Grace Bailey, Contemporary Realist Prophetic Artist
connecting the seen with the unseen world........
I won!
'The Wonder Of It All' was my entry in the Warrnambool Easter Art Exhibition. The theme was 'Marvels, Mysteries, and Miracles of Creation.
The beautiful young woman expresses both depth of emotion and intellect, two human attributes that are so hard to fathom. one of our ultimate mysteries.
Interwoven with her image are flowers, a testament to the marvel of metamorphosis from seed to fragrant bloom.
The butterfly symbolizes profound transformation, their journey from humble grub to ethereal beauty mirroring life's miraculous creation.
The bird soars gracefully, embodying the awe-inspiring transition from fragile eggs to majestic creatures of flight, embodying the marvels, mysteries, and miracles of creation."
And she took out the Best In Show Prize.
Singapore, here I come again!
I'm off to Singapore again next week for two weeks to do some planning and painting for a conference for Christian creatives that we're hosting at the end of September in Singapore.
It will be amazing and more deets to come but we're also hosting a nationwide exhibition there of prophetic art.
The dates will be 26th-28th September 2024.
The venue will be the Church of The Good Shepherd, https://g.co/kgs/3F31M9u
Then I'm off to Hong Kong to paint at a women's conference.
New work; "Memories of Lost Love" acrylic on canvas, 80cm x 80cm
I started out to paint beauty.
She ended up being about grieving.
The bittersweet memories of the one you've lost are hard to articulate verbally. The memories are beautiful but elusive and tinged with heartbreak.
The fading magnolias represent the shifting focus of those memories. Her red dress represents the deep love and the longing for just one more glimpse.
So far, 2024 looks like;
- A marketplace stand of prophetic art with Live to Love Conference in Adelaide.
- An exhibition in Geelong at Sequel Gallery.
- Kicking off the tutored online course for Painting Powerhouse.
- Winner, Best In Show, Warrnambool Easter Art Show.
- A group exhibition of flowers in March at the Melbourne Flower Show.
- Zoom supplement to Painting Birds and Painting Contemporary Flowers, starting April 16th and 17th.
- Singapore, Hong Kong and Macau, May 29th - June 10th.
- Stir Conference, Melbourne, July 12th -13th.
- Singapore, and Malaysia, 22nd July -4th August
- Freedom Encounter Conference, Singapore,26th September - 28th September.
- Hong Kong women's conference, 12 -13th October.
Stir Conference 2024
It's always an honour to paint at conferences.
Stir Conference in Melbourne was amazing, last weekend, 12th -13th July. Being a youth conference the energy was off the charts, the worship was fabulous but best of all, the Presence of God was very tangible.
The work I felt called to paint represents an angel in prayer over Melbourne.
So much Happened in 2023.....
Last year (2023) was a whirlwind and I loved it
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I began the year with a solo exhibition, works in six combined exhibitions, hosted five workshops, was published in two books, and painted live in Singapore, Melbourne, Warrnambool and Ballarat. In May I went to Thailand, Laos and Singapore. For the latest update, go here It was action-packed and amazing! Workshops, live painting sessions, worship night, visits to children's homes and a hill-tribe village and more. Check out the story.
And all that was before July had finished. I went on to paint at Stir Youth Conference in Melbourne, hosted more workshops in America and New Zealand, and painted live at two venues in New Zealand. As soon as I got home I filmed and published the new Painting Contemporary Flowers Course, and then spent a month painting for an exhibition at the Inner Art Fair in Melbourne. I jumped on a plane to China and even managed to spend a week in Tasmania with my family at the very end of the year. |
Are you ready to kick off the year and begin painting?
Last year was a whirlwind and suddenly we’re past Easter!
Did you tell yourself at New Year’s this year that you’d paint more/do a course/ learn how to nail that method of painting?
Most of you would know that I have high-quality stand-alone online courses at https://gracebailey.net/online-courses/
Painting Powerhouse is a fabulous course to learn all the stuff that you wished someone had told you about.
It underpins much of the 'art theory'. (Don't run for the hills, it's not boring.) You'll understand composition, tone, colour mixing, and loads of other stuff. I wrote this course because I found that I was saying the same things over and over again in classes. It's stuff every artist should have an idea about. (And it's amazing how often I've come across people who have been painting for a long time and don't understand some of this stuff).
You'll also paint a lion because it's a good way to learn.
If you've never painted before and don't know where to start (or think you need some tips), I'd start with Painting Basics.
Painting Basics will be super quick. It's just an overview of what to buy and how to set up. You may already know lots of it but it's worth a watch anyway.
Check it out here:
These two courses will form an underpinning of skills then for you to pursue your style and what makes your art tick because you'll know what to do.
(The 'how' to do it may take more time.......!!!!!)
( I'm still learning......)
Check out Painting Powerhouse here; I’m really proud of this course. I think it hits a lot of goals and is really high quality. It is jammed with videos of how-to-do plus workbooks for each module.
Hope to see you onboard
Latest Course......
Painting Contemporary Flowers
The course is a quick fun one to learn some techniques and create six finished pieces.
You'll get; Comprehensive videos to watch as many times as you need, and a downloadable workbook.
You don't need to have painting experience to do these works as there are step-by-step instructions. And if you have a little more experience, you'll love the later exercises.
These are the kind of paintings that you'll do but maybe subject to change. Drop me an email at [email protected] for more info and to register.
Still Standing! Exhibition at sequel Gallery, Geelong, February 2024.
Following the sudden death of my niece and then my son, 10 months later, these works evolved.
They're strong, beautiful women who look out through veils that resemble flowers, insects, or cracks.
The veils represent lockdown, suppression, depression or a whole host of other things but in the end, they're........still standing!
The underlying theme is to depict beauty, and strength, whether overtly or as a concept within the work designed to bring out the good, the noble or the lovely.
I draw my images with great care and then let the paint find its own path to actively go after the happy accident.
This body of work is called "Still Standing". It was included in an exhibition in Geelong throughout February.
Start Your Own Art Adventure With Online Courses
Learn all the stuff you need to know and wish that someone had taught you.
- Composition
- Colour
- Drawing
- Tone
- Form
- Backgrounds
- Quality videos to watch as many times as you need.
- Workbooks with step-by-step exercises
- Dispel confusion.
- Know what to buy.
- How to start.
- How to mix paint.
- How to look after your brushes.
- How to finish, all with a sense of humour!
- Get the confidence to splash out and paint, even if you've never done it before!
Do You Wish You Could Really Paint? Painting Birds is a great place to start.
- Brushstrokes
- Eyes
- Drawing
- Beaks
- Feathers
- Backgrounds
- Quality videos to watch as many times as you need.
- Workbooks with step-by-step exercises
- Create six finished pieces that are all different.
- Comprehensive videos to watch as many times as you need.
- Downloadable workbook for each different painting style.
- No painting experience is needed.
- Step-by-step instructions.
- Extension exercises.
Did you know....
that you can get a high-quality file of most of my images that you can print up to 30” x 30” for $20US? That’s right, from anywhere in the world you can download your image and take it to a printer to create a high-quality reproduction for only $20! It completely cuts out the issues with freight and makes it super quick.
Check out the range here.
"Remember Who's Behind You", painted live at Stir Conference, Melbourne, 2023.
"Resilience", painted live at Ballarat.
Grace's Paintings
Portraits
I Am Woman
Acrylic on Canvas, 100cm x 100cm
$1950AU
Melanie
Acrylic on Canvas, 90cm x 90cm
SOLD
Coming through the hard times
Acrylic on Canvas, 90cm x 90cm
$1950AU
Give me eyes to see the beauty
Acrylic on Canvas, 120cm x 120cm
$1990AU
Jess
Acrylic on Canvas, 120cm x 120cm
SOLD
Looking Forward
Acrylic on Canvas, 90cm x 90cm
SOLD
The Wonder Of It All
Acrylic on Canvas, 120cm x 120cm
$2500AU
Metamorphosis
Acrylic on Canvas, 120cm x 120cm
$1490AU
Abstracts
These works came out of time of deep grief for my son, who passed away unexpectedly last July.
Initially, I didn’t think I would ever paint again.
He was my best friend. The one person I talked to about my art and it’s practise. The one person who was always at every exhibition and every public art appearance and now he wasn’t there.
But gradually, I gravitated to the studio. I had no intention in mind. I started to play around and gradually, it drew me in and I kept going.
I thought I was creating abstract images but after a while, I began to see I’d been painting subconscious subjects. Images that illustrated the crossover between our dimension and the one my son now inhabits.
In doing so, they became Works of Healing.
Birds
Crested Hawk
Acrylic on Canvas, 75cm x 50cm
$400AU
Tui
Acrylic on Canvas, 120cm x 120cm
SOLD
Cockatiel
Acrylic on Canvas, 75cm x 50cm
$400AU
The birds all represent different personality traits. Which one do you connect with?
Animals
Free Spirit, (Fox)
Acrylic on Canvas, 75cm x 50cm
$1950AU
Ox
Acrylic on Canvas, 120cm x 120cm
SOLD
Resilience
Acrylic on Canvas, 120cm x 120cm
SOLD
Gentleness
Acrylic on Canvas, 75cm x 50cm
$1950AU
The Honey Is Coming
Acrylic on Canvas, 150cm x 120cm SOLD
Love
Acrylic on Canvas, 120cm x 120cm
SOLD
Books
Testimonials
Start Your Own Art Adventure With Online Courses
Do You Wish You Could Really Paint?
- Brushstrokes
- Eyes
- Drawing
- Beaks
- Feathers
- Backgrounds
- Workbooks with step-by-step exercises
who is grace bailey?
Once upon a time, I was a watercolour painter for the sheer love of it. I adored how watercolour takes its own path if you let it! Mix pigment with water and it flows and not always how you expect…..
Then I went off to uni and got a Masters in realist oil portraiture. Despite moving to oils, I used the watercolour technique of loads of medium (turps) and let the paint take its own way!
Years later I discovered the immediacy of acrylics!
And then I began painting live. A lot. In front of an audience with a limited time span.
Hundreds of times…..
Which meant make it quick, baby! It developed my style into a much quicker application than ever before, creating a wonderful looseness and life.
As an artist, It felt like a coming of age of style after so many years of painting realistically.
I use large brushes, loads of water and let the pigment take it’s own path, up to a point. But I still use the realist focus on eyes to ground the works, whether they are people portraits or bird and animal portraits. (My bird and animal paintings are portraits of a personality trait that people have)…..
The artsy language defines that as….. metaphors for the human condition…..