Grace is a visual artist who specialises in portraiture with an increasing emphasis on large scale eyes and closeup enlarged faces.

The eyes are commonly credited with the connection or window to the soul of the  inner man  and it is this connection that her work pursues.  It tries to get inside the skin or ‘into’ the inner man, to portray the essence of who that person is now – the compilation of their past experiences and current lives.

A recurring theme has dealt with subjects who have had to overcome difficult circumstances such as child abuse, war, living in a refugee camp, mental illness and others.  Her works are powerful and usually large, painted on canvas and often incorporate the addition of mixed media such as paper, sand and other textural effects.

Grace tutors life and portrait drawing at the Art Gallery of  Ballarat.

gracegbailey@gmail.com