HOT

Hot Gouache on paper 56 x 76 cm 2017

CROP STUBBLE

Regular readers will have noticed a few fires in my recent paintings. The inspiration is drawn from childhood memories of my father burning crop stubble. Magnificent fires, over hectares of ground, lit the sky as it darkened...best to light fires at the stillest part of the day. These fires took over the horizon in ways that brought the Milky Way closer. Embers and stars seem to meet - fleetingly. The flat treeless plain, where my parents' farm was situated, provided fire with a 'canvas' of vast proportions.   

In my recent paintings I've transported my childhood memories into cosmic landscapes where orientation is ambiguous. I really like the sense of flying! In Hot I imagine I could be an ember or a star! You could be an ember or a star too.

SERIOUSLY, HOT

But, seriously - Hot does engage with issues relating to global warming and environmental sustainability. Here, in Australia fires and firestorms seem to have become fiercer and more regular, particularly during our long hot dry summers. 'Heated' debates about how land is prepared or not prepared for the possibility of runaway fires occur, before and after fire events. Farmers, green lobbyists, environmentalists, government departments argue about the best ways to prevent fire occurring and spreading. As the arguments continue, we approach each summer with trepidation.

OTHER POSSIBILITIES
What if the fire in Hot is Earth's last remnant, consumed by cataclysmic devastation? Or, it could be a painting of the future, when the Sun meets its demise and the solar system is destroyed. Maybe Hot is the Sun's last gasp, Earth already non-existent? Maybe it's not Earth or our Sun? Maybe, it's a fire at another cosmic address?

Other fiery paintings:

Fire and Flood: Extremus

Stirring the Dark Chasm

Anthropocene

Cheers,

Kathryn

AWE

I heard myself ask in a discussion about religion, faith and belief;

Isn't Awe enough?

But, the word enough is in itself limiting.

What about...

Awe Is

The capital A and the capital I play beyond the realms of enough and any other descriptive word.

Like

I Am is different to I am...the latter seemingly begs for a descriptor and thus is immediately corralled. But, I Am goes beyond any description. It just IS.

During my last exhibition Untethering Landscape I had a few discussions about awe. Yes, it's a word that can be used to describe reactions to science, nature, religion and art too. Very gratifyingly, for me, a few people said my paintings created a sense of awe in them. Wow! That's a compliment indeed. But, as you will discover below, the paintings did not create awe, they just stirred Universal memories of it!

I recently read a very interesting article Awe, With Or Without The Gods by Dr. Tania Lombrozo. Dr. Lombrozo discusses the very human desire to work out how awe is elicited. She examines the assumption that atheists cannot possibly experience awe, as if religious belief is the domain of this vast word. Atheists do, in fact, experience awe, but there are others who find it difficult to understand that awe is not the handmaiden of religion. Dr. Lombrozo goes onto to discuss awe with regards to science, nature. She asks, So why the persistent idea that awe is inextricably linked to theism? And are "scientific awe" and "religious awe" fundamentally different, or deep down one and the same? Please read her very interesting article to see how her discussion proceeds.

At this point I am departing from a causative investigation. I think an examination of the sense of awe, rather than what seemingly causes it, is important

I propose that Awe IS because its trajectory rises from the birth of the Universe, and is thus inherent in everything. I propose that, like beauty, awe has no antonym and thus cannot be discussed referentially or comparatively. It just IS. Regular readers will know that I have previously written about beauty and the intriguing absence of an accompanying opposite. In my 2012 post Beauty Has No Antonym I wrote, Was beauty present at the instant life began, at the Big Bang or whatever it was that set everything in motion? I suspect it was. And, this Beauty now exists as some kind of human race memory, maybe deeply buried in our DNA code. Maybe that's why we sometimes have Ah Ha moments, that stir our inner core reminding us of something, often propelling us onto new thoughts and actions, but always providing us with joy and hope.

I suspect that Awe is a kind of remembering too...remembering at a core level that is linked to the energy forces of the Universe, revelling in a ubiquitous presence across all time and scale. When you feel awe you immediately know it...like an instinct which is not forgotten, that arises from before your human birth.

Yet, awe can be touched with fear. Like beauty's pathos there is a wild card lying in satisfied retreat. Why do I say satisfied retreat? Because, awe acknowledges fear and sets it free. After all, if awe was present at the birth of the Universe, it has known and overcome fear in all its guises. Awe rejoices in its own survival as it dances with the Universe. We see the dance in nature, art, the stars, science and yes in aspects of religion too. Rather than causing awe they trigger a sense that we already know, they stir Universal 'memory' within us, a memory that extends across time and space.

So, what about the photo above?

I am preparing a stretched linen 'canvas' for a new painting...which I has thought I'd call Awe

______________________________________________________

 

PAINTED PROSE

 

AND, now to something a bit different...maybe?

I am one of 14 artists who have been invited by a young poet, Aquilokami, to create a work that is inspired by one of three poems. The poem I chose is In Abysm Inhere...

You can read more of Aquilokami's work at PASENFRANCAIS

The exhibition PAINTED PROSE is a one night event at Substation 4, 22 Petrie Tce, Brisbane.

I am probably the oldest artist...by ten thousand centuries!!! And, I am thrilled to have been asked! This is my painting below. I will post my artist's statement nearer the time...but meanwhile you read In Abysm Inhere...

and

see what you come up with.

An Eternal Dance Gouache on paper 32 x 114 cm 2014

Cheers,
Kathryn
www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

LOVE...Valentine's Kind

                                                    Sending Love oil on linen 90 x 180 cm

So, I have decided to be a little light hearted for this post. I've decided to focus on love...yes love....the romantic kind.  Valentine's Day is just around the corner!

I have uploaded a few paintings which I think would make great Valentine's Day presents. Why, because they are about love, some are a little sexy, a couple remind us of the Adam and Eve adventure. That story which is so often very simplistically interpreted eg: man was lead astray by a woman!

So let's begin:
Sending Love above, is my interpretation of love emmanating from a central force eg: heart! The heart is the tree-of-life, which is a symbol of life, itself signified by a pulse...heart!  Love is pure, hence the white and pale tones of the tree and the emmanating light which cascades from it. In my mind, we have the capacity to conjure great feelings of love, and then send this love, as white light, out into the world or to the people we love. Our imaginations hold a force which extends beyond us.

Into My Galaxy Oil on linen 85 x 147 cm

Into My Galaxy...well what more can I say! When in love the 'galaxy' is just the two people who are in love. Their own world, where sparks fly, frisson seduces, time collapses and perfection reigns.  Now, this painting, as it has been pointed out to me, can also be read as the moment of fertilization! Regular readers will know of my great interest in collapsing perspective. So, we have travelled from a galactic perspective to a very intimate internal one. The latter being the moment of life's first quiver, a culmination of an act of love.

Forever Connected Oil on linen 120 x 80 cm

Forever Connected is a painting which 'speaks' about the connections forged by shared stories across time and cultures. On a macro level we all share the same story...the one about how the universe/multiverse was created! Focusing in a little Forever Connected refers to the story of the burning bush and Moses. This story is shared by the three Abrahamaic religions, thus connecting Islam, Christianity and Judaism forever. And focusing n a littel more, the love of two people also forges a connection across time through children and other relationships...and this connection continues even in divorce and after death! 

Compassion Oil on linen 100 x 100 cm

Compassion is a really beautiful painting! It is currently hanging in my sunroom and many people have commented on it. This painting was also selected for the Blake Prize Directors' Cut online exhibition. The paintings selected for this were shortlisted for finalist selection in the main Blake Prize, but did not quite make it. http://www.blakeprize.com.au/galleries/directors-cut

Two trees-of-life meet in a blaze of light, their branches connecting and embracing to form a circle, which seems to be many things at once...an opening to a portal, a crown, an embrace, a celestial entity.

Compassion is a very important ingredient in any relationship, whether it be between countries or individuals. This is the post where I write about my thoughts on compassion and Compassion http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/07/compassion.html

Remembering The reason Why Oil on linen 100 x 70 cm

Sometimes, in a relationship, one needs to remember why. Please check out my previous post HERE

In The Garden of Eden Oil on linen 50 x 94 cm

This is a painting not simply about Adam and Eve, but about men and women. please check out my previous post on this painting HERE

'She was not made out of his head to surpass him, nor from his feet to be trampled on, but from his side to be equal to him, and near his heart to be dear to him." [Jamieson-Fausset Brown Bible Commentary] Oil on linen 80 x 120 cm

The title of the painting above says it all really...don't you think?

Hot Gouache on paper 15 x 21 cm unframed

So, back to a bit of fun. Hot is a small painting and it is meant to be HOT! Sprouting wings, red, swirling colour...up to you!

The paintings above range from $300 AUD up to $6,800 AUD [Excluding packaging and freight]

[Prices correct as of 11-1-12, but will change as time goes on. if you are reading this in many months time, please check for updated prices]

AND, I do have many other paintings on my WEBSITE

Some paintings are listed with prices. Please contact me via my website for any price enquiries.

AND

Please check out my BOOK LAUNCH SITE

For Everyone: Words and Paintings

NEXT EXHIBITION

QUIVER

17-29 April

Graydon Gallery

Cheers,

Kathryn

PS...Please click on the 'share' buttons below if you have Twitter and Facebook accounts...or any other sharing social network membership. It all helps spread the word. Thanking you in advance.

METAPHOR

This painting is called 'Metaphor' and I painted it a few years ago. I actually really love this painting and have had it hanging in my house continuously for awhile. This is what I have previously written about this work:

When I paint I see, I feel and I sense. I love painting. When I paint my landscapes I immerse myself in something which is not easily explained, but which is felt. I think about my childhood, youth and adulthood. Distance is time, space and memory and it can be simultaneously far and close.

I grew up on a grain farm outside Dalby which is on the Darling Downs in South West Queensland, Australia. My parent’s farm was in the middle of a fertile but treeless black soil plain. Looking west there was nothing but the flat horizon, looking east the Bunya Mountain Ranges cut a majestic silhouette against a relentless sky.

I like to use landscape elements as metaphors for life. Mountains have always been something to conquer. They are metaphors for overcoming adversity and gaining confidence. In Metaphor I have brought the mountain close to the viewer to enable an engagement with majesty but to make it absolutely conquerable.

I am really pleased to say that 'Metaphor' is now hanging at Fine Design Consultants,
46 Douglas St, Milton, Brisbane 4064 P: 0733696636 http://www.mydsdc.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=20&Itemid=37 So, if you would like to see this painting drop on down to Fine Design Consultants.

ALSO, 'Wonderland: An exhibiton inspired by childhood' continues at Kiln Gallery www.kiln.com.au and has been extended until 13 April. The show looks great.

AND, I have been invited to speak at a festival called FEHVA @ Bangalow www.fehva.com Have a look at the website. I am thrilled because I get another chance to talk about my work and also about art and peace. PLUS, I have been invited to speak at another conference [details coming] at the University of Queensland in September...about art and peace.

So, things are happening!
Kathryn

COLLECTIVE MEMORY

                                      Collective Memory Oil on linen 80 x 120 cm

This is a new painting. The idea of collective memory really interests me because until recently I thought memory was personal, individual and private. I am sure aspects of it are, but to think a group we can have memories is intriguing. Also, the possibility that inherited consciousness from the past may have a subconscious influence on our lives is fascinating. Indeed, it makes one ask questions about the thoughts and beliefs which we carry, but upon deep reflection do not vibrate at the right level for us. Are they part of an inherited consciusness which is not useful in this day and age? How do we rid ourselves of this consciousness particularly if it is not useful? Recognising that it exists is probably the first step.

In this painting I have placed the trans-cultural/religious tree-of-life at the centre of an emanation of thoughts which are represented by the small dots. These thoughts change colour as they move through time to become memories. Yet, everything is connected and a vibration is maintained. The tree-of-life represents everyone...past-present-future.


Collective Memory Oil on linen 80 x 120 cm