Had a long break from DA or at least it feels that way - a lot of exciting projects and things have been happening this year and it has kept me away from sharing the work and getting interactive here on the site - In some ways I think that has impacted on the work - there is a wonderful energy here and making time to read back and talk about work has many rewards in terms of energy and creativity.

So back to share some new work and get ready for a good amount of time in the studio!  In recent weeks I have been working with the Photographer Rankin on an amazing commission for Hunger magazine which I am hoping to share soon... Mag comes out in may ... HUNGER ... get it



Then there is the commission for luxury goods retailer JOYCE who have produced a wonderful set of easter eggs using the image 'In Spring' you can see more about them here [link] it was a lot of fun working with the team from JOYCE and something really different for me!



I have work in an exhibition which opens this Thursday at the Smokehouse Gallery as part of Timeout's first Thursdays - I will be showing the piece one for sorrow - if you would like to come along - full details are available here!! [link]



Next up is a T-Shirt project I have been working on with Twinne - I have to say their shirts are looking awesome - check out the full range and sign up to see when they are coming out - I am over the moon to have them produce one of my pieces in this way - can't wait to see them for real.. register here to be told when they launch! [link]



Next I want to pay homage to a photographer on DA who has inspired and influenced many of the images I create, Lisa Stefaniak.  There is something about her take on the 365 project that I find inspiring and has that spark that only the most talented of photographers can capture. A deeply personal series of work over the period of 1 year which demonstrates commitment and vision and i discovered her work during a year when my own output was of paramount importance! here-s a link to her Blog [link] - many of you will already know her work on DA if you don't check it out NOW!! [link]

Now LETS GET DRAWING!!

Hello fellow DA artists - please come and join me for an afternoon of drawing at the Stone Space - I will be broadcasting live via my website at [link] or via the gallery page [link] from 2pm gmt / 0900 est / 1000 edt

I would love you to join me for an afternoon of drawing and let me know what you think!

Thanks for all the support here on DA - you are the best!

Carne Griffiths

Just a quick note to say - Wishing a healthy wealthy creative mysterious explosive successful NEW YEAR to all you beautiful people on DA.

Back soon with some more ART - until then keep creative C, and enjoy a nice cup of tea!!!

Carne

Been a crazy few weeks - stressing over the selection of works for ' J O U R N E Y '- organising prints and deciding just a few weeks before the show to change the scale of my work to 5 foot drawings.  It has been a brilliant experience both over the last year and particularly the last month and I am so grateful that I have had the opportunity to share my work with so many people both online and through Art Fairs, Galleries, pop up exhibitions, art trails and even shows in friends houses.

So to .. the private view - if you can make it along it is at Gallery 90 - 90 Mountgrove road, Finsbury Park London, N5 2LT (united kingdom)
I will be offering the images below as prints on the evening - Another Place is discounted to £120.00 (normally £150)
Strength has been printed by publishers Harwood King and is a giclee print with screen printed varnish layers finished off with gold leaf detailing.  They always do a stunning job and have published works by a large list of famous artists so I am priviledged to be working with them on this work



For those of you who can't make the show, I'm looking forward to sharing a collection of the images involved on DA and some pics of the exhibition,

Thanks for all the support over the last year - the comments and advice received have been a driving force for the work and I wouldn't be at this stage without the encouragement fav's and wonderful (sometimes not so wonderful comments  -  DA is a great creative community, with a lot of raw energy and I am proud to be a part of it.

See you on Friday?

Cx

more info on my blog [link] or fb page [link]

Experimenting in the studio....

If you boil red cabbage you get a nice reddish purple to paint with... if you then add lemon juice it goes crazily bright pink... if you add amonia it goes turquoise... for a while and then goes back to reddish purple.

It now smells of cabbage in the studio

Okay - So I said to a number of you that I wasn't going to do this.. but an exhibition curator Jewel Goodby - asked if I would make a short video to accompany an exhibition at London's Hospital club so I thought ... hey if I am going to do it for the world through youtube - I best share it with my DA friends,

So a big thank you to my watchers

You can catch the vid here. [link]
And it's a snippet of work on this piece



Oh and before you ask.. the muzik is by a studio band that I am in called fizzymilk (people always ask about the music! - there are 2 tracks on there one called wadodem - one called marscapes

Fizzymilk are Maurice O'Hara, Steven Howard and Carne Griffiths

Been working like a dog... lots of admin and things being done behind the scenes has meant not much time for drawing, but there have been some exciting new developments in the meantime.

Firstly, I have been involved in the setup of a local gallery called The Stone Space - [link] - This is a community led project space which aims to showcase artists work from all over, and give a chance for people to express themselves in a variety of media -

Our first show will open on the 1st October with a curated range of works based on the theme Wrapped - Will share some images of the show when it happens.

Secondly is a new exhibition called DRAWING CROWDS. [link]

Send in your images here!! [link]


Drawing Crowds is an exhibition which focuses on exploratory drawing.  We are calling for submissions from artists from any background and from any country to produce work on the theme of 'Journey' the theme is open to interpretation as you see fit but the main focus of your work should be exploration and discovery through some method of drawing.

You can have a look at the entries so far at the gallery page here! [link]

Would be amazing to have some DA artists involved

Cheers

Hi there to everyone - had a super busy day preparing work for tomorrow's preview and finishing a new piece of work called somewhere else... have a look at the image below -  or check out my blog at [link] for images of the series together

I'd love to know my watcher's thoughts on the new series as it is a departure from the portrait work but something I am intensely passionate about. Thanks for all your support I hope to have some new pieces on DA soon but I think I have outdone myself with today's updates and now am ready to enjoy my Friday!

Have a great weekend and to those who have one - Have an awesome Bank Holiday Weekend!!!

See you on the other side

Carne

Sometimes things just work out... yesterday I returned to the studio after picking up some frames from a friend's studio in Hackney - the weather was looking ominous but fortunately I got back to Norlington road in Leytonstone before it broke... I returned to complete a drawing which I was considering scrapping but I lifted it onto the table and began to add some inked lines.. it felt therapeutic to draw over this piece.. as I was unhappy with the work I had lost that precious feeling and although the intention was not to destroy the piece there was an abandonment to the line I was drawing.. after a short while I found myself in a slightly euphoric state - I turned up the bg music and time passed, the pen darted all over the page and I imagined that there was something outside of my control influencing each darting move... I took the tops off four of my pens and placed them in my left hand, quickly changing between blue and brown ink ... I became so concerned with just drawing that I forgot about the portrait that lay under these marks and just kept drawing - strange shapes emerged from this process - organic marks pieces of twisted fabric - tendrils - pieces of insects - pieces of bark and twig - alien forms ... things that were not familiar to me nor were they common symbols that appeared when I attempted any kind of automatic drawing - the feeling of euphoria increaseed until I became acutely aware of how absorbed I was in the process and then I tumbled out of that state of mind so quickly that I suddenly became aware of the picture as a whole...

Normally I find it hard to return to a drawing - the process usually means that I complete a piece of work in one session - rarely is a piece successful when I come back to it.. but I think this time I learnt something about abandoning concern for a finished image and just enjoying the act of drawing.

I still ponder about what outside influences affect the way I draw.. lunar phases... changes in weather.. lack of sleep or amount of coffee!! but one thing is certain - whilst creating this piece I was in that 'zone' whereby everything flowed without any effort at all... and I wish I could return there today

I hope you enjoy the end result, and hopefully this waffling paragraph gives a little insight into how I produce my work -

Thanks

Carne

Had to write a new journal page showcasing this wonderful skin! Currently working on a new series of work called the violence of flowers... there are a few thumbs below!! Will be posting details only of this work until the series is complete as I'd like all the work to be viewed together as a whole.  I have included the video link above for the work that started this series which was initially concerned with pollination.  However at the moment the focus is purely on the plants and flowers but may well develop in that direction.

Lots going on with work as i busy myself in the studio - 2 of my pieces are heading off to Urban in Ibiza [link] which opens on the 8th of August, unsurprisingly in Ibiza! It is a group show featuring fantastic work from K-Guy, Dan Baldwin, Jamie Reid, Fin Dac, Ben Allen, Shoe, George Morton Clark, Liliwenn; an exceptional female talent, David Walker, Schoony, Static, Busk One, Agent Provocateur and Don!  If you just happen to be in Ibiza at the time - check it out!

I have 2 new pieces heading over to Art Republic's gallery in soho next week, the pieces will feature in the ex Tom Tom gallery close to tottenham court road tube - Work will be hanging on the wall from the 9th August