We have been following the rise of Carne Griffiths, an artist painting with unusual mediums such as tea, who has become an established and respected figure in the art world.

‘Momentary’, his biggest solo show to date, he told us, is opening today to the grand public so we met the artist and asked a few questions –

Art-Pie – 1. Can you tell your readers about yourself in a few words?

Carne Griffiths – I’m a painter with a passion for drawing and nature, my background is as an embroidery designer, and I have a fascination with outsider art and with the unconscious process of Automatic Drawing.

A-P – 2. Can you tell us about your creative process and where does your inspiration come from?

C G – My creative process is fuelled by energy – I like the spontaneity of painting also, watching what the materials do themselves on the page, how inks mix when left undisturbed… then from this chaos I like to manipulate the image – normally using fountain pens and calligraphy ink, I add fine detail, cross hatching and flowing lines to balance the composition. I like the combination of control and freedom, and the way the two elements combine in a drawing.

A-P – You are using interesting and unusual material, such as tea, to paint. What else do you use and how did you come about including these in your creative process?

C G – I generally use materials that give an unexpected or unknown effect – painting is intuitive, the tiny movements made when creating a piece of work are often impulsive for me rather than calculated – and this for me is the magic within the work.

A-P – “Momentary” at Lilford gallery is your next upcoming solo show. Without giving too much away, what can we expect from you in this show?

C G – Yes the momentary exhibition opens tomorrow – It is the largest collection of works to date, Lilford is a large gallery and I wanted to do justice to the space, the show is a response to the speed we are living our lives, the concept behind it being simply slowing down and taking time to look.. I have introduced new aspects to the work to reinforce this concept, a virtual reality drawing that you can walk through, and a mix in collaboration with Fluidnation’s Ben Mynott whose music influenced the work created and who in turn created a 3 hour mix as a backdrop to the exhibition.

A-P – 5. Any other business you want to tell us about?

C G – I will be about during the exhibition adding to the Virtual Reality drawing and also creating work on the black wall that has been prepared for the installation, the show runs until the 21st of August and being the first solo collection of work for 2 years I’m a little apprehensive and excited to show it.

His biggest show to date

Inspired by nature’s expansive colour palette these new works present a vivid alternate reality.

We only included a picture of one of his numerous and fantastic new pieces (see above) and we encourage you to get yourself down to the gallery, you will not get disappointed.

Although we did not include pictures for other works, Carne tells about below and we believe that after reading about it, you will feel the urge to go and check out the show – we certainly are…

‘Let’s stop time‘

invites the viewer to slow down and take time to reflect on the beauty within their surroundings, a chaotic solitary moment becomes a place for meditation.

‘Eternity‘

captures the beauty and chaos of a single brush stroke within which an alternate reality is revealed like a dream or a momentary glimpse into the life of a stranger all in a single moment.

In’Perfectly Still‘, the ‘Hourglass‘ and ‘Elevation‘

time is brought to a standstill and the beauty of nature among chaos is evident, all three works begin as an abstract composition, embracing chaos and the freedom of single strokes of paint, accidents and chaos in which we seek to find order. Rising from this chaos we find beautiful accidents of nature or creation depending on our beliefs and ideologies, it seems almost irrelevant how they occur.. what is common is the beauty in infinite detail.

The show opens today to the public. The gallery is open 7 days a week so you can pop in and see the works whenever is convenient for you!

Lilford gallery, 8 The Old High Street, Folkestone, Kent CT201RL