ink and tea

welcoming in 2012

Happy New Year!!! – I’ve decided to release a new set of postcards to mark the start of 2012. With a little bit more bite than the previous set, the  four postcard winter pack contains prints of Choke, Guilt, Somewhere and Another Place.  If you would like to buy one of the new packs they are now available to order here and the first sets will be sent out to arrive on the 20th January. Order early to get the 1st editions – I’ll be sending them out on a first come first served basis.

I’m looking forward to a packed january with the London Art Show starting mid January a few commissions on the go and really looking forward to the opening of Art for Heart’s Sake, who will be auctioning a new piece of my work in support of charity Kids Company.  If you would like to attend the charity auction – just post on this blog or send an email to carne@carnegriffiths.com and I will arrange to have an invite sent for the preview on 9th Feb.  More details here http://www.artforheartssake.co.uk/

Stationery whilst moving

One of the things that I get inexplicably excited about is Stationery.  Particularly vintage pieces – so when I opened a small parcel on Xmas day (thank you Mrs Gx) to find 5 x 1950’s Russian and Lithuanian fountain pens lurking under the wrapper I couldn’t get them filled with calligraphy ink and put to work quick enough.  Something about pens, like watches, that have a real sense of time and history, where they have been used, what they have recorded and written and with a ‘new’ pen just how it will write / draw.  Yes – this is geek territory but these are tools of the trade for me…  excused?

I started work on a piece which I am donating to Hanan Levin for a blog he is creating about his beautiful daughter Adora.  For those of you who don’t know, Hanan Levin is the creator of the extraordinary blog ‘grow a brain‘ and more recently ‘Adorable‘ celebrating the birth and formative years of his daughter’s life with artwork and  illustrations by thousands of artists.  The new piece below will appear alongside the others on his blog shortly.  Thank you Hanan & Adora!! – a fantastic project and very happy to be a part of it.

Strength and Another Place

… I’m still reeling from the speed at which everything has been happening recently and so blogs have been coming slowly so I thought I would recap and say a very big ‘Thank You’ to everyone who supported and visited the Journey exhibition over at G90 Finsbury park and particularly Mick and Michelle who put in all the hard work making sure everyone who visited was well looked after.  It was a real pleasure to work with Gallery 90 and I am looking forward to showing work with them again in the future.  Thanks also to those people who have collected and invested in originals of my work and to those who have also bought prints, it has been an amazing year and I am very grateful that I have been given the opportunity to work full time as an artist.

So what next… well hot on the heels of the Journey Exhibition, I have been invited by Debut Contemporary in Notting Hill to submit works for their winter exhibition which opens tomorrow night. 7th Dec.

It is an honour to have been selected from over a thousand artists, and to not only show work with this gallery but to get experience from their excellent workshops which give artists the opportunity to gain industry experience through introductions to experts from a number of fields including curators, practicing artists, publicists and collectors.  The program began earlier today with the opportunity to present an ‘elevator’ style pitch about yourself as an artist.  Public speaking isn’t something I’ve ever been fond of and with a camera in the mix even less so but it didn’t go too badly!  It was a great opportunity also to meet the other artists who will be showing at Debut from Tomorrow night.

So to plan the direction of work over the coming year… I have had several slight changes of direction and experimentations over the last year but have mainly kept both thematic and stylistic elements which I hope identify the work as belonging to me.  Next years challenge will be to take the work in a new direction whilst still maintaining the elements and freedom of line which make the work so enjoyable to make

Another Place

There is a very fine balance in the work between complete freedom, and the constraints put on the work by figurative elements.  A particular piece which I think achieved this was ‘Another Place’ created just before the journey exhibition.  Following on from the works ‘somewhere’ and ‘somewhere else’ the piece focuses on that moment where we allow ourselves to delve inside our unconscious mind, to drift and yet still have some lucid recollection of events, or an awareness of self.  In this respect ‘Another Place’ is, in effect, a drawing of my drawing process – it calls upon personal symbols and shapes important to me and transposes them alongside an image of a daydreaming figure.  The model reference for this piece is photographer Lisa Stefaniak lisastefaniak.com I asked Lisa if I could reference images from a series of photographs she had taken each day over a period of one year.  There is something about the set which gives this feeling of elsewhere – a daydream or a longing and this is what I am trying to capture through a sense of abandonment in drawing.

You can purchase a ltd ed print of this piece here

 

Strength

Another piece which has just been released as a print is Strength.

Strength was a piece created in 2011 in response to the disastrous earthquake in Japan, it was a piece about human resolve and also about the terrifying force of nature.  The concept of the piece is fairly simple A woman stands resilient against the force of the plant roots which try to break apart her figure.  It focuses on the beauty and delicacy of nature and how a tiny flower will break through the toughest of grounds and overcome the harshest surroundings in order to survive

The print has been produced by Fine Art Publishers Harwood King who are well known for their creation of prints for artists such as Dan Baldwin, Hush, Henrik Simonsen, and Andrew McAttee
Details of the print (varnish layers and gold leaf treatments) can be found on Etsy where the first editions are currently for sale.

Strength Ltd ed print available for sale here

images below are actual pictures of the print from Harwood King

 

Live painting at Gallery 90

I’ve decided to take some stretched paper and my usual pencils inks and pens and of course a fine selection of  Tea to gallery 90 for the final weekend of Journey.  I’ll be there on both Saturday and Sunday 12-6pm making a new piece of work whilst people visit the gallery.  It’s something outside of my comfort zone – I normally like to be almost meditative when I work and I may even have to throw on a pair of headphones to be able to work but I think it would be a good experiment.. who knows how the work will turn out – I have nothing planned as yet as I am sure something will occur between now and then which drives the work.

So please – if you can – come along to Gallery 90, enjoy some bubbly & refreshments provided by the gallery (I’ll be on the tea!)

Hope to see you there

Journey – Solo show @ Gallery 90

Journey is an exhibition of drawings made since leaving my full time job as an embroidery designer in 2010.  The exhibition will show different aspects of work and will focus on what I have enjoyed doing most over the last year, portraiture, floral pattern and automatic drawing.


immortal – Ink and tea on paper 60″ x 26″

I often use the word ‘Journey’  to describe the process of making my artwork, always allowing the work to grow organically and change in style in response to each input.
A year ago I was intrigued to know what a years worth of drawing would look like.  This exhibition will show representations of key pieces made from November 2010 -November 2011, and a collection of new works not previously exhibited.

Journey will be showing from the 19th December at Gallery 90, 90 Mountgrove Road London N5 2LT, http://www.gallery90.co.uk

 

Release

Quick update of work from the studio and some images from the latest piece release. Will be getting some details out about November’s show at Gallery 90 soon. Thanks for following. If you are in the leytonstone area tomorrow – drop by to see the work in The Stone Space – I have a new ripped wallpaper peace on show in the Unwrapped exhibition.

Looking to October

Started working on some new pieces for shows coming up in October and now planning a solo show which is pencilled in for the 12th of November, here’s some details of what is coming up

Great to be invited to show 3 new pieces of work for the new show Factory Project which opens on the 13th October, curated by Jewel goodby the show pulls together some of the finest names on the street art scene some of which I was lucky to show with at the red bull studios project earlier this year – it looks like it’s gonna be a top show and will feature artwork and live paints from artists including Inkie – Fin Dac – Zeus – Max Wiedemann – George Morton Clark – Ben Slow – Cosmo Sarson – Danny O’Connor – Milo – Joanna Scislowicz – Belinda Frikh – Laura Tinald – Warren Fox – and the good lady herself – Jewel

Been working on a few ideas for the show and I’m gonna throw some fresh approaches and experimental pieces in there along with a recently finished piece from the studio called devoured.. Getting inspiration from other artists in the Studio @ Norlington Road too – so I doth my cap to Fashion Photographer Arta Kane and painter Paul Cummings  and all those craftsman around whose skills range from stained glass specialists to makers of theatrical animatronics Jonathan & Jeremy.

Here’s the latest piece from the studio which will be making its way to The Hospital Club this month..

Finally I will have some new work as part of the opening show at Leytonstone’s Stone Space.  The show – entitled ‘Unwrapped’ is a curated collection of work from local and guest artists responding to the theme unwrapped and features installation, paste-up work, drawings, paintings, model making and sculpture all within an intimate new gallery space just 5 mins from Leytonstone tube… The exhibition opens this Saturday 1st October plus The Stone Space is celebrating the Launch with a private view on the 13th October. Hope you can make it down – back to the studio for me… & some research for a new body of work…

finally a little shout to inkd gallery  in Brighton – you guys really do rock!

Studio Time

It’s been a busy couple of weeks with this project and that project, upcoming shows and opportunities but I’ve neglected the studio so I thought I’d post a work in progress and fill in a little of what shows are coming up in the month of October

Here’s an as yet untitled piece (I’ve got a couple of ideas for the title but undecided yet how it will finish)  I’ve also been filming some work in the studio against my better judgement! but to use as promo for an upcoming show.. I’ve made a video of part of this work in progress which I will be uploading soon.

So apart from planning some work with local community projects, The Stone Space and helping Co-ordinate the Drawing Crowds exhibition with fellow artist El Bedlow, I have prepared work for upcoming shows and been fortunate enough to have work accepted with the following galleries.

Inkd Gallery – a fantastic space down on North Road in Brighton – They have just received ‘uprooted’ and ‘take cover’ (shown below).  I am particularly pleased with the uprooted piece as it represents an area of drawing which I strive to bring into my work but is not something I can force… if you get a chance to pop into Inkd – ask to have a look at the piece – it may be tucked away in a drawer for safekeeping for now but I’m hoping it will grace their walls soon

  
Uprooted & Take Cover – now showing with Inkd Gallery

Opus have requested 4 pieces from the violence of flowers series, the works Crushed, Taunted, Torn and Smother are available online from their website now.

I will be participating in a number of shows coming up in October,

Multiplied contemporary editions fair at Christies with Eyestorm where I will be showing the ltd edition prints of Rose.

Then in mid October I will be showing some brand new pieces at an exhibition at the Hospital Club with West London Art Factory – put together by Jewel Goodby and featuring the following confirmed artists, Inkie / Carne Griffiths / Max Wiedemann / George Morton-Clarke / Ben Slow / Danny O’Connor / Fin Dac / Zeus / Cosmo Sarson / Milo / Warren J Fox / Jewel / Laura Tinald / Belinda Frikh / Joanna Scislowicz /
Then at the end of October I will be showing 6 original pieces with Eyestorm from the Violence of flowers at the Affordable Art Fair @ Hamspstead Heath….

Then there is a possibility of a solo show at the end of Oct too… but I’ll fill in more about that when I know what’s happening.

If you would like any more information about any of the shows or are interested in any of the work just drop me an email to carne@carnegriffiths.com

 

Looking forward to getting into the studio tomorrow!

 

New work from the Studio & Evening Drinks!

Looking forward to tonight’s private view for Violence of Flowers and seeing friends that I have not seen for far too long.  If you can make it along I will be in the Castle from about 6pm – PV runs till they throw us out.

In the studio I have worked on a few new pieces, recently finished are ‘Overgrown’ and ‘Take Cover’ and am working on a new piece which is now nearly complete – will be posting later.

Hope to see you tonight

First Thursday

Great opportunity to show one of my new pieces down at a new space on Vyner Street taken over by Sean worrall and crew and put up with speed for tonights First Thursday! Happy to give some new work an airing just before the E17 trail over in Walthamstow, have chosen to show the piece Rooted.. .  The piece Somewhere is on it’s way to Eyestorm and the piece ‘somewhere else’ may be hanging soon in the Ben Oakley Gallery – Cheers Ben!

think it will be up for only a few days but will be good to get it on a gallery wall. So much going on when it’s First Thursdays – everyone clambering for a prime spot!!

I’m going to be heading over to see the excellent work of Paul Cummings who is also based at the Norlington Road Studios here in Leyton. It’s been a real pleasure to talk to Paul about his large scale Acrylic paintings, and to have my mind blown by his knowledge and application of colour theory and so much more.. Paul is exhibiting in the Exposure Gallery, Soho, which is situated on Little Portland Street . He is showing a collection of charcoal portraits made from studies of friends and taken from mobile phone images – it’s a great collection of work and I’m looking forward to seeing it set up in the space – The PV Runs from 6:30pm to 8:30pm when I’ll be dashing back over to Vyner Street to take in more of the shows there…

 

just enough time to take a snap of some work in the studio and go frame up the uprooted piece.

For those heading east – enjoy first Thursdays