Young artist wins prestigious scholarship for portfolio of paintings inspired by her late grandmother’s house

A portfolio of paintings inspired by items left in the rooms of her late grandmother’s house has won a prestigious scholarship for a young artist at the National Eisteddfod.

The Young Artist Scholarship was awarded to artist Elena Grace from Cardiff at the 2024 Rhondda Cynon Taf National Eisteddfod.

The scholarship was established to promote visual arts and craft in Wales. The scholarship is awarded to the most promising candidate to enable them to follow a course at a recognised art and design school or college or attend master classes. The scholarship is open to those under the age of 25.

Elena presented a portfolio of oil paintings for the selectors to consider for the Scholarship.

She said the paintings of everyday things tell a story beyond the picture frame.

Undertones

“The pictures reflect the time when I moved into my grandmother’s house after she died and how the things she left behind gained significance.

“The paintings feature muted grey undertones and soft brush techniques in oil, referencing personal photographs and ones that I found.

“Through painting I consider my sentimentality of familiar locations and possessions. Searching for memories in these ordinary domestic spaces. Thinking of them as ‘quiet spaces’ – everyday, ordinary scenes.

“As I draw I try to include images such as chairs, open books, mugs – interactive objects that give a sense of presence – which indicate that a person has just left the frame. This ambiguity in life builds a narrative behind the work that draws on themes of memory and attachment to place.”

‘Sensitive’ 

One of the selectors, Ffion Rhys, said of the artist’s work, “Her paintings are beautiful sensitive portraits of quiet domestic scenes, and her choice of a palette of muted warm grey colours creates a contemplative stillness and space to think.

“She pictures the corners of rooms, empty tennis courts, wash basins, tables and chairs in the garden, a mug, and an open book on a table, as if someone has just left.”

Elena says she is determined to make a name for herself. She graduated with a first class honours degree in Fine Art from Cardiff School of Art and Design, part of the city’s Metropolitan University, two years ago.

“I hope to follow a master’s degree course in London next year and the scholarship will go towards those fees,” she said.

This year is the first time that Elena has presented work to the National Eisteddfod and she added that this has been her ambition for years.

“My mother and grandmother were interested in the Eisteddfod and I’ve been to Y Lle Celf several times, it’s an exciting event,” she said.

Since submitting work to the Eisteddfod she has curated an exhibition in Cardiff Bay and collaborated in an exhibition in the city centre.

After the Eisteddfod she will prepare work for an exhibition at Turner House, Penarth which will open in February 2025.

In addition to the scholarship of £1,500 Elena will be offered a space to exhibit her work in Y Lle Celf at the Wrecsam National Eisteddfod next year.

Y Lle Celf will be open on the National Eisteddfod Maes in Ynysangharad Park, Pontypridd from 3-10 August. For more details go to www.eisteddfod.wales.