"This is a painting of my therapist who I have been having therapy from for the past couple of years. She is the first person who has made a big positive impact on my life and has transformed the way I look at my own mental health and life as a whole. I sit in the position of the viewer every week and wanted to paint the image as a present to [] for the help she has given me. I asked [] to dress in what she wanted to wear and wanted it to be celebratory. I wanted the door to be open to be inviting like I had just walked in from the chair outside the door. I wanted the black in her dress to be like a dark emotion that was covered in colour and as a reaction to it as a resolved person who has also experienced what it is to be human. I wanted the book case to be in the same colours as the dress to compliment the dress and the knowledge she knows. When I see her, I speak most of the time and I don’t know [] well, so it is my interpretation of what I see of [] and is my response of [] and what I think [] thinks of me. Her look is supposed to show compassion and humour and is supposed to be about the person I think [] to be and not the therapist I know. It could also be what []’s response to me is." Statement provided by the artist in 2019. The therapists name has been removed until the record can be reviewed.
