DANCE WITH DISTANCE

I attended the Daphne Mayo Art History lecture at the University of Queensland Art Museum on Thursday night. The visiting scholar who gave the lecture is Terry Smith, FAHA, CIHA the Andrew W Mellon Professor of Contemporary Art History and Theory in the Department of the History of Art and Architecture at the University of Pittsburgh, and a Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Architecture, University of Sydney. The title of his talk was ‘The History of Contemporary Art: Paradoxes and Antinomies’.

Prof Smith discussed the meaning of 'contemporary' and posed questions relating to what it means to be contemporary and contemporaneous. He touched upon time suggesting that being ‘of the time’ or ‘of the moment’ identified the space/place which might be called contemporary. Whilst placing his discussion on a broad frame of historical context and human existence he devoted his attention to exploring the question… What is contemporary art?

While he was talking I became more and more excited because I felt he was investigating and trying to explain the essence of how humanity now exists in the space created between and in the macro and micro [global and local] and that this space is the contemporary place. I believe he saw this as the space between the paradoxes and antimonies referred to in his title. I have written before about the simultaneity of perspective ie: global and local, macro and micro. I have also described distance, both spatial or temporal, as having the capability of being close or far. So, this space between the macro and micro need not be about a large distance, but rather a distance that expands and contracts from nano size to something more. I believe this ‘distance between’ is not about opposites or extremes, but more about negotiating that which may appear to be particular and anything which seems to diffuse particularity keeping in mind that 'particularity' depends on perspective. I also feel that if we mistake this distance between the macro and micro as being a space between two extant opposites we will miss discovering new trajectories and the resulting new spaces/distances. Negotiating life which is increasingly seen as both global and local is the dilemma of the contemporary.

In reference to my own work I have previously written about the multi perspective approach I employ to engage the viewer in an observation which has the potential to give the experience of simultaneously being in many places/perspectives at the one time. My work is intentionally ambiguous with regards to viewpoint ie: a viewer might feel they are above, below, inside, outside, in front or behind, close or far or a combination. I wonder if this experience might enable someone to understand that in this globalised world we need to be able to place ourselves in another’s or many others’ shoes in order to conduct business, diplomacy, politics, cultural exchange and so on…and also to view ourselves from a distance outside. This is where compassion for ourselves and others enters [I will talk about this more further on]. My multi perspective approach suggests that we have the capacity or perhaps the potential ability to learn to ‘see’ everything around us [like having eyes all over our bodies] giving us the ability to discover trajectories we may not otherwise be aware of.

The act of painting is about seeing with the eye ball and pupil but also seeing with the mind’s eye. As I [and other artists] move back and forth from our work examining them as close and far distance we make decisions based on what our seeing eye thinks looks good and what our mind’s eye wants to achieve in respect of meaning, message, essence and/or aura. The physical act of moving back and forth is a dance which exemplifies the processes of negotiating the space/distance between the macro and micro. The creative act, in a way, provides clues for how we can negotiate living in the contemporary space/distance. Like any dance there are moments of inclusion and exclusion…the push-me-pull-you of energy.

I have written before about finding a shared compassion with visitors to my exhibition in Abu Dhabi in 2005. My paintings were the catalysts for the most amazing conversations with people from all over the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe. I realised I had to suspend ownership over the completion of my work because each conversation brought another completion. I discovered that my use of multi perspectives and the trans-cultural/religious tree-of-life motif propelled conversations to deeper levels because time was not spent on explanation. People shared their hopes, dreams and in some cases despair with me and in the process we discovered we had new perspectives of each other collapsing barriers of difference which set us apart. By discovering points of similarity we discovered intimate spaces of shared compassion.

I think this potential capacity for shared compassion is the great hope of a globalised world perhaps providing clues to new pathways to peace. This compassion is not about sympathy which has an intrinsic inequality. Compassion to me is much more honourable, respectful, mutual and has the potential to be truly intimate. So, if living in the space/distance between the macro and micro/global and local is what being contemporary is about I believe compassion has an important part to play. I say this because once people develop skills of ‘seeing’ different perspectives compassion and understanding, albeit not necessarily agreement, will propel relationships and negotiations both globally and locally. The alternative is too horrible!

For me contemporary art is a reflective and affective agent for the qualities within the ‘space between’ where simultaneity, compassion and the sensational [as opposed to sensationalist] are evoked with simplicity [as opposed to simplistically]. Contemporary art is an exploration of a space which I am beginning to think might be where we rediscover the aura encompassing time and space ie: existence. Contemporary art can [but not necessarily] be an affective agent assisting people to understand and negotiate this ‘space between’. I don’t like to think art has a defined ‘role’ because it denotes predetermination or prescription. However, art certainly has an affective agency.

But back to the Daphne Mayo lecture. I came away feeling more sure that my work is truly contemporary. In this age of multi media/new media I [and other artists] sometimes feel that because we don’t employ these new mediums then our work is ‘old hat’… unless of course it is simplistically confrontational/sensationalist and gains immediate attention [that’s another story].

I believe my work can be described as truly contemporary because I am inspired to paint images that ‘speak’ about the co-existence of the macro and micro, that identify the existence of the space between the macro and micro and the possibility of new horizons which are not necessarily in front of us, collapsing linear/horizon line notions of perspective, engaging other cultures without appropriating them, revealing the simplicity within the complex and vice versa. By doing these things I have become more comfortable shimming through concepts of distance whether close or far. My solo exhibition in London in 2002 was actually called ‘Distance’. Whilst I know I had not fully thought about the various issues I have written about here I was interested in the fact that distance could be about time and space, could be far and close, and that I was an Australian exhibiting at a far distance from her home country. This latter more literal aspect, whilst a little banal, I now realise is important because the physical/felt experience has a way of entering the psyche. That’s why I deliberately create paintings with multi perspectives hoping that a viewer might have a physical/felt experience of what it is like to be in another or many other places.

In this global world we also see an incredible growth in the self/personal development services. These range from orthodox to alternative often invoking the ‘spiritual’ to assist in attracting clients or genuinely exploring its endless qualities. People are gaining new perspectives of themselves by delving into the possibilities of self/personal development. So whilst our world view becomes vast, and we can now book a holiday in space, we also feel compelled to ‘look into’ and examine ourselves because we want to understand ‘how to be’ in a world which can be scarily immense. This desire can be extrapolated to the burgeoning support/counselling services for the other micro components of the whole ie: family, business, corporate, government, national entities.

I have uploaded the above image for a few reasons. One is that it is a new work. Two…it is ‘seeing’ the interiority of vastness at the same time as witnessing the vastness. Three…it plays with perspective. I have called this painting ‘Viscera’ meaning that the internal life forces of the earth are revealed. Yet, ignoring the detail the sum total is a large landscape. Yet, is the viewer sure of where they stand in view of this vast landscape? Is the viewer in front of a land and sky scene or above a landscape of land and water or inside the internal workings? The landscape seems to be born from a tree…the tree-of-life with its branches becoming visceral and vascular reminding us that our bodies hold these same truths and energies. This is where the image can devolve into something more universal than a particular landscape. I like the fact that a viewer standing at a distance will ‘see’ a different landscape to the one they see when up close, yet it is the same landscape. You, the reader, can have a similar experience by clicking on the image to make it larger. Enticing the viewer to move back and forth from the painting replicates the moves I made when creating it. This dance with distance is an important component of my work.

Viscera Oil on linen 90 x 200 cm 2008

EARTH FOR SALE!

Detail Earth For Sale!

Earth For Sale ! [120 x 160 cm Oil on linen] is an image I uploaded recently and said I would 'talk' more about it. This painting is painted with $ signs. It took me forever! However, I am really quite happy with the work as I believe it not only looks appealing, but it 'says' all that I wanted to suggest.

I have painted this as a deliberately ambiguous landscape. It could be an aerial view or a landscape of mountains and sky or even the sea/river. The viewer is unaware of the $ signs until they are up close. This is a deliberate action to suggest the Earth is being sold but have we really noticed?

For instance water is not simply water any more! Useable water is a finite commodity harvested, irrigated, licensed, allocated, contracted, mined and sold. Irrigated cotton farms turn ordinary land into mega million dollar properties. Minerals are furiously extracted to satisfy a frenzy of need in places such as China. Grains and seeds grown in overly stretched rich soils or in forcibly fertilised and irrigated marginal soils are harvested not just for food but for bio fuels. The latter reducing food supplies to starving countries. Forests are cut down to make money, but in the process compromising the balance of nature.

Water is of particular interest to me because I grew up on a grain farm at Pirrinuan, outside Dalby on the Darling Downs, Australia. The Pirrinuan Plain and the neighbouring Jimbour Plain have the deepest top soil in the southern hemisphere...so very fertile fround. The soil is black and when it is wet it is thick and sticky. When it is dry it cracks open making children think the other side of the world will burst through.

I grew up watching the sky. My grandfather farmed the land for 40 years before my father took over in the mid 1960s. My grandfather never missed a crop, but just after my Dad started farming on his own crops were missed because the rain became less predictible. If it wasn't raining there were the increasing violent storms with hail and floods. I remember one whole side of the farm was gauged away by floodwaters ripping through from the Bunya Mountains. This gully became unuseable.

So...after marrying I moved to Goondiwindi where my husband [now ex] has a country law practice. Whilst we were not on the land we certainly were affected by the vagaries of nature. The population of Goondiwindi was around the 5,000 with another 5000 people living in the surrounding farming areas [ie: up to an hour or more drive from town] Cotton, wheat and other grains, cattle, wool, sheep, pigs offered a diversification of rural production in the Goondiwindi district.

But, over the 18 years I lived in Goondiwindi it was the change in how we thought about water which interested me. When I moved there in 1982 the climate was hot and dry and a farmer could apply for a water license for a nominal fee. Within a few years the Water Resources government department restricted licences. This made the licenses valuable and tradeable. A license allows a farmer to pump a certain amount of mega litres of water from the river system as long as the river water level is not below a certain height.

Farmers [particularly cotton farmers] built massive dams...these are so big you can sail on them...to store water which they use during drought or water restricted times to irrigate their cotton crops. When the river systems flood farmers can 'harvest' water once the river level exceeds a certain height. The idea of 'harvesting' water seemed really odd to me when I first heard it.

But what is also interesting is the idea of 'water law'. So, licenses can be traded, transferred from one farm to another etc. Thus we have contracts for sale of entities to deliver water...and the various other legal issues are nuanced and endless and include many aspects of law [litigation, contract, banking, leasing etc] Now, there are also tradeable commodities which group water infrastructure and so on.

When I left Goondiwindi in 2000 the climate had been hot and humid for years. The change from hot and dry to hot and humid could only be because of the huge amount of extra water stored in dams and the evaporation of irrigated water . Interestingly, a friend of mine who has lived in Dubai for many many years has noticed the climate and temperature change there since Dubai authorities have 'greened' up the city. They use desalinated water in abundance.

This is my story. But, on the world stage water is a serious issue. Underground aquifers are depleted [causing soil spoiling salination], melting glaciers cause erosion and spill compromised water into rivers and oceans, developing countries have increased water needs, food production and crops for bio-fuel are thirsty. Yet, useful fresh water is not a renewable resource [it is less than 2% of the world’s supply].

Over the last few years my paintings have been explorations of life on our shared planet using the viscerality and power of the trans-cultural/religious tree-of-life as my guiding motif. My interest in water is part of this broad interest. Water, earth’s life force and blood is something all people must be aware of and look after. I think, maybe the shared concern will assist is drawing people together in a common goal. After all aren't we 70% water too!

Cheers,
Kathryn

BOOK REVIEW

I recently wrote a review of an autobiography by Irena Sibley, 'Self Portrait of the Artist's Wife'. The review has been published in the Australian Women's Book Review. They have also placed one of my paintings on the cover. Here is the link:

http://www.emsah.uq.edu.au/awsr/recent/index.html

Vastness Gouache on Paper 30 x 21 cm 2008

PERSPECTIVE-Distance

In my last BLOG I wrote about the invitation to be the guest speaker at the University of Queensland's
graduation ceremony for the Faculties of Arts, and Behavioural and Social Sciences. Well, it happened on Wednesday night and I am very happy with how it went. I was very honoured to have been asked and tried to give a speech which reflected my passion as an artist, but also giving a glimpse into how my art practice feeds my intellectual interests, and conversely how my intellectual interests and academic studies inform my art. I chose to speak about one artist's tool, and that is perspective. What I like about perspective is that it can also be a metaphor for how we view ourselves and others, and in this sense can be spatial and temporal with each kind of distance being close or far.

 

I went into a very brief timeline of the history of perspective ie: as a tool to give a 3 d impression on a 2d surface. What interests me is that the history of perspective reflects the growing understanding science and exploration gave of mankind's place on earth. I believe art, and its history, reflects this at the same time, but not as obviously so, being an affective agent albeit not always or necessarily a deliberate one.

 

I also believe that conversation triggered by art can stimulate people to open up to each other sharing dreams, hopes, fears and despair. I certainly experienced this when I exhibited at the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation in 2005. I have previously written about these wonderful experiences talking with people who came to see my show. I realised that the agendaless, but not directionless, quality of these conversations enabled me and my viewers to see each other from different perspectives, opening up a space of shared compassion and hope, plus a realisation that we were more fundamentally similar than different. This agendaless, but not directionless quality of conversation triggered by art, I believe may just hold clues to new ways of communication ....and possibly new pathways to peace on earth.

 

In my speech I talked about academic study and degrees being one aspect of a person's personal perspective tool kit. I suggested that imagination, inspiration, flexibiity, judgement and experience enable a person to create both literal and metaphoric perspective, and that coupling these attributes with the skills gained in academic study, they give a person a powerful tool to view themselves and others... with hopefully recognising the compassionate qualities or potential of such an ability.

 

I made reference to the fact that artists once they have learnt rules of any kind, enjoy breaking or manipulating them. When an artist discards the rules of perspective they basically rely on their eye. As Vasari wrote of Michelangelo, 'He held his compass, that is his judgement, in his eyes not his hands'. I suggested that an artist's process is one of continual critical assessment and imagination. From the very first issue, which is the blank canvas, an artist's mind is working. However, a canvas is never blank because, in my case anyway, my imagination paints many images on its surface well before I decide how to make the first mark. Once this mark is made it is a dance of critical assessment, chance, controlled accidents, obsessional detail and constant questioning and problem solving.

 

But, I suggested that the artist's eye is not just the eye of eye ball and pupil, but the mind's eye too. So, when I or any artist, move back and forth from our work examining it at close and far distance we are making decisions based on what our seeing eye thinks looks good, and what our mind's eye wants to achieve in terms of meaning, message, essence and/or aura.

So, like an artist imagining before they make that first mark, we all have dreams about how our lives might be, but it is action which makes that first mark. Be like an artist and keep your eye on the immediate surrounds and seeable horizon, but your mind's eye beyond the horizon [remembering it may not necessarily be in front of you!]. This comment in brackets referred to my description of my own work where I play with perspective so that a viewer may feel as if they are at many points of view at the one time eg: in front , behind, inside, above and below etc.

So, that's a brief outline of my talk. The painting above plays with perspective because it could appear to be an aerial view at the same time as being inside, or in front of a landscape with hills and sky. It is not until you get close to this painting that the viewer realises it is created with thousands of $ signs. From a distance this is not evident. I will talk more about this work in a future post.

Earth For Sale 120 x 160 cm oil on linen

VASTNESS

Well, the week has been busy with various disparate activities. Next week will also be busy, but I will have time to paint. However, on Wednesday I have both an exciting and challenging experience. That is....I am the guest speaker at the University of Queensland's graduation ceremony for the faculties of Arts, and Behavioural and Social Science. I will be speaking for 5-8 minutes. So, I have written a speech which I will not read, but will refer to as I go along. I have chosen to speak about perspective...both literally and metaphorically. I will say not more now, but will elaborate after Wednesday.

I am honoured to be asked to make this speech. My family does have a history at UQ. Some families have multiple lawyers or doctors, but my family has a diverse mix of courses and experiences. My mother has 3 degrees from UQ including a Masters by Research in Education. She completed this as an external student when I was in my late teens. It was a huge amount of work, and before computers, so the floor in the spare room was covered in piles of papers and notes. My Mother did 2 of her degrees externally because we lived on a farm. I look back at her efforts and they were mighty!

My brother has 1 1/2 degrees and is now one of the Assistant Directors of IT at UQ. My 2 paternal Aunts studied at UQ in the 1940/50s. One aunt completed a Commerce Degree and the other aunt was UQ's first female graduate from Agricultural Science. Her husband is also a graduate of Agricultural Science, having completed post-graduate study. He started at UQ as a returned soldier with my Aunt being one of his lecturers. Interestingly, my Aunt also taught my former parents-in-law when they entered study after World War II.

One of my aunt and uncle's sons completed a PhD in Ionospheric Physics in the mid 1980s and won a scholarship to the prestigious Max Planck Institute in Germany. However, sadly he died on an expedition climbing Mt Everest. With only about 30 m to go to reach the summit he and the other climbers had to turn back due to the blizzard conditions. They were also climbing without oxygen. On his descent my cousin slipped and fell backwards into a major ravine and has never been found. A young doctor from Melbourne also slipped on the same spot.

And to something happier. My daughter will start at UQ next year. So, in a few years time I will be seated in the audience at the Faculty of Arts graduation feeling very proud I am sure.

Seeing Into The Vastness Gouache on paper 40 x 50 cm framed 2008

COMPETITIONS

The announcement of the winner of the inaugural LAUNCH: Clayton Utz Travelling Scholarship was this week. The winner is Martin Smith and well done too. The remaining 24 artists

still feel like winners though. Well, I do and I know a few others said they felt like a winner. Part of the reason is that this award has an afterlife beyond the exhibition period because all the finalist's works will be hung at Clayton Utz's office in Brisbane for 6 months. The works are currently on show at Metro Arts in Edward Street until July 12 and will be taken to the legal eagles' office after this date. Apparently over 300 people a day need to visit Clayton Utz and this means that all [or a large %] of these people will get to see the LAUNCH art work. And, the art is for sale. Providing this kind of exposure is a wonderful way to support artists.

It is very exciting to be preselected for an art award. The opportunity to have your work seen by preselectors, judges and then the public is wonderful. But, after the exhibition period, and if your work has not won or sold, it must come home. Clayton Utz and Positive Solutions http://www.positive-solutions.com.au/ idea of extending the life of LAUNCH is admirable and appreciated.

Talking of preselections. My entry for the Broken Hill Regional Gallery Works on Paper Outback Award has been preselected. The prize is announced on July 18. This is the third year in a row that my entry has been preselected so I am pleased there are 3 different judges out there who seem to like my works on paper.

The image above is the painting in LAUNCH. Its title is Shared Destinies and my thoughts were about how no matter what our differences etc are we all share this planet. So, ultimately our destinies are common to everyone ie: the BIG picture destiny stuff! The increasing desire to look after the Earth is part of the BIG picture. Through a shared caring we may just find clues to better communication creating a healthy and balanced peace on our planet.

Shared Destinies Oil on linen 120 x 160 cm

CONVERSATION

I am quite excited because there is a small article about me and my work in the University of Queensland's latest Graduate Contact magazine. It is in the section called Keep In Contact which has a variety of stories about various graduates from various years. It is always interesting to read an article about yourself. Whilst I was interviewed for the piece it is interesting to see what the writer has considered important. I am really pleased that, in this case, my thoughts about conversation and art come thorugh very clearly.

 

 

I have written about my ideas relating to conversation and art before on this BLOG. However, I am always adding to these ideas. Something which has become a little more focused are my thoughts about the agendaless quality of spontaneous conversations triggered by art. Each conversation is different with each viewer. Intimacy can be achieved. However, I think intimacy is different to discussion about intimate things. The latter can happen at various types of meetings eg: about women's health, poverty, divorce and so on. However, in the case of a meeting there is normally an agenda, whether formal or informal. Discussing intimate experiences does not necessarily mean there is an intimacy of shared feelings and emotions which have surfaced due to reactions to a work of art. My experience has been that exchange is different to sharing.

This painting above is a work on paper. It is called Sunrise Over The Vastness and whilst it is a landscape I was also thinking of the idea of personal horizons and the illumination of these.

Sunrise Over The Vastness Gouache on paper 21 x 30 cm 2008

Well, the last week has been a mixed bag. Some good, some not so good.

A good thing was that I went to Melbourne overnight on Friday to attend the opening of a Small Works exhibition at Brunswick Street Gallery, Fitzroy http://www.bsgart.com.au/ I have six 30 x 30 cm oil on board paintings in the show. Friday night was amazing. 330 artists were exhibiting and I think there were over 1200 artworks hung. I am absolutely sure about 1200 people came to the show on Friday night as it was packed with people coming and going. When I left there was a line of people waiting to get in. The line went up the 3 flights of stairs and out into the street! The exhibition is actually very good too, so well worth the wait for these people. The show ends 19 June.

I have had some really great feedback from my presentation at FEHVA. It is great when people contact you after an event.

Last week saw me also grapple with unprofessionalism from an field unrelated to the arts. I am still reeeling from the shifting sands of statements that contradict, being charged for advice by people recommended to me but I am now told were not up to the task ... and it goes on. Needless to say this is an unwelcome occurrence in my life. However, it makes me think more about what it is to be professional.

I am a professional artist who is in the latter stages of being considered an emerging artist. This state of emergence can take some time! My observation is that the older you are the harder it is to emerge into that stage of an artist's career where good gallery representation, critical writing, major awards, inclusion in curated exhibitions and being acquired by major corporate or institutional collections happen. However, tenacity is the clue and I've got it in bundles. For me professionalism means everything from using good quality materials, spending time experimenting to ensure that my technique and understanding of the medium grows and is revitalised, thinking and researching about ideas, constantly observing myself and my art, being honest in everything I do from material choice to entering prizes, writing about my work in meaningful and truthful ways, maintaining best business practice, responding to people with integrity, and being brave and confident enough to show myself and my art to the world.

Awesome Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm unframed

This painting sold a few years ago. It is called 'Go West Young Woman', taking off the old saying, 'Go west young man!' The 5 women are young brides heading out to their futures in remote and rural areas. Often the allure of the rural lifestyle beckons/seduces with promise, not revealing the hardships and lonliness.

But, that idea of 'going west' out into the frontiers can be a metaphor for our own internal lives. Like going places in our thoughts and experiences which stretch and broaden us. Over the weekend I attended FEHVA at Bangalow. It was excellent and certainly extended me. I spent 2 days attending very interesting sessions presented by an array of artists. I learnt a lot and I also came away feeling that I am not alone in my quest to juggle all the elements needed to enable me to paint, exhibit, be inspired and to develop my career as an artist. The sessions were varied from discussions about the struggle to paint, how to manage competitions [preselection, winning and not!], healing, indigineous responses to the apology and so on.

I was very pleased to also be one of the presenters [co-presenting with indigenous artist Sally Harrison]. Our topic was Peace and Reconciliation. Sally spoke about the internal peace she has and continues to find with her art. I spoke about my ideas that art, artists and the conversations which ensue may hold new clues to pathways to peace...so more about external peace.

Bangalow is a great little town and I want to go back to enjoy it some more.

Last Friday night the Churchie National Emerging Art Show opened. I was one of the preselected artists, but was not lucky enough to win. It was just great to be selected.

And, I learnt late last week that I am one of the 25 artists selected for the inaugural LAUNCH: Clayton Utz Travelling Scholarship Award. The 25 paintings will be hung in an exhibition at Brisbane's Metro Arts in July and then they will hang at Clayton Utz [large law firm] for 6 months. One person will win money to go towards travel associated with professional development. So, I am very happy to be one of the 25 artists!

TENACITY

During the last week the word tenacious has been mentioned to me a few times. Basically in the context that my tenacity will pay off in terms of success etc. I replied to one person by saying 'Yep, my name is Kathryn Tenacity Brimblecombe-Fox'! We had a laugh together. I love what I do...I love painting and I love thinking about a work in progress or ideas for new works. Much of my thinking time is spent 'creating' in my head and I work consistently. Is this tenacity? I suppose it could be described as such, but I don't think it is all of the story. An artist has to be tenacious about pushing forward to gain recognition, critical and commercial success. This means constantly looking for opportunities to exhibit and promote oneself. This means time is taken up with writing proposals, entering competitions and attending functions. The latter may seem a bit odd to someone outside the artworld. However, being an artist ie: a painter working in my studio, is a lonely activity...although I do love the solitude! If I did not have children to pick up at the end of the day I could go for days wthout talking to anyone. So, attending functions gets me out and about meeting other artists, curators, writers, collectors and others interested in the arts.

I am working on ideas about water at the moment. And I am being tenacious about it too! Constantly thinking, noting down ideas, making quick sketches. My time growing up on a grain farm, time spent in Goondiwindi [where there is a lot of irrigation], observations of water use in the Middle East and looking at how city folk are dealing with water restrictions. All these elements and more are informing my ideas. The fact that a fundamental aspect of human survival has an increasing monetry value is everything from absurd to frightening.

Past and Future Together Gouache on paper 30 x 21 cm

MELBOURNE

I have just returned from 3 days in Melbourne. Had a great...and exhausting time. Visited lots of galleries and walked miles. I think I've left my feet in Melbourne!


I really liked Melbourne. I have only ever visited 3 times before and for very short periods of time. People were friendly and welcoming.

The work on paper above was painted at the same time as the work in my previous post. I am continuing to be intrigued by the Spiral Dynamics theory by Don Beck [also mentioned in the previous post].

Also, the idea of the future revisiting the past...and even aspects of the past which may not have previously been considered important is fascinating.

I am formulating some thoughts about the popularity of images of animals in current art trends. I saw quite a few animal works in Melbourne, and have noticed the trend in Sydney and in Brisbane. Plus in the art magazines. Do images of animals provide a sense of security in stressful times? Do they indicate a need for unconditional love? I am interested in looking at animal totems to see if somehow artists who create these images are tapping into ancient ritualistic vibrations. I have to be harsh and suggest some of the work I've seen is just tapping into a popular trend for opportunistic reasons.

In The Ebb and Flow Gouache on paper 30 x 22 cm

Cheers,
Kathryn
www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

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.