Grace Eden: Self-portraits

Grace Eden is a self taught fine art and documentary photographer from St. Anns in Nottingham. She is also a full time carer still shielding at home and looking after her 77 year old father who has Parkinson’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia.

“My photography covers many genres and styles including Fine Art painterly portraits using my old DSLR camera and also Fine Art Nature photography. Most recently, I have gone back to where my journey started photographically and have refound my love of docu style phone photography.

My journey all started back in 2015 at the Nottingham Recovery College whilst on a Spirituality and Mindfulness course. We were told to take random photographs on our mobile phones as a means of escaping from our mental health challenges. I still find to this day that documenting my life via my camera, helps my Depression and as a result, allows me to cope with my everyday challenges.

Throughout my life I have been in love with the nostalgia of the past and the beautifully emotive work of the Old Masters and Pre-Raphaelite artists. As a self-taught photographer using an old second hand camera, I first set about finding my own style by creating painterly self-portraits. Some of these had their first public showing at the Surface gallery as part of the Off Centre Festival .

Each self portrait has involved an abundance of costumes, fabrics, wigs, candlesticks, books and soul to create scenes that sang of yesteryear; a world that might have existed in the past. I was continually inspired by those masterful artists I admire so much: Vermeer, Rembrandt, Rossetti, just to name but a few. Working with their methods to ensure my portraits were lit enchantingly, playing on the use of light and shade just as the master painters themselves did. These portraits are a combination of love, mischief, memories, dedication, acceptance, beauty, hope, but ultimately LIVING.

The artists that have inspired me through history painted the ebb and flow of life, sorrow in dark brush strokes, love and hope washed with golden light. I too have done the same with my portraits.

The only difference is, I have painted with my camera.”

Follow Grace on her Facebook page.