Guest Artist – Carne Griffiths

The Guest Artist section is a place for artists to talk about their work, techniques and materials. I am sure that one artist explaining how they solved a problem will help other artists and I hope that a community evolves where artists will assist each other with their artistic dilemmas, share ideas and technical information as well as make connections and give each other friendly support.

To join the conversation please add your comment below. It will be great to have some interaction!

Our third artist to share his art with us is Carne Griffiths. He makes very large, beautiful drawings that I have been lucky enough to see in person. Thanks Carne!

Untitled, A1 drawing

JA: Please tell us a little about yourself.

CG: I studied illustration at KIAD and graduated in 1996, was made a fellow of the college along with colleague Dan Baldwin & returned to give portfolio guidance & get involved with various freelance projects the year after. A love for drawing led to me becoming creative director of Hand & Lock – the oldest hand embroidery firm in the UK. I stayed with them for 12 years and decided recently to leave to pursue my love of drawing. Amongst various other projects I now organise 100sqft, an exhibition platform organised to display the work of outsider artists hobbyists and emerging artists alongside professional artists in a 10×10′ grid.

JA: What materials and techniques did you use in making the art work you are showing here?

CG: I have a love for simple materials and techniques, I create most of my work in fountain pen using a combination of water and alcohol washes whilst experimenting with different drawing inks. I am currently experimenting with Waterman, Parker and Winsor and newton inks onto a Bockingford watercolour paper ground.

JA: What challenges (if any) did you face in making this work and can you give other artists any tips for solving similar problems?

CG: I am currently searching for a way to introduce translucent colours into the work without impacting the strength of the ink drawn lines. I like the idea of mixing water based varnishes to give a textural difference to the work and would hope that I could use this to create a layering effect.

JA: Please tell us something about the idea behind the work you are showing here.

CG: My drawing style is spontaneous – I begin with a clear mind and make marks upon the page, I suppose this relies on some form of unconscious method and the results vary from day to day. Upon making these initial marks I allow forms to develop and pick out certain shapes which consequentially mix with a library of symbols that have developed in my work over the years.

JA: How does this work relate to your artistic practice, how you approach art over-all?

CG: My approach is similar in all projects, the only difference being the amount of emphasis I give to the unconscious mark making. Sometimes it is enough to allow these abstract marks to spill out onto the page – other times I can become obsessional about the translation of these marks into something meaningful or figurative.

JA: Do you have any art advice you would like to share?

CG: Keep drawing… then draw some more, you can never practice observational drawing too much but always allow yourself moments to abandon the need to capture reality, sometimes freely making marks on the page can liberate you from the confines of capturing ‘likeness’ which in turn will give freshness to your drawings.

JA: What is your favourite art material?

CG: Ink

JA: Any links to your website or contact information you would like to provide:

blog of my artwork
Sketchbooks
100sqft

Click on images to see a larger version.