At age 4, Iris Grace Halmshaw is already making waves in the art world as a talented up and comer. But it’s not just her age that makes her paintings so incredible.
Her parents noticed certain things were different about their daughter soon after she was born in 2009: she wasn’t responding when they would call her name and hardly made eye contact. When they would bring her to socialize in baby groups, she would shake in fear and cling to her mom, Arabella. She even had difficulty connecting to her father and grandparents.
The anxious behavior persisted and, in 2011, Iris was diagnosed with severe autism. She is mostly non-verbal and her parents desperately searched for something to help soothe her frequent bouts of panic and fear. After several unsuccessful attempts, they stumbled upon the one thing that Iris is able to zero in on with complete focus: painting. Sometimes she spends hours on one canvas, sometimes it’s weeks. And the results are breathtaking.
Fable
Cinnabar
Iris in action.
Explosions of Color
Dance To The Oboe
Magic Flute
Sunny Day
Octavia
Early Morning Water
She is often joined by her therapy cat, Thula.
Separation
Blue Water
(H/T: Daily Mail.)
After proudly displaying her first artwork on Facebook, Arabella began getting requests from friends about purchasing their own print of the gorgeous work. Now, her works can be purchased from her website starting at around $60 and she has had some go for over $1,000 in a charity auction.
Be sure to check out the rest of her wonderful watercolors and maybe pick up your own print on her website.
