HI, I'm Grace Bailey and this is some of my story....
My contemporary realist paintings explore the intersection of the seen and the unseen. I partner with the ‘Other’—the Spirit of God—to create glimpses of the supernatural and how it weaves through our everyday lives. In other words, I am a prophetic artist paainting visual messages from God.
Over the years, I’ve painted live in hundreds of venues—from African orphanages to art festivals, churches, and conferences across America, England, Fiji, and New Zealand. In 2023 and 2024 I added the U.S. and New Zealand to the list again, as well as Macao and Hong Kong. 2025 is taking me to Singapore and Brussels.
There was a season where I focused on animals and birds—portraits that represented human personality traits and spoke of the good, the noble, and the lovely in people and places. In artsy terms, I suppose they were metaphors for the human condition.
These days, I’ve come full circle, returning to portraiture—but with a twist. The faces I paint carry stories. Sometimes they're layered with symbols, sometimes transparent, sometimes prophetic. Always seeking to reflect something deeper than skin-deep and to depict beauty.
When I’m not painting overseas, I’m usually in my enormous, light-filled studio in Highton (surrounded by half-finished canvases and cups of coffee), teaching workshops or creating courses that help others recognize and release their own creativity. My book, Painting with God, offers insights and guidance for anyone wanting to explore prophetic art. I’m passionate about helping others develop or unlock their creative potential.
Ephemeral women series
After my son's passing, I created a series of ephemeral women, who peer through layers of reality—symbolized by abstracted flowers, birds, and insects. These elements speak not only to the disconnection caused by the lockdowns, a time of isolation and reflection, but also to the internal and external pain inflicted upon us. They focus on the inherent beauty about them in the midst of pain; resilience despite the layers of hardship.
This series reflects not only my own years of experience, pain, and turmoil but also the generational legacy of the women who came before me. Their stories are written in the very fabric of my identity—women who arrived as illiterate convicts, yet carried with them an inner strength that I now carry within me.
We are a family of strong women.
I am the first to have the freedom to develop my creativity.
How I paint.....
I love how paint will take it’s own path if you let it.
Mix pigment with medium and it flows and not always how you expect…..
It was a discovery I made very early when I started off with watercolour. I still love the sensuousness of pigment mixed with medium and allowed to find it’s own way.
That’s where I started. Then I went off to uni and got a Masters in realist oil portraiture and drawing. Despite moving to oils, I used the watercolour technique of loads of medium (turps) and let the paint take it’s own path! It makes for the most interesting discoveries!
I came out of uni all bushy-eyed and believing that I could make it as an artist till I didn’t. What resulted was I closed up my studio and didn’t cross the threshold for 2 years. It was a 2 year dark night of the soul when I didn’t paint at all. I believed I’d failed as an artist because of the difficulties with marketing.
Eventually, I began again, very tentatively, by exploring the deeper, the unseen world. The supernatural and how it affects us. I partnered with the ‘other’ and began painting live. A lot. In front of an audience with a limited time span. There's lots more about my story in my book, "Painting With God", available here as a download.
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. |
Early on, A year of painting live
The images above are part of a project I did where I painted every week during worship for a whole year. Read all about it in the "Painting With God' book.
I went on to do it hundreds of times….. In multiple overseas countries from an African orphanage to America and England with Fiji and New Zealand along the way. I’ve painted in front of crowds of 10,000 multiple times.
Right at the beginning of the painting live journey!
I was honoured to be asked to participate in Easterfest in Toowoomba, and let me tell you—it was an absolute blast! The energy, the people, and the opportunity to share my art with such an incredible crowd was truly a highlight.
I'm a member of the Matt Tommey Christian Artist Directory
This is a recent podcast I did with Dr Zali O'Dea for Face Equality Week.