The model in this picture is a young woman named Resty, who, until recently, worked in a supermarket somewhere in Kampala. Friendly and thoughtful, she was very easily convinced of the seriousness of the project, and it helped that she had studied art up to her O levels. This is the second in a planned series of four paintings describing Ugandan women in various stages of washing, this being deemed an interesting enough subject that it should be immortalized in monumental artworks. Ocom has completed two so far, the other being Ritah (Portrait of a Ugandan Woman after Washing). If models can be found, the other two paintings would depict a woman thinking about washing and another, covered in suds and squatting behind the inevitable bucket, presently washing. The most gifted Ugandan artist of his generation, Ocom is a terrific draughtsman and a painter of thoughts and ideas.
