Delicate Touch in Painting Translates to Ophthalmology

36”x48”
Mixed media: graphite and silk flowers on canvas

16”x20”
Acrylic on canvas

co-created by Jaclyn Gurwin and Steve Chukwulebe
48”x12”
Mixed Media: charcoal, glue, spray paint and acrylic on wood panel
Artist Statement:
Dr. Jaclyn Gurwin, a third year Ophthalmology resident at the University of Pennsylvania’s Scheie Eye Institute, has been drawing and painting since a young age. As a fine arts minor at the University of Pennsylvania, she received formal art training that helped hone visual and technical skills that have since been very helpful in her medical career.
Dr. Gurwin’s paintings are especially delicate. Her meticulous work requires close examination to appreciate all the nuances of color and line variations happening within her paintings. Yet despite their impressive attention to detail, her works remain soft and unforced in their intricacy. The physical dexterity and artistic eye needed to create her paintings is something that has translated exceptionally well to the precise work she must do surgically on the eye in ophthalmology, which Dr. Gurwin sees as an extraordinarily artistic field. Dr. Gurwin attributes her art background to providing her with the creative tools that help her problem solve in the operating room to create the best aesthetic and functional result possible.
Read a Q&A with Dr. Gurwin here.