Spotlight on artist Grace Lyons based at Scarborough's Old Parcels Office Artspace

Grace is a South African artist who moved to Scarborough seven years ago and upon arrival immediately found time to continue her lifelong passion for painting.

Grace first started making art during her five years of homeschooling.

Art has always been a part of her life but these years allowed her to become fully immersed in a creative community, surrounded by artists.

Interestingly Grace is entirely self-taught. Commenting on this Grace said “My lack of formal training has allowed me to organically develop my own style and unique techniques.”

Grace has been painting full-time for two years and specialises in figurative portraits.

She prefers to work with makeup brushes which allow her to gently build up layers of acrylic paint to create a unique tone and texture.

“For my most recent collection of work Brave Ground I have been experimenting with adding gold leaf in the backgrounds which for me symbolises fire and power.

"As a child my parents' art books collection became a source of inspiration and my own contemporary representation of the human figure references the classical sculptures of ancient mythological characters figures I saw in those books.”

Grace juggles her art practice with family life bringing up her four young children.

This means that Grace can often be seen rushing into the studio in the morning while her children are in school and nursery.

Not wanting to waste a single second of her time Grace quickly gets down to work at her easel and last summer Grace found the time to make an art mural at her daughters’ school.

But Grace didn’t want herself to be seen as any sort of superwoman. “I’ve struggled with anxiety and depression most of my life, my art and my family are the things that help me cope. Through my painting, I feel I have become a stronger person.”

There will be an opportunity to see more of Grace’s work at the Old Parcels Office Open Studios later in the year.

Her work can also be found on Instagram @gracelyonsstudio.

Old Parcels Office Artspace is a new arts venue in Scarborough, comprising artist dtudios, gallery and Learning Space, housed in a grade II listed building on Scarborough Railway Station.

“Our aim is to support the cultural regeneration of Scarborough by making art more accessible; bringing high-quality art to Scarborough and by giving innovative artists and performers a platform to show their work in the region,” said its chairwoman Sally Gorham.

The gallery will host its second open exhibition from Saturday February 11 and Sunday March 12. It will be free to view.

Last year’s open exhibition attracted more than 350 entries from more than 140 artists spread across the UK with many artists from the region taking part.