured out. Art started to fill my time more when I was waiting for them to get back to me. The more I painted, the more acquaintances and artists I knew were encouraging me saying, “You should really do this professionally!”. I ummed and ahhed about it and talked it through with my wife who was wonderfully supportive. Then of course Covid hit, and it gave me the time to build a good amount of work for an exhibition. The pandemic didn’t affect my output (except that we had to incorporate home-schooling into our routine). I’m lucky that I live in the countryside where there is a lot of light and space, so there was never a shortage of landscapes or inspiration to paint.

How do you go about deciding what to paint?

FS: I draw on a whole range of subjects. I’m always on the lookout when I am driving in
my car, if I see a particularly lovely cloud formation or landscape I will get out and look at/ photograph it. You have to be an opportunist! It is so important to be there at the right moment to capture the perfect light or a specific time of day. I have painted enough portraits of people now to understand it is vital to be specific about what people want, much like a photoshoot. Exactly the right hairstyle, clothes, or background need to be chosen, or it won’t be an honest representation of who they are.

One of your latest portraits is Floreas Britannia, a nurse, which is going on display in March, can you tell us about the theme of that exhibition?

FS: The theme of the exhibition is ‘The joys of being British’, and a great deal of the inspiration for that came out of Brexit. There was a wave of questioning during Brexit around personal and national identity in the UK, and I wanted to explore: what does it mean to be British? What makes British identity different from any other nation? After researching, I found that there were a lot of traditions still being honoured here in Britain that are not found anywhere else in the world, and many of those had never been captured in a painting! Cheese rolling in Gloucester is an old tradition that continues to this day, but no one had ever painted it! There were some that had truly stood the test of time and are still enjoyed today, and I found that they captured something quite unique and special about British life.

It is interesting you chose to cover/celebrate things which often don’t get the attention or respect they deserve. What was it that made you decide to focus on a nurse, rather than any other member of the healthcare team?

FS: Although the NHS is relatively recent in Britain’s history, it is a deeply important institution and one that the British people care deeply about and hope they will not lose. I wanted to paint something for the NHS from that perspective originally. One evening I had a friend over who had been in and out of the hospital, and we discussed just how much the NHS had done for him (and his family), and how grateful they were for all the care they had received from healthcare professionals of all kinds. We decided it would be a great gesture to give a gift to the NHS, to thank the doctors and nurses and show them how much they meant in British people’s lives, especially after the pandemic.

I thought about this well and hard, and thought the best show of appreciation I could make would be to gift a painting, have some prints developed of the piece and then donate the funds back into the NHS as a ‘thank you’. It was also curious to see just how much enthusiasm there was for healthcare workers and nurses at the beginning of the pandemic (remember the daily ‘claps for the NHS’?). As the pandemic wore on, that enthusiasm seemed to slump and the appreciation was less evident, I thought it very important to remind healthcare workers that they were still highly regarded by many!

The portrait is a great tribute to healthcare workers, who have had an incredibly difficult time over the course of the pandemic. One of the ways which people have coped with the pressure is by leaning on the team around them and particularly on mentors. Mentorship is really important for healthcare and dental professionals. Do you have a mentor?

FS: I have a great friend who is a very successful artist, Alexander Talbot Rice. He travels all over the world to paint prominent personalities and interesting subjects. He has spent years and years of training in St Petersburg and Italy, and I have always admired his devotion to learning more about art and honing his talents. It is wonderful to see each other’s work and how we are both progressing! I believe the number of hours that one spends working at what you do will make you naturally better over time, and I have always followed that example.

Art for you is a profession, but many of the dental nurses reading this will see it just as a hobby and an excellent activity to relieve stress. What advice would you give to someone who is perhaps thinking about wanting to explore art but doesn’t know where to start or how to get going?

FS: Don’t be afraid to give it a try! Have a go at painting a few different things (or trying different mediums, sketching, sculpture, photography, the list goes on!), and do not be shy to show them to family and friends to find out what they think/ if there is something about your work that appeals to them. Portrait painting is a great place to begin, and self-portraiture is a great exercise that can get you up to a good level of confidence. Above all, it is about having fun and getting lost whilst you do it!


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