The Organic Painter

Working primarily with calligraphy inks, graphite, and liquids, such as tea, Carne Griffiths’ fascination with drawing focuses on the creation and manipulation of the drawn line. Images explore human, geometric and floral forms, in a combination of both literal and abstract translation and in response to images and situations encountered in daily life. Images are recorded in a dreamlike sense onto the page, where physical boundaries are unimportant. His work creates a journey of escapism which focuses on scenes of awe and wonder, projecting a sense of abandonment and inviting the viewer to share and explore this inner realm.   Originally from Liverpool, Griffiths graduated from the Kent Institute of Art and Design in Maidstone in 1995. After completing a one-year KIAD fellowship and moving to London, he served an apprenticeship at the longest-established gold wire embroidery firm in the world. Here he worked as a gold wire embroidery designer for 12 years, eventually becoming the creative director. Carne produced intricate designs for the military, film and theatre, fashion, and advertising industries. His designs were used for the uniforms in the films Valkyrie and The Last King of Scotland and his ‘Red Death Coat’ embroidery design was used in the film version of The Phantom of the Opera. Carne’s elaborate floral designs for Asprey were included in their first ever catwalk collection and his work was featured on the embroidered cover of the 80th Royal Variety Performance programme in 2008.   Since establishing his own studio in 2010, Carne has exhibited in the UK and overseas, with work shown at the London Original Print Fair, the Royal Academy, Stroke Art Fair, Affordable art fair, and the London Art Fair, with solo Exhibitions in Dubai, Hong Kong, Milan, and Hamburg. Carne's illustration work has seen him collaborate with the British photographer Rankin for Hunger magazine, as well as featuring in publications worldwide, notably for covers of the New York Observer, English Heritage magazine and for Brand projects for Microsoft, Derwent, Peroni, Lakes Distillery, and Ibis Hotels. Carne is a supporter of a number of charitable organisations and has both organized exhibitions and auctioned his artwork, raising over £80,000 in total for charities including Great Ormond Street Hospital, Macmillan, Shelter, The Anderson Foundation, and Cardboard Citizens, among others. In 2017, Carne’s portrait of HRH The Duchess of Cambridge raised £30,000 in aid of the Anderson Foundation.