A five-year-old girl with autism has garnered praise across Europe, Asia and America for her astonishing artwork.

Iris Grace, who lives with her family in Leicestershire, began painting last year, and has already been praised by buyers, collectors and galleries for her work's intense colour, immediacy, and open composition.

Her paintings are sold to private art collectors in the UK and around the world for thousands of pounds each, with all profits going towards art materials and therapy.

Arabella Carter-Johnson, Iris’s mother, said that Iris loves being outside and that she can see “so much of nature in her paintings”.

Iris with her cat Thula (Arabella Carter-Johnson)

“She will watch water, trees, wind, leaves, flowers, birds, clouds… she is so interested in movement and how it changes things.”

She added that Iris is “very musical” and has been since she was a baby.

Iris Grace and Thula the therapy cat

“It was the one thing that always calmed her,” she said. “Iris is particularly into classical music at the moment and knows all of the orchestra instruments. She adores the violin.”

Iris’s cat Thula is another source of inspiration, and features regularly in her work, such as her painting ‘Raining Cats’.

“There have been a lot of references to Monet because of the Impressionistic style. We have had many artists, dealers and galleries contact us who are very complimentary about her work which is lovely,” Iris's mother said.

“For us though the joy that Iris gets from creating her pieces is the highlight, how it changes her mood, how happy it makes her.”

Due to a lack of awareness, people with autism and their friends, family and carers often struggle to explain just how strong an impact it can have on a person’s life. Iris's mother said that her daughter had great success with play therapy, music therapy, and now a new form of speech therapy which uses video, created by a company called Gemiini.

Iris Grace: Five-year-old artist Show all 9 1 /9 Iris Grace: Five-year-old artist Iris Grace: Five-year-old artist Iris Grace: Five-year-old artist 'Tumpty-Tum' by Iris Grace Iris Carter-Johnson Iris Grace: Five-year-old artist Iris Grace: Five-year-old artist 'Story of the Secret Seahorse' by Iris Grace Iris Carter-Johnson Iris Grace: Five-year-old artist Iris Grace: Five-year-old artist Iris with her cat, Thula (Photo by Arabella Carter-Johnson) Arabella Carter-Johnson Iris Grace: Five-year-old artist Iris Grace: Five-year-old artist 'Raining Cats' by Iris Grace Iris Carter-Johnson Iris Grace: Five-year-old artist Iris Grace: Five-year-old artist 'Anima' by Iris Grace Iris Carter-Johnson Iris Grace: Five-year-old artist Iris Grace: Five-year-old artist Iris (Photo by Arabella Carter-Johnson) Arabella Carter-Johnson Iris Grace: Five-year-old artist Iris Grace: Five-year-old artist Iris (Photo by Arabella Carter-Johnson) Arabella Carter-Johnson Iris Grace: Five-year-old artist Iris Grace: Five-year-old artist Iris at work, with Thula supervising (Photo by Arabella Carter-Johnson) Arabella Carter-Johnson Iris Grace: Five-year-old artist Iris Grace: Five-year-old artist 'Dance to the Oboe' by Iris Grace Iris Carter-Johnson

“By following Iris’s interests, her ‘spark’, I have been able to engage her in many things,’ Iris's mother said.

"We have started our own activity club that supports children with autism, and run that every Saturday morning."

Iris at work (Arabella Carter-Johnson)

Celebrities such as Ashton Kutcher have shared Iris’s work on social media, while three-time BAFTA award winner Olivia Colman showed her support by reading a poem for a video about Iris.