'Button Thief' for sale

The children's book that I have spent the past year illustrating has finally been published, and is now available for purchase for NZ$19.99 each.

Latesha Randall, ill. Esther Griffiths, Button Thief, Button Books Ltd., Dargaville, 2009.

Button Thief is a book about friendship, forgiveness.... and buttons! It is aimed at 3-7 year-old girls - and with some trickier words it is one that is intended to be read aloud to kids.

If you would like to purchase a book, either...

- Contact me directly

- Email our newly established publishing company, Button Books Ltd., at buybuttonthief@gmail.com.

For more information, visit our website.

I will be uploading more images onto my blog over the next little while. The original drypoint prints are now for sale, for between $30 and $120 each. WATCH THIS SPACE!!!

Triumphant explorer

Esther Griffiths, Triumphant Explorer, 2009

Acrylic, graphite, and coloured pencil on MDF board, 19.5 x 19.5 cm

Mischief!

Esther Griffiths, Mischief, 2009

Acrylic and pencil on MDF board, 50 cm x 122.5 cm

Working on a larger scale is great fun (and for some reason seems to make it feel more important!). This latest series of works will be exhibited in November at APT, Whangarei. Details to follow.

Finding wonder in small things again

Esther Griffiths, Small Things, 2009

Acrylic and pencil on MDF board, 60 cm x 60 cm

Esther Griffiths, What IS That?, 2009

Acrylic and pencil on MDF board, 60 cm x 42.5 cm

...What could be more delightful than drawing young children totally absorbed in something small??

Playing with paisley

These two images are among my first experiments with the use of pattern. Recently I have been fascinated with the combination of fantasy and reality in artwork. These are not quite where I want to be yet, but I am having a lot of fun...!

Esther Griffiths, Doing Nothing, 2009

Acrylic and pencil on MDF board, 40.8 cm x 46.8 cm

Esther Griffiths, Wonderment, 2009

Acrylic and pencil on MDF board, 40.8 cm x 75 cm

Buttons

Part of the children's book that I am illustrating...

Esther Griffiths, Buttons, 2009

Drypoint print and watercolour on paper (digitally enhanced)

13.5 x 27.0 cm

(Please note that the coloured version of this image is digitally enhanced, and is therefore not for sale as it appears on screen! Original prints (both coloured and uncoloured) will be for sale once the book has been published.)

'Once' exhibition photos

Esther Griffiths, wall drawings from Once exhibition, 2009.

My recent exhibition, 'Once', was required to take place at an alternative space. 'Once' was examining the transient nature of childhood, and took place at night at our place. Guests were given torches, and crawled through sheet tents to search for hidden pencil sketches on the walls and inside a cupboard. At the end of the evening, I scrubbed off three sketches, but left the ones in the cupboard for my family to cherish (after my tutor had left the premises!).

To view more images, see my Picasa web album.

Esther Griffiths, wall drawings from Once exhibition, 2009.

Esther Griffiths, wall drawings from Once exhibition, 2009.

Esther Griffiths, Snail, 2009, pencil on painted wall.

Esther Griffiths, Goose, 2009, pencil on painted wall.

Esther Griffiths, showing hut from Once exhibition, 2009.

I would love to hear comments anyone has on this work... You don't need an account to comment! Good or bad, I'd like to hear it all.

ONCE: alternative space exhibition

This exhibition - which will take place on the 21st of June 2009 and will be up for only two hours - will include my most recent work: a series of sketches based on childhood memories and photographs.

As I observe today's children, I am bewildered at how often they are simply ignored or taken for granted, and how swiftly their beautiful innocence is snatched from them. My new body of work seeks not only to celebrate childhood, but also to act as a beseeching reminder that it does not, and cannot, last. By drawing with pencil directly onto the walls of my house, I want to emphasize the idea that some good things are only visible for a short time before they disappear forever.

Although the message may be a bit sombre, I hope that it will be a lot of fun for everyone.

This exhibition is by invite only... if you are keen, leave a comment and I might add you to my list. :)

Images to come after the exhibition.

'Potting Around', 2005

Esther Griffiths, 'Lazy Morning', 2005

Acrylic on paper, 20.8 x 14.7 cm
For Sale, unframed: NZ$40

This series of works, entitled 'Potting Around', was based on my life as a secondary student in 2005. Guitars, flax weaving, books, jars, paintbrushes, and fabric are all motifs that are repeated throughout the works, and represent the things that I was learning at this time, and how I was discovering balance between study and other activities. The works in this series romanticize Saturday mornings, portraying laid-back and productive activities… when in reality a student's life is a frantic and deadline-driven rush of study for the end of year exams...

Esther Griffiths, 'Bedroom Still Life', 2005

Graphite on paper, 14.7 x 20.8 cm
For Sale, unframed, NZ$30

Esther Griffiths, 'Bags', 2005

Graphite on paper, 14.7 x 20.7 cm
For Sale, unframed: NZ$30

Esther Griffiths, 'Unfinished Weaving', 2005

Charcoal, chalk and oil pastel on paper, 17.7 x 20.6 cm
For Sale, unframed: NZ$20

Esther Griffiths, 'Jars on the Windowsill', 2005

Chalk pastel on paper, 20.9 x 21 cm
For Sale, unframed: NZ$30

Esther Griffiths, 'Absorbed', 2005

Acrylic on paper, 20.9 x 26.9 cm
Artist's Collection

'There is a Season', 2004

Esther Griffiths, 'For Everything there is a Season', 2004
Oil and acrylic on card, 59.5 x 80.3 cm
Artist's Collection

This series of works was based on the imagery surrounding the mundane chore of chopping wood during the cooler months. These works are a celebration of hard work and diligence – without which we would have had to purchase several more blankets and a heat pump. I enjoyed finding the beauty in what I had thought to be a drab (and terrifyingly weta infested) corner of our backyard.

One of the major concepts explored within this body of works is the idea of “seasons”, paralleling the winter season with a season of hard work or bitter cold in a person’s life. But, as we all know, seasons come and go… And there is a season for everything.

Esther Griffiths, 'Weta', 2004
Graphite on paper, 14.6 x 20.8 cm
Artist's Collection

Esther Griffiths, 'Energy to Burn', 2004
Oil on paper, 29.6 x 42.6 cm
For Sale, unframed: NZ$80

Esther Griffiths, 'It Will Only Last for a Season', 2004
Acrylic on paper, 29.7 x 50.7 cm
Artist's Collection