WORK IN PROGRESS - IN THE STUDIO - AND SURVEILLANCE

 Works on paper - in progress

IN THE STUDIO

It has been wet, cold and windy here in Brisbane this weekend. A good time to spend in my studio. And, this is exactly what I did - for part of the weekend anyway. 

The photos above and below are of work in progress - works on paper - in my studio. The photo above shows the corners of three works on paper and the surface beneath them which is covered with layers of paint built up over many years. The photo below shows the three paintings in the above photo [on left] and two new ones lent up against the window. They are lent there so that when I leave and the re-enter my studio I see them with 'new eyes'. This helps me determine whether they are ready to be released from the studio. I am hesitant to say 'finished' because I don't believe my paintings, and those of many other artists, are ever finished. What do I mean? Well, I think every conversation and thought that someone might have about a painting adds to its story, so how can they ever be really finished?

 Works on paper - in progress 

WATCHING IN ALL DIRECTIONS - SURVEILLANCE

The painting below is one that has 'erupted' from a similarly prepared sheet of paper as seen in the first photo above. I did go somewhat crazy with preparations this weekend! There were sheets of paper on walls, on the floor, on my work space, all drying, dripping, soaking or whatever I had decided was best for each one. A couple have been torn up - yes - brutal endings when I do not think paintings are working out! However, Watching In All Directions worked - well I think so. 

Watching In All Directions is inspired by reading about surveillance. This reading is part of my M. Phil research at the University of Queensland. I am reading about all kinds of surveillance, but mainly drone surveillance - and targeting and potential killing in conflict zones. 

Watching happens from the air, it happens on the ground - watching can entail monitoring individual movements, phone conversations, text messages, GPS systems and more. Signals traverse space, even literal outer space where satellites orbit Earth, receiving and transmitting. It's as if new worlds are created - virtual ones that have great influence on real ones. The circles in the painting indicate the presence of these worlds. 

Watching In All Directions Gouache and watercolour on paper 24 x 32 cm 2016

The landscape is mediated by unseen signals that can penetrate its contours, geographies and physicality. This mediation has dual promises - one promises safety and the other 'promises' fears of being targeted. But, the targeting does not necessarily mean mortally lethal outcomes, but rather, targeting by advertisers, social media and others.

In Watching In All Directions I have played with landscape - in this case a fairly bland landscape, but I have transposed the unseen 'landscape' of signals upon it. I am really interested in making the unseen  - seen, by placing the unseen within an aesthetic frame. As regular readers know, I am particularly interested in painting binary code - the zeros and ones in bright colours, in strips that form colourful ribbon-like elements to my paintings. In Watching In All Directions I am pleased with the 'double entendre' of the sun-like sphere with emanating red and pink streams. Well...is it the sun, shedding its light, creating a more traditional sense of landscape? Or, does it represent another 'world' with apparatus for sending and receiving, watching in all directions?

This post illustrates the artist's process - in the studio - preparations - failures and successes - intellectual as well as creative inspirations - reconciling medium, process and ideas - and a lot more!

Cheers,
Kathryn
www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com 

PROACTIONARY AND PRECAUTIONARY

 Line drawing  pen and ink 1974 

1974 - 1976

In 1974 - 76 when I was in my mid teens I drew these two drawings. I can remember drawing them. The bottom one even ended up being framed. So, someone decided it was a good work and warranted special treatment.

The top drawing was inspired by a sideboard my parents had in the dining room of the house I grew up in. An old lamp was placed on top of it. I've embellished the arrangement of items with additional vases and a 'garden' of small branches and flowers. 

The drawing below is from my imagination. Yet, the practice of drawing from nature and my immediate environment is evident. I used to do a lot of drawing of things I saw. The stylised trees or branches are not dissimilar to those in the drawing above. The juxtapositoning of these organic forms with geometric ones is something I used to love to do. It was great to play with patterns  - working out how various elements best 'fit' together as I proceeded with the drawing process. 

ERROR

Yes, there was some trial and error. I cannot tell you where the errors were made, but I know they were - and I covered them up or changed tack to turn them into parts of the pattern. Yet, I was also thinking ahead about how I might fit the image into the size of paper, how I might render the outer edges to create some kind of visual framing and so on. 

PROACTIONARY - PRECAUTIONARY

Drawing, and painting too, are processes where both proactionary and precautionary principles work in tandem. Proactionary means trial and error, learning as you go, solving problems as they appear and welcoming the accident as an opportunity. Precautionary means firstly, ascertaining risk factors and secondly, working out ways to avoid and mitigate these risks.  Actions like making sure you have enough space to draw where nothing can be knocked over to spill on the paper is a precautionary action. The artist works out what risks are not worth taking. But, events like ink pooling in a glob at the end of your nib just as you touch the paper creates instances where error can be turned into something positive, thus an example of proactionary principles. A glob of ink can be  manipulated to create a darkened section of the drawing, a shadow, or anything else that 'speaks' to the image. By embracing 'errors' I have found that changes of tack or approach produce unexpected, but often fantastic outcomes. Problem solving, amongst many other processes, is very much part of creativity. Yet, I would suggest that there is something about the tension between proactionary and precautionary concerns that heightens creative impulses, like a push me/pull you energy.

   

ACCIDENT

I still love drawing. I love the immediacy of making a mark. But, I also love the trepidation I feel when my hand might wobble, when I can see ink dripping towards the nib, when I notice an insect fly into a wet mark, when I accidently pick up the wrong pen or brush and make a mark before realising...there's a myriad of things that could be classed as errors! 

In fact, as regular readers know I deliberately introduce accidents, especially when I paint. I let the paint drip, pool and coalesce. I may let it dry completely before applying more paint. Or, I might throw more turps onto the canvas, or partially wipe away some paint. I watch what happens as the paint does its own thing. I make decisions about when to intervene. All of this scrutiny and action takes place in the immediate environment of my studio, within the attention of my sensibilities, over a period of time that I can measure, predict and manage. 

I can intervene...and I don't need to have the power on or the batteries charged!

Line drawing pen and ink 1974 - 76

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com