RECALIBRATION

Recalibration is a great word. It has re-entered my vocabularly recently and I am so grateful that is has. I've used it in nearly everything I have written over the last couple of weeks. And, I have done a lot of writing! I've written submissions for special exhibition spaces, artists' statements for my work as a whole and for particular works I've entered into competitions. And, I was asked by HECATE to write a review of Irena Sibley's new book Self Portrait of the Artist's Wife. So, for those of you who don't know, HECATE is an 'interdisciplinary journal of women's liberation, edited by Carole Ferrier now in its 33rd year. It is published by Hecate Press, in association with the WGCSC Centre, in the School of EMSAH at the University of Queensland. AWBR: Australian Womens' Book Review following its alliance with Hecate, has now reached its 19th year of publication of reviews, by women, of new publications by women mainly in Australia and the pacific region.' It will be published online soon, so you can read my review then!

And, here I am again ...writing.

I have done some new work on paper and I am wanting to expand on the ideas I have explored both on paper and canvas.

Dr. Don Beck’s and Christopher Cowen’s theory of Spiral Dynamics* has recently come to my attention. This complex theory sheds light on some of the questions I ask myself and like any good theory it stimulates more questions. Memetics is a pivotal element of the theory. The spiral, which I have previously used, resonates with me because its energy flows up and down and across oscillating with potential. I like the idea that the spiral is not static and can reverberate forwards and backwards. My interest in shared history [which I have previously written about on this BLOG] leads me to think about how our future has aspects which propel us back to the past...like a continual reverberation...hopefully picking up only the positive apsects! A recalibration action!


* Beck Don & Cowen C, Spiral Dynamics-Mastering Values, Leadership, and Change Blackwell Publishing, USA, UK, Australia, 2006. www.spiraldynamics.net

Backwards And Forwards In Time Gouache on paper 30 x 21 cm

Can one person’s epiphany change the consciousness of their genealogical past and therefore future? This question has been presented to me in the last week or so. And it fascinates me. If an individual can change dramatically in their thinking, forgiving, loving etc can this affect the consciousness of ancestors creating a recalibration from that time to the future? It has been said that each generation not only carries physical characteristics in their DNA, but also perhaps the consciousness [cellular memory] of previous generations.

It has been suggested to me that forgiveness and unconditional love are two of the most powerful 'things' a person can show, think and do and that these qualities can create change not only in the individual but in anyone connected to this person. I had always thought this was just manifested in the present, but how intriguing to think previous generations may benefit from someone-who-lives-in-their-future's departure from generationally ingrained beliefs and attitudes.

This topic could convolute for a long time. However, I am excited that this proposition was presented to me just after I finished the painting above. I had already called it 'Generations' and my thoughts when I painted it were about shared consciousness within families over time.

For a long time many of my paintings have had some kind of connection with something which is about to happen to me or be presented to me. Obviously I must be on some kind of wave length because there have been many uncanny moments. I love it.

Generations oil on linen 80 x 120 cm

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

INTIMATE VASTNESS

Easter break is here and a time to rest! Well, I have just cleaned the house, added to my website, checked out a few leads and now I am updating my BLOG. The kids are away and I have uninterrrupted time! BLISS

Wonderland: An exhibition inspired by childhood @ KILN Gallery http://www.kiln.com.au/ is attracting attention and has been extended until Sunday 13 April.

I have been painting and thoroughly enjoying myself. I have also just ordered 4 more huge canvases and look forward to starting on them. The idea of vastness is on my thoughts at the moment. Where does vast begin and end? A cell is vast when we realise there are other minute components which give the cell life. Yet, it can also seem so small. Our house can seem vast yet viewed from a distance it diminishes. The Earth is vast, but seen from space it is just another dot in the galaxy.

I keep an eye on the stock market. It can seem so vast yet it can start to crumble at the drop of a hat [so-to-speak]. I laugh at the term sub-prime! It gives a connotation of being small and unimportant, less than prime/premium. Yet, the collapse of the obviously vast sub-prime world of lending/borrowing has caused vast repercussions around the world. The erosion of confidence which has lead to the credit squeeze has seen vast enterprises and corporations reduced to a fraction of their values of 12 months ago...some crumbling within days. So every little component of a system is important!

So can vastness be attributed to an emotion or a behaviour? I think it can. We can feel 'vastly' happy, sad etc. How about the vastness of greed. Some comentators attribute the floundering financial system to greed which is a pretty basic human foible...some would say sin. So, if the financial system can flounder across the world because of something as basic as greed it certainly does not make our world seem very sophisticated or enlightened at all! If basic greed is the underlying insidious culprit then let's find and encourage systems where greed cannot find a home.

Now...the painting above has nothing to do with greed or the world of global finance...except of course it is for sale! This image is a landscape albeit an ambiguous one. It seems to be turned inside out...its workings are revealed...disclosed, transparent...two of the many words which are bandied around the financial world!!!

Oh yes...check out http://www.fehva.com/ I have been asked to be one of the guest speakers at this fabulous festival @ Bangalow which is very near Byron Bay.
ALSO http://www.artsconnect.com.au/kathrynbrimblecombe-fox/index.htm

Water Penetrates The Intimate Vastness 80 x 120 cm oil on linen

WONDERLAND

The group exhibition 'Wonderland: An Exhibition Inspired By Childhood' opens tomorrow night. The exhibition is online at www.kiln.com.au The theme is such a great launching pad for all sorts of things. As adults we still carry the child we were inside us...the inner child. However, it is interesting to think of this in relation to some of my previous posts about inherited memories and that perhaps some of these are not useful to us. I know I have carried beliefs which at one level I know are limiting but at another level I have found it hard to let them go without guilt, sadness, fear etc. Limiting beliefs must be irradicated!!! And done without angsting ourselves.

I have written a short artist's statement for the Wonderland exhibition. My childhood has given me an incredible supply of wonderings! I find myself often thinking about the landscape of my childhood. It was a vast landscape with endless skies and flat horizons. In a way it provided me with an experience of endless possibility. However, until recently I have not seen the connection between a lived spatial experience using it as a metaphor for a possible lived life.

HOW THE LANDSCAPE OF MY CHILDHOOD HAS INLFUENCED MY WORK

Kathryn Brimblecombe-Fox B.A [UQ-Art History Majors]

I grew up on my parent’s grain farm outside Dalby on the Darling Downs. The relentless space of the flat treeless Pirrinuan plain perpetually influences my work. When I was a child I ‘dreamt’ I could fly and indeed I ‘knew’ what my parent’s farm looked like from the sky even though I had never been in an aeroplane above it. I traveled to and from school on a bus and as I sat there gazing out the window [trying to ignore the big High School boys who sat down the back] I used to imagine what it would be like to catch the summer mirages, enter their mysterious shimmerings.

The vastness of my childhood landscape allowed for both distant and close perspective to view the patterns, shapes, movements and the minutae of life. I remember foreign visitors [and even some Australian city folk] being overwhelmed by the space and flatness of the landscape. Their reactions were both physical and emotional.

Looking east the Bunya Mountain Ranges cut a silhouette against the sky. Looking west the flat horizon sometimes seemed to reveal the curvature of the earth. The Pirrinuan Plain with its 12 m of black topsoil provided a richness of seasonal contrasts: the blackness of the ploughed soil, rich green young seedling crops, the ochre of an expanse of ripened wheat or the bright yellow of sunflowers and the beauty of red sorghum crops. The cracked dry earth could swell within moments of a shower of rain. Snakes disapeared into those cracks causing my two younger brothers and me great anxiety especially if we saw one whilst walking home from the school bus. Plagues of locusts, un-named beetles and mice periodically descended on us. I remember locusts jumping on my face and head as I watched tv. I remember hearing mice scurrying across my bed at night! But, these pests caused great damage to my father’s crops.

I play with perspective in my paintings and I believe this is influened by the vastness of my childhood landscape where I could simultaneously pretend to fly, pretend to be inside the mirage and gaze upon distant horizons.

Shared Destinies Oil on linen 120 x 160 cm

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

FROM THE HEART

I love opportunities which fall out of the sky. And just recently one of these did. I have been invited to participate in a group exhibition called Wonderland at KILN Gallery, Cnr LaTrobe and Enogerra Tce, Paddington. The details of the show will go online at the gallery's website early next week. http://www.kiln.com.au/ The painting I diplayed in my last post will be in the exhibition along with other recent and new works.

I am steadily working on new paintings. I have no plans at this stage for a solo exhibition this year, but I am enjoying creating new work and following my instincts. It is a deliberate decision not to have a solo exhibition. I decided I'd prefer to be in group exhibitions...and the KILN show fell in my lap...enter some competitions [I am off to Stanthorpe today for the opening of the Stanthorpe Art Award for which I have been preselected]...and to make proposals to various galleries for different kinds of exhibitions to happen maybe late this year or into next year.

From The Heart Oil on linen 85 x 147 cm

GLOBAL

I've have been painting lately. And I am happy. My only problem is that I have not had the paintings photographed professionally and my own attempts are never pleasing especially with large works. That said, I have uploaded this image. Trust me the painting is better in the flesh. Photographing paintings is a problematic area. I think many not-so-successful paintings can look much better in a photo and a great painting cannot have true justice done to it. Makes one think about the difficulty of preselecting art for competitions etc from photographic images. How many great paintings never get through and how many second rate ones do?

Over this weekend I have been attending one of the most interesting conferences I have have ever been to. It is the GLOBAL ACTION TO PREVENT WAR: A COALITION-BUILDING EFFORT TO STOP WAR, GENOCIDE, AND INTERNAL ARMED CONFLICT conference which is being hosted by the Australian Center for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Queensland. The speakers are world class and indeed come from all corners. Check their website out @ www.globalactionpw.org Today I heard and learnt about violence/conflict in Central America, and East Timor. Yesterday I learnt about guns control and arms dealing/movement. I heard about the latest efforts of the UN. One speaker called war a disease and maybe prevention should be treated just like disease prevention. So much to think about and to hope for.

The guest speaker last night was a man called Steve Killelea founder of Vision for Humanity and the energiser for the development of the “Global Peace Index and Delivering Peace Dividends” . The role of business in peace and the benefits of peace for business are core elements to be understood. Check out www.visionofhumanity.com

I was also alterted to Ranan Lurie's [the famous cartoonist] Uniting Painting which is installed at the UN in NY. The concept is to make it a continuous painting which moves throughout the world. Check out www.rananlurie.com An amazing man and family. Plus the Uniting Painting is fantastic to look at and in concept.

One thing I am very pleased about is the obvious understanding that art has a place to play in the Peace process. It is acknowledged by academics, UN reps and people who work on the ground.

Into My Galaxy Oil on linen 80 x 120 cm

ARTISTS

I am very excited to report that my painting 'Shared Time' has been preselected for the $15,000 Stanthorpe Art Prize which is announced in a couple of weeks. A good way to start 2008.

I have been thinking about the UN's recent announcement of 4 new Peace Ambassadors. It prompted me to google the UN to look at who have been made Peace and Goodwill Ambassadors over the last few years. Well, searching the UN website for this topic is not easy. However, I did find some information. I was searching because I am intrigued about the large number of 'artists' who have been made these wonderfully titled Ambassadors. They are musicians, actors, authors and so on. Mind you, I have not found a visual artist among them....but I have not been able to do a conclusive search so there maybe a visual artist somewhere. But, the bottom line is that the list is predominantly made up of artists in the literary, musical and acting worlds. That's absolutely fine because these people are good with words, performing and getting up in front of people.

In the past I have been a bit sceptical about the UN's Peace Ambassadorial announcements. It seemed to me that the UN was using the celebrity status of people to draw attention without considering any underlying depth. That said, I can understand the tactic of embracing celebrity to enhance a cause because in this day and age a celebrity is going to attract media and mass attention. Celebrity on its own is a wondrous thing, but what about the person who has somehow been bestowed this label? What about the 'artist' that lurks underneath the veneer of celebrity?

I have thought about this a reasonable amount. Is it the 'celebrity' element or the 'artist' element which really carries the truth about these appointments. I suspect that UN and others are not even aware that whilst the celebrity component attracts it is really the 'artist' which holds the depth and compassion needed to carry the import of these appointments. Artists look at the world differently, they communicate differently. They provide an alternative viewpoint, paint pictures with words, gesture, paint, movement and sound. They stir the human being at levels we do not truly understand.

So, whilst there are famous sports stars and people from the political and diplomatic worlds on the list of Peace Ambassador they are outnumbered by the artists. And, I think it is the artists who can make a difference. Some recent recruits to the Ambassaorial ranks are Daniel Barenboim who is a world famous conductor and pianist, Yo-Yo Ma who is a reknown cellist, Elie Wiesel a Nobel Prize Laureate and George Clooney an Academy Award Actor.

The one person with the mass media celebrity status of a Star in the latest Ambassadorial recruits is Mr. Clooney. People may scoff but he is an artist and since making films such as Syriana, Good Night and Good Luck, Michael Clayton we can see there is more than just a pretty face to this man. His efforts in Darfur are also worthy of accolades...like anyone who tries to make a difference. He shares with his other artist Ambassadors a way of thinking which the western world might be able to feel at some level but cannot identify. My experiences in the Middle East suggest to me that those who live outside the West will and do understand.


Shared Time 120 x 137 cm Oil on linen

2008

I have been very lax...not posting on my BLOG since December. However, I have either been very busy or just in holiday mood ie: not wanting to do anything! My eldest daughter leaves for a 12 month exchange to Brazil tomorrow and we are in a state of organisation ...well at least I am!

In amongst all the happenings I have been painting. Forever Connected is my latest creation. It took awhile for it to find itself becasue it is the first painting I have worked on for about 2 months. After my exhibition in October I took time to reflect. I do this after each show and I think it is a good way of continuing but not regurgitating previous work. Time to think is so valuable. I do tell people that being an artist is not just about the doing, it is also about being, thinking, questioning, dreaming and all those wonderful things.

Forever Connected Oil on linen 120 x 80 cm

TRACES

Well Christmas has been and we are now waiting with anticipation for 2008 to arrive.

I have been writing a submission for an exhibition at a gallery in Sydney. Crossing fingers for success!

Whilst I was writing the submission I had a few more thoughts about my idea of cellular memory...what I call 'white man's Dreaming'. The idea that 'memory' is transferred from one generation to another is very interesting. However, how do these 'memories' affect our lives and how applicable are they to our contemporary lives? Can we release them if they are not helpful or if they are downright harmful to our enjoyment of life? These are questions which interest me as an individual, but can they also be asked about whole cultures/nations? Are there 'memories' which we need to re-discover in order to bring connection back to our world? I think there are 'memories' which are basic to all of humanity and a re-discovery of them could make our world more 'together'. So, how can the arts help uncover these 'memories'? I don't think the artistic product itself has the answer. I think the conversations people have about the art holds far more potential. But, how much art generates conversations which go beyond appearance and critique, monetry value and so on? Bring back the art of conversation!

Memory Traces Of The Land Gouache on paper 52 x 114 cm paper size.

BEYOND

Nearly Christmas and life is busy. Venturing out to shop is a brave thing to do. So many people.

An article about my work which appeared in the XL magazine has been published online. Very exciting. http://resultsfoundation.wordpress.com/2007/12/11/painting-trees-for-peace/ You can read the article and make a comment too.

I am really quite passionate about the connection beteen art and the potential for different kinds of conversations which may lead to different ways to look at Peace Building. I have thought a lot about the subtle difference between personal conversations and intimate ones. Many personal conversations seem intimate because recounting personals events and details does take people outside their comfort zone. However, talking about feelings rather than details is where I believe intimacy occurs. This is where art can play its magic. Just like the spiral in my painting above where the outside seems to collide with the inside.

Beyond 25 x 25 cm oil on canvas

HOPE and TO EXPECT

This painting is called 'Beyond' and it is one of my paintings in the Doggett Street Gallery Christmas Exhibition opening this Friday night @ 6pm. All the details are in my previous posting.

But, what was I thinking about when I painted this image? The tree-of-life is an important symbol for me and I have previously talked about the various aspects of its transcultural/religious power which excite me. It is easily identifiable across the world and thus takes people beyond simple comments about colour etc etc to places of similarity and story telling. I have experienced this in the Middle East at my exhibitions in Dubai and Abu Dhabi...more particularly in Abu Dhabi.

However, apart from the tree-of-life's potential to bring people togther it also has an affect on personal hope. I see hope as a seed...like a thought is a seed. After all, hope normally comes because someone thinks about something they want. But, is hope enough? Where does faith fit in? Is hope just hope without faith?

I recently had an insight...well it was for me.

Faith is very closely accompanied by the thought 'I expect...'. However, if the verb turns into a noun ie: an expectation, power can be lost because there is a tendency to dwell on or fall in love with an expectation and these can ultimately cause anxiety. With anxiety what happens to faith because surely faith can only exist without questioning [which anxiety implies]? So, the trick must be 'to expect' but not to have an expectation which you carry with you in your thoughts all the time.

The tree-of-life in terms of an individuals life can be like a map of our thoughts, hopes, faith and expectations. Each branch and twigg representing a moment or time of growth, activity, seeds sewn with some harvested and others not.

Beyond 25 x 25 cm [unframed] oil on canvas, $360

RADIANCE

This painting is called Radiance. It is large painting 92 x 208 cm and I think it is startling. This is what I wanted to achieve and from the comments I have received I am more sure that I have acheived this.

The painting's format is similar to Thank Goodness ie: a layered work which plays with perspective. The viewer seems to see the painting from many angles...from above, below, in front and even behind. Questions are asked...Is there a tree or is it a layer of the earth? Is there a sky or is this another layer of the earth?

I wanted to give the impression that the earth is 'radiance'...that every part of it is glorious...that even the minutae, unseen by the human eye, are part of the radiant light which reassures us that we and the earth are alive.

I wanted to create a painting that gave the viewer hope and confidence to face the sombre news we read each day about our affects on the planet. This is not to ignore that these issues are real and important, but more to invigorate people and keep them from despondency. The problems seem too large for the mere mortal to have a positive affect, but each and everyone of us can have a positive influence on the survival of the planet whether it be by planting a tree, turning the lights off, praying, joining an action group or envisioning the planet as healthy, rich and fertile.

HIDDEN ENERGY

My exhibition Prayers For The Planet: We are all the same has its last 4 days this week...today [Wed], Thursday, Friday and Saturday open 10 am - 4 pm. I am really happy with how the exhibition has been received. @ Doggett Street Gallery, 85 Doggett Street, Newstead, Brisbane 61 7 32529292 www.doggett.com.au

Hidden Energy is the title of this painting above. I was thinking about the unseen energy forces which give life to our universe. I have often used these squiggly forms to evoke what I imagine energy to look like. I was so surprised when I watched a program recently on String Theory. Here was a theory that said these unseen forces of energy were shaped like a twisted string or rubber band! I got really excited thinking about how I might have tapped into something which gave a clue to how our world lives.

This has not been the first time I've painted images which have surprised my scientist friends or viewers of my work. A Professor of Medicine asked me once if I had studied Histology...no. I have had academics in science fields ask me if I have studied DNA...no. Many medical people have commented on various paintings over the years talking about human reproduction.

So, I am not sure how it happens, but I am happy that it does. As I have said to people ,I paint what I feel, but part of this feeling is how I think the feeling looks.

Hidden Energy 53 x 63 cm framed Gouache on paper $850 AUD [price subject to change as time goes on-upwards!]

Reunion

I am only half way recovered from my 30 year school reunion over the weekend in Toowoomba. It was a fabulous weekend catching up with some girls I had not seen since the day we left school and others I had seen over the years. I had to make a power point presentation about year 11 and I took a great deal of artistic licence, but everyone laughed...because I told them to!

My talk 'Art, Artists + Conversations= Peace Talks?' at the University of Queensland's Peace and Conflict Centre on Tuesday 16 October went really well too. I spoke for abut 50 minutes and then there was about an hour of questions and discussion. Very positive response and I am thrilled. There are also other things brewing as a result of the talk which is very exciting.

I think I maybe stepping into what might be called quiet activism. I attended a session on art and activism at the ARC conference in Brisbane on the 13/14th October and I came away thinking that there was a place for me in this spectrum called activism. Promoting potential avenues for peace on our planet is my motivation.

My exhibition 'Prayers For The Planet: We are all the same' at Doggett Street Gallery continues and is attracting attention which is great. You can see it online @
http://www.doggett.com.au/ExhibitionFrame.aspx?ExhibitionId=864 The exhibition closes 4 pm on the 3rd November and is open Wednesday - Saturday 10 am - 4pm.

It is interesting how stepping up to action attracts more action. I am also thrilled that War Child www.warchild.org.au has benefitted from the exposure my exhibition has attracted. An amazing charity which has the ability to be flexible thus meeting real needs on the ground. It is certainly worthy of support and attention.

Sending Love Gouache on paper 30 x 21 cm

PRAYERS FOR THE PLANET: WE ARE ALL THE SAME

My exhibition Prayers For The Planet: We are all the same opened on Friday night and it was fabulous. The photo [taken by me so please excuse!] shows one wall. I am delighted that people really seem to be understanding the depth of my work. Whilst they are colourful etc etc there is something else 'beyond' which people are connecting with.

I think art which is explicit sometimes falls into the didactic. Neither are sustainably interesting. I also believe that art which merely reflects destruction, mutilation or whatever disempowers by dispelling hope. It is also exhausting. Although I think some artists and commentators believe otherwise or maybe they are stuck in theory which needs rethinking? Maybe because we are so bombarded in the media with scenes of war, brutality and death we are now more vulnerable than ever to the disempowering qualities of simple reminder?

I hope that my work quietly takes the viewer to places which I may never have thought of. In this sense I relinquish the creation of a painting's next stage to the viewer [and this could be different for each viewer]. That by invoking memory [either of this life time of at some cellular level] I hope my work propels the viewer beyond just simple reminder. The brutal and destructive will always be present in absentia. Like a pendulum the opposite is always in potential. However, by creating work which causes people to be touched by spirit I hope that energy is reinstated in the investigation for alternatives and positive ways of being on this planet.

On Tuesday the 16 th October 1-3 pm I am presenting at the University of Queensland's 'Australian Centre For Peace and Conflict Studies'. My topic is Art, Artists + Conversations = Peace Talks? You can access all details @ http://www.uq.edu.au/acpacs/index.html?page=69874&pid=25918

UNIVERSAL SYMPHONY

Today week is the opening of my exhibition Prayers For The Planet:We are all the same @ Doggett Street Gallery, Brisbane Friday 8 October 6-9 pm. http://www.doggett.com.au/ This painting Universal Symphony will be in the exhibition.

On the 16th October I am giving a presentation for the Australian Centre For Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Queensland. I have called the presentation Art, Artists + Conversations = Peace Talks? DETAILS 1:00 – 3:00 pm Sustainable Mining Institute Seminar Room, Level 4, Sir James Foots Building (no.47A) (Corner of Staff House Road and College Road, St Lucia, http://www.uq.edu.au/maps/pdf/StLuciaMap.pdf at J11 co-ordinates

My talk will be based around my experiences exhibiting overseas and the conversations I have had with people from all over the world. My exhibition in Abu Dhabi brought me so many wonderful conversations with people from all over the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe. I say the exhibition brought the conversations to me because without the paintings these intimate interludes which occurred a number of times a day every day for 10 days would not have happened. It made me think about the potential for understanding and respect which could be stimulated by talking about art with artists. These conversations take both parties to places of memory and intimacy which I believe does not happen over the boardroom or diplomatic table.

This is not meant to become some sort of therapy or preconceived method. After all there are artists exhibiting all the time. There is no need to invent something...just noticing it would be great.

My experience is that the 'feel good' and entertainment aspect of art is understood but deeper aspects are not. This is particularly so with those government agencies who could really support artists. I have been to a number of Embassy/Hig Commission type arts events. The potential for deeper understanding and communication by opening up [metaphorically speaking] our collective soul is often lost in the 'show and tell' type atmosphere.

My experience has been that people in foreign countries want to 'see' who we really are. It is also intruguing because there seems to be a keener sense that culture is a way to achieve this. I don't feel that Australians [and other Western nations] really grasp that culture is seen this way. There seems to be a 'show off' mentality rather than a 'conversation' ie: involving two or more parties communicating by bouncing off each other and enjoying ideas and insights. In this process you do get to 'know' someone. Art and culture and the creators are the stimulants.

I have had a thought about the practice of conscripting celebrities to speak on behalf of major humanitarian agencies. The celebrity status is definitely a reason for these people to be chosen because it draws attention to the cause. But is there something else? These celebrities are mainly actors, actresses, singers etc. They are artists. Is there something about the way they communicate which differs? Do they 'see', 'feel', 'hear' things' differently? Does the creative pulse which runs through them give a different perspective which then produces different problem solving patterns and different conversations with people? I don't know really because I have never met one of these celebrities, but I think it is a worthwhile consideration. Let's not get

blinded by the notion of celebrity or the notion of value culture and art my have in $ terms. If we do get blinded we won't 'see' the real potential...which could be peace on earth.

Universal Symphony 120 x 160 cm Oil on linen

SENDING LOVE

This painting 'Sending Love' will be in my exhibition Prayers For The Planet: We are all the same opening October 12 @ Doggett Street Gallery, Brisbane http://www.doggett.com.au/

It is self explanatory really. We can send love to anyone/anything anywhere at anytime. What it 'looks' like will be different for each person. When I imagine sending love I imagine a white light emanating to encompass the person, thing or even the Earth...and yes even the universe. I've painted this image as if the white light spills from the tree-of-life going forth to wherever the viewer thinks it might be going. The viewer can tell their own story.

I am very pleased with the interest in my exhibition. I will be interviewed on radio and there may even be a TV gig. And there will also be some mention in various other paper publications. Very exciting.

But, as I have previously explained I am donating 9% of sales proceeds to War Child Australia http://www.warchild.org.au/ I am delighted to be able to do this and hope that people who buy my work feel they are helping to contribute to an organisation devoted to assisting children affected by war. War Child currently has projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Afghanistan and Iraq.

I will not know until the end of the exhibition how much I can give War Child. But, in the last two blog entries I have described how money could help. And I am doing this again with this entry. Did you know:

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, around $3500 will build a kitchen at one of War Child’s drop in centres for street children.

In Afghanistan, around $3500 will fund the development of a year-long legal support programme for children in conflict with the law.


The money which will be given to War Child Australia will be sent with the scaffolding and warmth of love.

Sending Love Oil on linen 90 x 180 cm

This gouache on paper painting will be in my next exhibition "Prayers For The Planet: We are all the same" which opens in only 3 weeks on October 12 @ Doggett Street Gallery, Brisbane.

Your invitation is @ http://www.doggett.com.au/Art.aspx?ExhibitionId=864&ArtId=18281

This painting is part of a set of 6 called Sending Love. The idea that love can be sent through the ether is appealing and powerful. There is also an idea that if more people think of or meditate on peace and love there will be an affect on those areas of the world affected by conflict. It is often frustrating to think that we are powerless in the face of brutality and war. What can we, the average everyday person, do to make a difference? Very few of us have the skills to be placed in war situtations to save thousands.

The prospect that meditation and prayer can make a difference empowers people.

As I have mentioned before I will be donating 9% of exhibition sales to War Child Australia www.warchild.org.au With the help of people who buy my work I am hoping that my donations will assist in bringing some experience of peace and love to children affected by war.

Even small amounts of money [a practical way to send love] can make a difference.

Did you know that children as young as seven were abducted from their families and turned into soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Brutalised by war, they were abandoned to live rough on mean streets. But now, with help, they can be clothed, rehabilitated and re-united with their families (a time and patience-consuming process, ultimately worthwhile). $120 helps reunite one former child soldier with his or her family.

JOYFUL PRAISE

The last week has been busy. And I had my birthday! As my middle daughter said, 'Mum, 21 is so young.'

As mentioned in my last post I was one of the 70 shortlisted artists for the Tattersall's Club $20,000 Landscape Award. I did not win but there's always next time! However, I think my painting looked great at the exhibition in the Club.

There is a chance for the public to see all the paintings as they have been moved from the Club to Waterfront Place in Brisbane. They will be there for two weeks from Monday 17 September. Or you can view them [plus what seems an expanded list of paintings] @ http://www.tattersallsclub.com/art-prize.html

Also, my exhibition at Doggett Street Gallery is just around the corner opening October 12. Your invitation is @ http://www.doggett.com.au/Art.aspx?ExhibitionId=864&ArtId=18281

As I have mentioned before I will be donating %9 of sales proceeds from my exhibition to War Child Australia www.warchild.org.au Here's an example of what can be done with, what to us is a small amount of money. Did you know that $40 will cover the costs of kindergarten for one child for two weeks in Herat, Western Afghanistan where around 60 children live in prison with their mothers? War Child collects these children in a mini-bus and takes them to kindergarten where they have the chance to play and socialise with their peers, receive a hot meal and have their clothes washed. I have other examples which I will write about over the next few weeks. I really hope that as I sell my paintings those people who buy them feel excited about what they are helping to provide.

The painting above will be in the exhibition. Joyful Praise gouache on paper 53 x 62 cm framed.

Inside The Vastness Oil on linen 80 x 120 cm This is my entry for the Tattersall's Club Landscape Art Award for which I have been preselected. I will be at the Tattersall's Club on Wednesday night for the opening of the exhibition and the announcement of the award.

Inside the Vastness explores the minutae of our vast landscape. It is also a metaphor for our inner world of the human psyche.

My next exhibition 'Prayers For The Planet: We are all the same' opens on October 12. Put the date in your diaries. The exhibition goes until November 3. More about the exhibition in the next few weeks and about the charity I have teamed with...War Child Australia www.warchild.org

I have chosen to upload this painting called Golden Lives because I painted it well over ten years ago and it reminds me that the tree-of-life motif has been evident in my work for some time. This is a mixed media work on paper and represents energy and life. Ten years ago, I don't think I even realised the possibilites of the tree and the life it would take on in my work.
Upon reflection I see a very gradual development in my work creating a thread which I hope and believe will be seen as having integrity, deep thought and being antcipatory.

The tree grows above and below the ground. It is inside and out. Maybe there is a promise that we as humans can go inside to grow. Inside is where our emotions and our subconscious lie. It is a place where love hopefully lives brightly. If is doesn't then maybe our world in which terrorism and war live is revealing what is inside us [or some of us]? I perceive a movement of conscious thought and prayer gathering strength around the world eg: www.millionmeditations.org The energy created by mass thoughts of love and peace coming from inside us will manifest the same on the outside...we can live with hope and that is empowering.

MOI

Just thought I'd post a picture of me. This photo was taken a couple of weeks ago by Nicci Shrimpton who is doing the PR for my next solo exhibition 'Prayers For The Planet: We are all the same.' www.nscomm.com The painting in the background is now finished! It is called 'Searching Inside The Horizon'.

I love using landscape elements as metaphors for life. What are our horizons? Do we limit ourselves by not 'looking' beyond? Once we have reached what seems to be the horizon there is always another. What can this mean for our lives?

In the past I spent many hours driving along western Queensland roads watching the horizon. Yet, what about my own personal horizons? Well, I think they are constantly moving and changing. Also, I have rediscovered some. Maybe our dreams are our horizons? As adults I think we lose sight of our dreams when busy lives close down the distance and space we need to dream. We need to keep our horizons in sight.

CLOSE DISTANCE

This gouache on paper painting was completed a few years ago. I re-discovered it in one of my folders because I've had a request from Dubai for lots of images. This is fantastic and hopefully will lead to some purchases. Time will tell! But, the exciting thing is that as I looked at the various titles of my re-discovered paintings I realised I have been somehow connected with unseen vibrations for a long time.

This painting above is called 'At Close Distance'. How can distance be close? I wanted to suggest the idea that distance is not something we sit outside of. We are actually inside distance and therefore it is all around, emmersing us. Distance is both temporal and spatial....we have a distance from ourselves over time, but we are connected to this time rather than being separate from it. This line-of-sight gives us the gift of perspective. It is up to us how we perceive this perspective and how we adjust our thoughts and behavours if we don't like what we perceive.

'At Close Distance' is a vast landscape on the one hand, but a detailed inventory of the forces of energy within the landscape. It is macro and micro, combining the two. This is also about perspective and our ability to see the big picture but also see its components and how they affect each other. The question then is how can we change these associations if they are not helful to us?

Some exciting news! My next exhibition 'Prayers For The Planet: We are all the same' opens on October 12 and continues until November 3 @ Doggett Gallery, Brisbane www.doggett.com.au I have teamed with War Child Australia for this exhibition. I will be giving %9 of exhibition sales proceeds to War Child which is an international relief and development agency dedicated to providing immediate, effective and sustainable aid to children affected by war. www.warchild.org.au More on this in future BLOGS.

I am also presenting at the University of Queensland's 'Australian Centre For Peace and Conflict
Studies' under their Art, Culture and Peacemaking Project. The title of my presentation is Art, 'Artists + Conversations = Peace Talks?' and the date for this is October 16. More on this in future BLOGS as well.

At Close Distance Gouache on paper 56 x 76 cm unframed

THANK GOODNESS

I cannot believe I last posted on the 18th July. It only seems like yesterday. My middle daughter has had her birthday and last weekend we had the 'joy' of six 13-14 year old girls sleep over. They watched videos for hours, ate rubbish and then slept...for a few hours.

I am busy working towards my next show at Doggett Street Gallery opening October 12. The exhibition is called 'Prayers For The Planet: We are all the same.' The painting above will be in the exhibition. It is called 'Thank Goodness'. It is a large painting 92 x 107 cm. I wanted to weave the tree of life into the strata of the earth. I also wanted the feel of rain and the appearance of this rain penetrating the strata. I wanted the sense of looking beyond the surface.

How many times do we exclaim 'Thank Goodness!'... or 'Thank God!'? If you think about it these exclamations are really about gratitude, relief, love, hope. I've noticed when I say/exclaim them and then stop to think about what I really mean, my feelings normally reveal complete relief, hope and an almost exasperated 'it's about time!' However, when I have stopped and thought I try to elliminate the exasperation and focus on being truly thankful.

When rain falls from the sky during drought times people exclaim 'Thank God!' or 'Thank goodness it's raining!' I've lived in rural Queensland for most of my life and I have heard these exclamations many times from friends, my Father, myself! I now live in Brisbane which is suffering from severe lack of water due to drought. When it does rain I hear the same things.
These exclamations are normally said with emphasis and emotion. They are really prayers of thanks, prayers for the planet...as well as being heartfelt exclamations of relief.

My painting above is about rain, thankfullness and looking beyond the surface of things, words, actions and life.

REFLECTION PERCEPTION

I have been thinking a lot lately about art which seems to reflect and art which seems to perceive. Sometimes I feel empty when I look at some art. The colours may be great, the work competently produced and so on, but once I look away nothing is left for me to think about. In a way mimicing mass media [I know the academics would find this interesting]. Whereas other art can grip your heart and imagination taking you to places within yourself. I recently saw an exhibition by a Brisbane artist called Michael Eather. I thought the whole exhibition was really interesting, but there were two really fantastic paintings which whirled with colour and movement, but were quietened by a single beautiful stingray which seemed to glide across this vibrant sea. I still think about these two paintings weeks after seeing them. To me that is a sign of art which is not merely reflective but has some sort of power of perception which is a result of the artist drawing in, mulling around, thinking, loving, imagining and then creating. I believe artists who do this may not be conscious of the process, but some sort of faith shows through.

I'm not sure that art which mimics mass media or tries to outdo photography can survive without art which perceives. There needs to be a balance. I believe the latter creates/invents new symbols which like all symbols mean more than words can say. Relective art is a reminder whereas perceptive art is a remembering of humanity which resonates at a level which some would say is spiritual, others may call it cellular memory. Whatever it is, the vibrations caused by perception awaken rather than remind.

I like to think my own art has this quality of perception and given the type of comments my work receives I believe this to be so. I have recently had some amazing reactions to my work from someone 'getting' the potential for Peace through art, someone feeling vibrations which I sensed disturbed them because he felt they were coming from somewhere else and someone who hugged me.

The painting above 'Heaven and Earth' will be in my next solo exhibition at Doggett Street Gallery, Newstead, Brisbane opening 12 th October.

INTO THE DISTANCE

When I lived in Goondiwindi [on the border of Queensland and NSW] I used to exhibit in Brisbane and other places in S.E Qld. Since moving to Brisbane seven years ago, and having exhibited internationally, I have been asked to make some presentations about creative industry export. One of my 'lines' is to say that exhibiting in Brisbane from Goondiwindi was like exhibiting in another country! The only differences were not having to deal with foreign currency exchange rates and huge cultural differences. I say 'huge' because there are cultural differences even between rural and urban Australia. They are subtle, but they do exist.

Recently I havebeen asked to make some public comments about trade and export. I have thought about this quite a lot. The world's history can be mapped through the impetus to exchange goods ie: trade. From the earliest of times when bartering took place 'trade' has fulffiled various needs. As civilisation becomes more sophisticated these needs are accompanied by wants.

Needs and wants are very basic human characteristics. Maslow and various other psuchologists have tried to identify the impetus and the motivations for human endevour. I think trade and export are fundamental oucomes of human existence.

Trade and export rely on relationships between individual people, small and large commercial enterprises and countries doing business. Without these relationships other types of interaction maybe different ie: political, diplomatic. Whilst world trade and export activity is highly complex their existence relies on being able to fulfill human needs and wants. In the troubled times in which we live trade and export are important conduits to keep lines of communication and connection open.



Driving Into The Distance Oil on linen 80 x 120 cm
Cheers,
Kathryn

Inside and Outside

My exhibition opening at The Upfront Club in Maleny last Thursday went fabulously well. Even though it was the coldest night of nights people ventured out. I had a room full of people to listen to my artist's talk which went really well with people asking me questions later on in the evening. The exhibition continues until July 31 @ The Upfront Club 31 Maple St, Maleny.

I have mentioned before on this Blog the idea of ridding oneself of thoughts, beliefs and feeling which are not useful to an abundant life. Letting go and releasing thus making space for positive thoughts, beliefs and feelings is enticing and achievable with sustained effort. I say 'effort' because for me it can be an effort to rid those automatic responses which pounce when things are depressing or difficult. However, I am pleased to say that I am winning the battle! I now notice that there are new automatic responses which are far more useful to me and I am sure to those who live with me! Namely...my children!

The painting above is called 'Inside The Vastness'. It is essentially a landscape showing the energy within the vastness of our land and how this energy forms our landscpae. I also like to think of the human psyche as a 'Vastness'. Whilst looking at the landscape we can say we have perspective. When we imagine being inside the landscape we can say we have perception. So it maybe the same for us as human beings. We can have both perspective and perception...perspective of the world around us and perception about our internal lives.

Inside The Vastness Oil on linen 80 x 120 cm

THROUGH THE FLYSCREEN

This painting called 'Through The Flyscreen' is one of my favourites. Why? Because it exposes a point of transition in my life. I painted it just after I moved to Brisbane having separated from my husband of 18 years. We had lived together in Goondiwindi [he still lives there], a small rural town on the border of Queensland and New South Wales [Australia]. For those of you who don't know about rural life in Australia, flies and mosquitoes are constant companions and flyscreens on windows are essential. I remember many times wiping either hordes of mosquitoes or flies off my arms and trying to from my back. No wonder I got Ross River Fever and Dengue fever too!

So, with this painting the viewer can either imagine themselves looking from the outside in or the reverse...from the inside out. This can also be described as looking from the present to the past or the present to the future. If you look closely at the image there is a city behind the flyscreen. It is set against a multi horizoned landscape. There are patches of rain in the multi distances. So, in a way time is collapsed and the past, present and future are one.

Looking back at some work I have done in years past I am often amazed at the hints of themes which ultimately dominate in later work. History and time [shared], distance [both temporal and spatial], collapsing notions of linear time are all prevalent in my more recent work. I wonder what themes this work is hinting at now? Time will give me the perspctive to 'see' I am sure.

Through The Flyscreen oil on linen 80 x 100 cm

SEE THIS IN MALENY

Thursday June 28 is the opening of my exhibition at The Upfront Club, 31 Maple Street, Maleny, Queensland, Australia @ 6.30 pm. I am speaking about my work at around 7 pm. The Upfront Club is great. The most Happening place I've been to in a long time. www.upfrontclub.org

The painting above Mountains and Metaphors will be in the exhibition. It will be the largest painting @ 80 x 120 cm. The other paintings will be a selection from the last couple of years. Predominantly the works on show will represent my interest in using landscape forms as metaphors for relationships whether they be with ourselves, other individuals or between collectives such as countries.

I hope my work causes people to think. I am not interested in being didactic or to even voice an opinion. I hope my work is more subtle than that. I like it when my images make people tell me their stories because something resonates for them. This is in contrast to me telling my story for its sake only.

SHARED DESTINIES

I am really very happy with this painting as it takes my attention every time I look at it. It is currently leaning against a wall in my living room. It took forever to complete as the line work is very detailed and needed a few coats of paint. The dark background tends to swallow colour if layering does not take place. I wanted to create the feeling of past and future history with a nod to the present. I wanted to give the feeling of history taking place against a backdrop of the history of the Universe. Puts things into a perspective where understanding can take place I think.

Shared Destinies Oil on linen 120 x 160 cm

LIVING THOUGHTS

There seems to be so a lot of talk about how our thoughts attract to us what we are thinking. So, beware if you are thinking bad thoughts because then you should expect bad things to happen to you. The solution [apparently] is to switch to positive thoughts all the time. This is a little difficult especially if you have not worked through the issues which seem to cause the bad thoughts to perpetuate. I do believe that thoughts are more than just ephemeral 'things' which once 'thought' are lost forever. There are questions which entice. Like...Why do some people have the same thought at the same time? Is there a collective thought process and an individual thought process? Is thinking about something too much likely to actually expell or repulse? Why do fleeting thoughts seem to hold so much potential? Why can someone ring if you have been thinking about them?

Recently I have been taught more about releasing and letting go those thoughts which really are not useful to me. What I have found is that as they are released certain insights occur as to why the thoughts were there in the first place. Further irradication must take place at this point otherwise those pesky bad thoughts want to revisit a fertile ground. I am e believer of the notion that positive affirmations have their place. My expereince lately is that the irradication process leaves more space for the affirmation...or faith to take hold.

Living Thoughts Oil on linen 55 x 80 cm

I finally had a photographer come around to document some of my latest oil paintings. The wonderful Priscilla Bracks www.priscillabracks.com an accomplished photographic artist in her own right has taken my latest images.

When I was painting this work I was thinking about those aspects of ourselves which we inherit from our ancestors. Even those aspects of our consciousness and subconscious which we live with but are oblivious to there source/s. We assume our thoughts and the way we think are totally stimulated by our own experience. But, how much of the way we think is due to inherited traits or even cellular memories of the human race? Another question to ponder is how can we irradicate or at least control those thoughts which are not useful to us? Firstly we may have to unravel our thinking process to find the core belief/s which [unknown to us] are influencing our lives. Unraveling is a courageous process because there are some aspects which act as crutches or protection which are no longer needed or perhaps were needed by those who have preceeded us. Identifying these thoughts/beliefs honestly as not useful and sometimes harmful can be a difficult confrontation with self. Letting them go is the next step.

I also believe that we can look at behavious caused by inherited cellular memory at an individual level as well as a collective level.

This painting 'Inherited' shows complexity through the tree-of-life signifying life, history and
geneology. The visceral appearance is about the body/brain partnership.

Inherited Oil on linen 55 x 80 cm photographed by Priscilla Bracks.

I have a small exhibition coming up soon at the most hip and happening place in Maleny...The Upfront Club opening Thursday June 28. The painting above will be in the exhibition. I will aslo be giving a talk about my work on the opening night. The Upfront Club is in Maleny's main street, Maple Street. I'll be putting more infomation on my Blog as the weeks go by.

I am Chairman of a Chamber Of Commerce and I have to say one of the best aspects of taking on the position is the people I have met. Because it is a Chamber of Commerce the focus is business, trade and export. On the weekend I met with a Consul General and a couple from an aviation orientated business. I have learnt so much about all sorts of different businesses. One of the outcomes for me personally is a deeper understanding not only of business but the amazing skill, pride, effort and creativity people give to create their lives. The types of business I now know a little about include recruitment, aviation engineering, honey production, the huge variety of seed merchants, lighting, all sorts of engineering, developments in security and crowd management systems, scaffolding and the list goes on. It really is fascinating.

I have also learnt that trade and export are not just business. They are relationships which come from a desire to fulfill needs and wants. One way to maintain relationships throughout the world is trough trade and export because there is a common thread of need and/or desire which seems to exist in all countries. I think the world needs trade and export for other reasons apart from economic reasons.

Shared History oil on canvas

NEW WORK

I am steadily working towards my next solo exhibition in October at Doggett Street Gallery, Newstead Brisbane. The paintings will be simpler than previous work...at least I think this will be the case. I am enjoying the 'tree-of-life' and all its possibilities; love, faith, connection, vibration, similarity, difference, spirit, joy, the earth and so on. I am toying with calling the exhibition 'Sending Love'.

The painting above is called 'Heaven and Earth' which I can be translated into human and spiritual existence.

I visited Sydney last weekend with my eldest daughter. We had a great time looking at some galleries, a possible educational institution for my daughter in the future and lots of dress shops as we were also on a mission to buy a formal dress. We walked Sydney and I was surprised at the dearth of long frocks suitabley priced and lovely for teenage girls. We did finally find a gorgeous dress which was outside my initial price range but certainly within reasonableness...I suppose!

I am very pleased. My entry in the Prometheus Art Award has been preselected for the final judging. (www.prometheusartaward.com.au) The painting I entered is 'Earth's Pulse' which I have previously written about on this blog.

I attended the Open Day 'Maximal' exhibition at Robyn Bauer Studio Gallery yesterday. I have two oil paintings plus a portfolio of unframed work in the exhibition. There are 19 other artists in the show. Each of the artists spoke a couple of times during the afternoon. It is a good exercise because it makes it clearer in my own mind what I am trying to achieve. It also opens up new ideas or extensions to ideas. It is also interesting to hear other artist's motivations and thoughts.

The image above comes from my Children's Series and is an unframed gouache on paper in the portfolio I have left at the gallery. This painting was inspired by seeing my children pretend to be the person they thought was required at school. They hid behind masks from a young age to please teachers and peers. I call this the 'Good Girl Syndrome'. It is an insidious problem and one which does not get attention. How many anorexics suffer from this I wonder?

'Maximal' continues until31 May. Robyn Bauer Studio Gallery, 54 LaTrobe Tce, Paddington. Wed-Sat 10.30-5

PAINT

I have been painting. The problem is I am not very good at photographing oils. I will get them professionally photographed when I have a number of them.

One result of the way I paint is that I end up getting paint all over me. So, if I am at the physio or trying shoes on I often have to explain my multi coloured feet, or the red streak across my back, or my deplorable finger nails. My children die of embarrassment when I turn up at school with paint on my face [and I don't know it is there].

The image above is called 'Assimilation' and is part of my bride series. I was thinking about how the country bride becomes part of the land. Her spirit imbeds itself in the community and the earth as she becomes absorbed by country life. When your very existence and survival is dependent on the land and weather you do become very attuned to the earth's rhythms. I have a plethora of female ancestors who married country men. These women were pioneers marking out their own identities and contributing to thier communities.

I am included in a group exhibition with 19 artists 'Maximal' at Robyn Bauer Gallery, 54 Latrobe Tce, Paddington, Brisbane www.robynbauergallery.com.au The exhibition opens this Saturday 21 April, 12 noon-6 pm. Robyn is calling it an open day as the artists will be there to chat to people. Gallery hours are Wed-Sat 10.30-5 pm. Please come along.

Assimilation 80 x 100 cm Oil on linen

PRAISE

I have spent the last four days agonising over a large work on canvas. It is the first large work I have painted for a few months and it takes time for me to get back 'into the groove' so to speak. However, I am happy with the way things have progressed today. From experience I know the agonising is worth it!

One of my problems is that I have so many ideas running through my head that I find it hard to focus on developing one of them. So, the painting in progress is a large canvas 120 x 160 cm and I am inspired by the idea of shared destinies. This fits with previous [and continuing] ideas about shared histories. I am interested in how and why individuals or groups of people come together or cross paths. Is there a reason....some say there is a reason for everything and that it is our purpose to understand these reasons.

I am also interested in how crossed paths or more intense long term relationships can become part of myth, landscape and story. Do myths etc assist in leading into the future or do they hold us to the past? I think landscape holds many of the most powerful secrets including the fact that holding onto the past is impossible although many of us try to. Climatic and seasonal changes ensure that nothing ever stays the same. Yet, love of the land and nature will ensure we are constantly sustained.

The painting above 'In Joyful Praise' has been sent to Korea. It is in praise of those energies within the landscape. This painting is a prayer for our planet.

In Joyful Praise gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

Gallery L Seoul

I am very excited about being included in an exhibition opening next Thursday 12 April at Gallery L in Seoul, Korea. I will have 4 oil paintings plus possibly some works on paper in the exhibition.

It is also exciting as my work is being exhibited with paintings by Muk Muk Aboriginal artists (Australian art centre based in the Northern Territory). Gallery L is an exhibition space offered by Gallery Yeh, one of Seoul's best known quality galleries. The exhibition has been organised by local contemporary art lover Mr Chang-Ho Han.

Support for the exhibition has come from Queensland Trade & Investment Office and Austrade.
The Australian Ambassador, HE Peter Rowe will also be in attendance.

The painting above 'Life's Vibrations' will be in the exhibition. When I painted this work I was thinking about those elements of life which are common to every single person living on this planet now, in the past and the future; those vibrations of our breath, our pulses and the energy forces within each cell. The tree-of-life is a trans-cultural/religious motif which conjures up thoughts of oneness, similarity and sharing. At the same time this 'tree' has a brain-like appearance, or a system-like appearance. I have often had comments from medical people remarking on my paintings. A medical professor once asked me if I had studied histology. I have not...yet I do love the connections people make when they look at my work.

The exhibition at Gallery L continues until April 25.
Lifes Vibrations Oil on linen 78 x 107 cm