Carol Griffith
Painting
A Reflection on My Body of Work
Many of my paintings began as an effort to capture the presence of place. These were not images of actual existing places, but the distilled essence of a space The layers of accumulated experience in those spaces speak to me of mystery, or loss or, sometimes, grandeur.
I paint these oils from memory, since that seems to filter out the irrelevant details and allow me to freely focus on the impact of place that I wanted to convey. The paintings are large enough to fill the viewer's field of vision so that the viewer can feel that they enter into the space and possess it. The paintings are without figures so that they remain private spaces belonging to the viewer alone.
I am drawn to color and I use it emotively. I work in multiple layers of contrasting colors so as to create scintillations and intensities. The surfaces of my paintings have always been active. Early on this was the result of many patterns but, more recently, I use textural paint handling variations as well. I desire to create an aesthetic equivalent for those accumulated layers of experience.
I began using borders in my paintings originally because the play between illusion and flatness was accentuated. Later, the borders became alternative spaces that dialogued with the central image or to enlarged the understanding of a place.
I am also exploring notions of time through doing paintings in connected series. The 8 Parade paintings or and the 13 Conneaut Lake paintings read like timelines and are often about time passing. The paintings seem to have moved from essays to novels.
The Bad Science body of watercolor and paste of work takes a seemingly playful approach. But there is a dark side to what our children are exposed to living in this media saturated yet fairly unmediated world. The work imagines play therapy where confusing messages and contradictory assertions are worked through using the material at hand. Even when those materials shouldn't be.
Many of my paintings began as an effort to capture the presence of place. These were not images of actual existing places, but the distilled essence of a space The layers of accumulated experience in those spaces speak to me of mystery, or loss or, sometimes, grandeur.
I paint these oils from memory, since that seems to filter out the irrelevant details and allow me to freely focus on the impact of place that I wanted to convey. The paintings are large enough to fill the viewer's field of vision so that the viewer can feel that they enter into the space and possess it. The paintings are without figures so that they remain private spaces belonging to the viewer alone.
I am drawn to color and I use it emotively. I work in multiple layers of contrasting colors so as to create scintillations and intensities. The surfaces of my paintings have always been active. Early on this was the result of many patterns but, more recently, I use textural paint handling variations as well. I desire to create an aesthetic equivalent for those accumulated layers of experience.
I began using borders in my paintings originally because the play between illusion and flatness was accentuated. Later, the borders became alternative spaces that dialogued with the central image or to enlarged the understanding of a place.
I am also exploring notions of time through doing paintings in connected series. The 8 Parade paintings or and the 13 Conneaut Lake paintings read like timelines and are often about time passing. The paintings seem to have moved from essays to novels.
The Bad Science body of watercolor and paste of work takes a seemingly playful approach. But there is a dark side to what our children are exposed to living in this media saturated yet fairly unmediated world. The work imagines play therapy where confusing messages and contradictory assertions are worked through using the material at hand. Even when those materials shouldn't be.
Upcoming Events
Furnishing the Suite
A collaborative show curated by Carol Griffith that examines the secret life(cycle) of furniture, involving 20+ other artists.
The Vandarelli Room, 218 McDowell & West Rich Street, Columbus OH Oct 27-Oct. 31.
ArtSpace Lima, Lima OH Nov. 6-Dec. 23.
Images
Artist Links
- I allow businesses to purchase or display my work.
- I am open to selling my work under payment plans.