The Kings College Art Sale was a successful night. I sold both my piece to two awesome couples who I met on the night. Again, there were loads of great art there and the student band was an entertaining break from artwork. Overall an enjoyable night and I look forward to seeing my pieces on the walls of their new homes.

This is my second piece of which I submitted into the Kings College Art Show. A more detailed portrait focusing on the Tā moko lines themselves. 
Charcoal on Fabriano paper
1m x .8m
SOLD

Charcoal on Fabriano paper
1m x 1.5m

​Behind this piece sits a Maori man by the Name of Pouroto Ngaropo who wears the lifetime commitment of his Tā Moko. The Tā Moko is a form of artwork that tells a story of his ancestry, tribe and beliefs shown through a facial tattoo. Hence the name of my artwork ‘A Crowded Table’ which is referring to the figurative meaning of him carrying his ancestors with him, which is converted to a literal meaning of the table being crowded as he represents his family. 

Seen by some (as said by himself) the Tā Moko can come across as intimidating or ‘Gang-Like’ as the stereotype goes. So in the early 90’s he decided to commit to the Tā Moko for the right reasons, for the reasons the Tā Moko was originally intended, in the effort to eradicate the stigma behind modern day reactions. Which here, this artwork, is trying to portray...a man with a old tradition, normalized in todays society and wearing his Tā Moko proudly.

​By Matthew Griffin

Tonight was the Mt Eden Normal Primary annual auction. I wasnt sure what to expect on the night but it ended up being a good night with my piece selling to the couple sitting in front of us. Seems like the spot in their house where it is going, is in the front foyer so i look forward to seeing it in the house! Im happy with the price and I also sold a commission piece which I look forward to producing for another couple too!

The 25 year anniversary exhibition for Flagstaff Gallery was held Last Thursday and my piece sold!! Was a good night meeting a few new artists and exhibiting alongside them. Congrats the couple who bought my piece! 

A piece I am working on that will be going into the Flagstaff gallery opening from next Thursday! 
Charcoal on Fabriano paper
​Apologies for the poor lighting in this photo.

So I have just recently completed this unique woman in Charcoal on Fabriano paper. Using thick 640gsm paper I can nicely float it in a white frame. A photo of her amongst a crowded street in Rwanda captured me at first glance and I knew I had to recreate her! With realism and abstarction, here is Jaded!

I felt the title of this piece described the lion well. Estimated 1.2 million lions existed in 1880, now down to less than 20,000. Human interference is the main cause of the massive reduction of this incredible species and for what reason? 
Lion trophy hunting has been a tradition for hundreds of years and still goes on today. Proponents claim hunting lions (usually male lions like this one I drew) brings in money for the local communities and villages. It is also claimed only 3% of this money actually goes towards that. 
Now catergorized as Vulnerable.
Charcoal on Fabriano
90 x 60cms
​Estimated 100,000 pencil strokes for this drawing.

'Frea.'
A charcoal piece going into the MAGS art show next month, At this rate with 1080, lead poisoning and car caused accidents these guys wont be around for much longer so I thought id idolize them while we have them. 
​

So I have just completed a drawing I have been working on for weeks, she is about 97% done but the most of her is there. The drawing is of a Maori girl who I am friends with. The drawing stands at 1m x 1.5m high and done with charcoal on paper. This drawing is going to be entered into the Parkin Drawing prize and I am crossing my fingers. This was a VERY challenging drawing but also very enjoyable! I put myself in the photo to get an idea of size and also I will be posting a picture of just her very soon.

Another commission for an old friend I studied with. He commissioned me to draw his new girlfriend. Loved peeling the tape off this one! But besides from that a nice little drawing for me to do, always loved drawing horses too, such incredible creatures! 
This is also a little bigger than A4, drawn with Charcoal on Fabriano

This was a commission I have just completed which consists of colour that I have not used before since high school. The drawing is of Jonah Lomu, one of the greatest rugby players ever who died at a young age from kidney cancer (drawn here playing against the Irish in 2001). The flag in the background is the Red Peak Flag, which was one of the flag change options when John Key was in Parliament. Probably the most tedious commission I have done but was enjoyable at the same time. 
92 x 56 cm charcoal and colour pencil on Fabriano.

A commission I recently completed for my girlfriends uncle. His pup Lili drawn here with charcoal on Fabriano. A little bit bigger than A4 size.
I really enjoyed this piece and found myself drawing in big segments of time so I guess that is a way of saying that I was very motivated drawing this!

Nana Carol is turning 80 soon and for her 80th I drew her as a 3 year old!
I used charcoal mostly with a bit of graphite for some more delicate tones, I enjoyed drawing this little one and will be doing for of them soon!

In creating this piece I discovered a new technique, experimented with different paper and also learnt about Marilyn Monroe. Theres a lot that comes out of each piece and I just hope someone wants this on their wall! Produced with only charcoal and charcoal powder and sits at 55 x 75 cm, off to get her framed and hanging at Art at The Marina, a show next week where I will be exhibiting her. 

STRINGS.
Charcoal and  graphite of paper. 60 cm x 60 cm.
Spent 50 hours of Keith Richards and still learning a crazy amount while drawing new projects like this. My best work yet (in my opinion) as the detail made for awesome texture and realism. Love working with high definition photos like this. Still need to work on my smooth monotone backgrounds.

A piece I am currently working on...Keith Richards.
A Rolling Stoned and legendary guitarist.
Drawn mostly with charcoal but I still use graphite to achieve lighter tones. This work has taken me around 35 hours thus far and am almost finished it. 
I cant wait to get it framed so I can see it in its full form!

My latest finished piece stands at 5' x 3.5' happily. She is drawn with charcoal on Fabriano paper. This piece took about 35-40 hours over about  week.
She was very fun to draw, and quicker than id imagined; so I can see myself producing works similar to this more frequently and hopefully the next time with less mistakes and better quality as I did find myself finding new ways to draw and new techniques with the same tools I have always been using...benefit of testing your limits I guess.

A new piece experimenting with a larger scale and deeper tones.
With this style I hope to approach a modern feature and to test my limits with what i can produce.

ROUND 2. Today I finished a new piece, a more conceptual piece combined with this new style I am experimenting with, if I decide to continue with this style, I may have to have an exhibition soon!
21 x 19 in. Charcoal on Fabriano

A test drawing from today, 
I was testing a new type of paper for a new project coming up, so thought I would test myself and see what I can produce in a day, this is what I came up with.
I changed up the style a little bit but I like it and I will see what I can do with ideas similar to this.

Tonight I was awarded the First place in the Auckland Region by Cliftons Art Prize Competition. I was very surprised and honoured to receive the award and for it to be my first competition entered gives me high confidence in entering my work in more competitions. My bob Marley piece was the drawing that won and I received $2,100; donated to Cliftons in return and now hanging among other great works on the walls in their Auckland residence. 

My first time-lapse I have produced for one of my works...the Kingfisher. A commission piece I used as a guinea pig to test my time-lapse skills. The video was produced by myself with background music curated by Stefan Ozich..a best mate and ambitious music artist.