COLOUR , COOKING & ANTIMONIES

The Colour Of Knowledge Oil on linen 62 x 82 cm  2010

I've just picked up 'Colour Of Knowledge' from Cleveland, a bayside community near Brisbane. The painting was a finalist in the Redland Art Award. From over 400 entries just over 50 paintings were chosen as finalists. So, I was, and am, very happy to have been chosen. Here's the link to my previous post about this painting http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/12/colour-of-knowledge.html

As I have previously mentioned I am reading a book called 'Water' by Steven Solomon. It is a history of water ranging across 5000 years, and it is fascinating. I am just over half way through the book, and it is clearly apparent that those civilisations and societies which harness the power of water, at the same time as honouring it, are the ones that thrive. I suspect the globalised world in which we live, needs another revolutionary breakthrough in how to use, conserve and produce water, because water sustains life through agriculture and hydrating our own human bodies, plus maintaining Earth's biosphere. Yet, current methods of deploying water's gifts, are not coping with agricultural demands and are compromised by climate change, industrial uses and the boom in mining.

I was at a party over the weekend and I mentioned a vision of the future, which I have previously written about on this BLOG. The vision is that in the future my great-great-great grandchildren will be watchingg some kind of emedded entertainment device. They will come across reruns of a quaint little show called 'Masterchef' and as they watch they become obviously more and more confused. They turn to their parents and ask,'What are they doing?'....'Cooking what's that?'  If we allow strategic farmland to be compromised by mining, mainly coal seam gas mining, our future may necessitate developing alternative food in the form of internally imbedded nanobot distributers which a rebooted with nutrients and sensations once every 12 months!...NOW! I'd much prefer alternative fuel to be developed before we need alternative food. But, a few of my fellow party goers offered some 'bright side' comments to my proposed vision. Imagine ...no grocery shopping, no teenagers complaining that there's nothing to eat, dieting made easy becasue there's no temptation, no cleaning up, no kitchen! Mmmmmm... not so enticing really, although I do loathe grocery shopping and I am not such a crash hot cook, but I do like eating.

So, my vision got me thinking a bit deeper, and 'Colour Of Knowledge' kinda fits in with these thoughts. The painting talks about the metaphor provided by the trans-cultural/religious story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. For me, Adam and Eve, represent humanity. In the painting Eve is connected to Adam as she takes from the tree-of-knowledge. They are not separate, because prior to taking from the tree they did not see their nakedness/separateness, hence I have painted them white to indicate a white light where no colour [representing antimonies] exists. The promise of the Garden of Eden seems to be lost, but maybe not! Maybe upon taking frome the tree, humanity unleashes all the sentient joys of being human, axiomatically including antimonies, such as 'good' and 'error'. Without antimonies we cannot discover who we are not, in order to understand who we are. For me, the promise of the Garden of Eden [Paradise] is here and now, both outwardly in the existence of Earth's wonder and inwardly in the depths of our souls. However, have we noticed?

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/12/colour-of-knowledge.html

VORTEX

My preparations for VORTEX, solo exhibition 22 Feb -6 March at Graydon Gallery continues. Here are a couple of the paintings which will be in the show.

Compassion Oil on linen 100 x 100 cm 2010

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/07/compassion.html

Galaxial Landscape Oil on linen 90 x 180 cm 2010

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/06/galaxial.html

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/06/addicted-to-surprise.html

CHRISTMAS

And just a reminder that a painting is a great gift at any time! Please check out my Christmas 'gallery' on my website where I have uploaded some ideas for Christmas ranging in prices from a couple of hundred $.

http://www.visualartist.info/visualartist/artist/subpage.asp?ex=gallery&I=1690&sub=5444&artistId=1292&PageId=1690

Cheers,

Kathryn

http://www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com/

$oils Ain't $oils...Any More!

$oils Ain't $oils...Any More! Oil on linen 70 x 100 cm 2010

This is the painting I wrote about, and uploaded a detail photo of, in my last post. Everything, apart from the sky and the sheets of rain in the distance, is painted with small $ signs. Now...regular readers of my BLOG will know that I often use $ signs in my work, to pose questions about how we 'value' those gifts, such as water, which sustain life.

With this painting I am posing questions about how we value our soils. I was inspired to paint this image after attending a public forum 'Environmental Implications of Coal Seam Gas and Coal to Liquid Projects' at the University of Queensland. The two soil scientists who spoke on the panel at this forum, both categorically stated that soils, of the types on the Darling Downs, cannot be rejuvenated after any kind of degradation caused by mining or any other activity that can severely affect soils.

I grew up on the rich black soil Pirrinuan Plain which is about 11 miles/18 km outside Dalby. The Jimbour Creek separates the Pirrinuan and Jimbour Plains. These treeless plains hold the deepest topsoils in the southern hemispherre...at least that's what I was lead to believe as I grew up. But at nearly 40 ft/ 12.2 m deep I suggest that if they are not the deepest, then they are certainly amongst the deepest. The soil is black, it cracks when it is dry and turns to thick mud when it is wet. Here's a link to a map showing my parent's farm.

http://maps.google.com.au/maps?ie=UTF8&hl=en&om=1&source=embed&ll=-27.031682,151.232665&spn=0.007512,0.019248&t=h&z=16

 I remember playing in the thick mud and loving it. As my brothers and I played the mud would become soupy the more we pummelled it and slid into it. No vehicle could travel more than a few metres in this mud before being bogged without hope of escape. This soil could grow anything and my father, and his father before him, grew crops of wheat, sorghum, maise, sunflowers and oats.

This is a photo of me and my two brothers on a swing our Dad made for us. Notice the flat horizon. My Mother created a park/garden and in this photo you can see the beginnings of it.

This is a photo of my 2 brothers standing against the edge of a wheat crop and my Mother standing in the middle of the crop. Notice the black soil ...and the quality of the crop...prime hard category I am sure. Wheat crops don't grow this tall anymore, because with modification shorter varieties are preferred. They are preferred because they're less prone to being flattened by heavy rain, wind, or other strange happenings. If you flick back and forth between these two photos from my youth and $oils Ain't $oils...Any More! I bet you'll see where my vision comes from!

$oils Ain't $oils...Any More! depicts a cross section-like view of a flat horizoned landscape, similar to the one I grew up in. The blue represents underground aquifers, creating the Great Artesian Basin which straddles the hidden depths of around 22% of Australia. There are two layers of aquifers, the deep Artesian Basin ones and those closer to the surface. The dark colour represents coal and coal seams, the red/brown colour represents rock, and the darker brown is the soil which grows our crops and pastures, both supplying food for our tables.

The strips of rain in the distance are symbols of hope. I have spent many hours driving into the relentless distance of western rural Queensland, hoping that strips of rain glimpsed afar were watering my part of the world. Yet, these strips, like the rest of the 'landscape' are ambiguous. At first glance they may appear to be some kind of construction, tanks or towers conjuring thoughts and fears of a landscape dotted with burdensome infrastructure.

The red vein of small $ signs, flourishing across the sky, refers to another painting with a similar theme. Lifeblood also depicts a vein of $ signs gesturing across the sky. Here's the link to the post I wrote for Lifeblood  http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/05/lifeblood.html  The vein in $oils Ain't $oils...Any More! speaks of the same things ie: that water is the lifeblood of the earth, that is is intrinsically important to maintain fertility and soil viability. I feel the vein in $oils Ain't $oils...Any More! seems to pulse more rapidly than the one in Lifeblood.  I suspect it is because its sky is far from languid with its thunderous, stormy and turbulent undertones witnessing the potential plunder below... paradise lost. 

As regular readers of my BLOG know, I am very interested in deliberately enticing the viewer to move close and far from my work. The small $ signs are not discernible from a distance, but they become evident as the viewer moves closer. For me this movements begs the question, 'Have you noticed?'

NEXT

I have prepared the backgrounds of two more paintings and by Friday I hope to have started another 'vortex' painting...although I see my 'quiet activism' paintings like $oils Ain't $oils...Any More! as commenting on the madness of the outer vortex. As regular readers of my BLOG know my next solo exhibition is VORTEX. It will open Wednesday 23 feb and continue daily until Sunday March 6 at Graydon Gallery, Merthyr Rd, New Farm, Brisbane.

CHRISTMAS

With Christmas just around the corner, I have made a 'gallery' of suggestions for presents ranging from around $200 to $4000. A painting is a wonderful gift for Christmas...or any time really! Check my Christmas gallery out at http://www.visualartist.info/visualartist/artist/subpage.asp?ex=gallery&I=1690&sub=5444&artistId=1292&PageId=1690

Until next time,

Kathryn

http://www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kathrynbrimblecombe-fox/

THE DONKEY AND OTHER THINGS

Hello!
I am currentlyworking on an oil painting which I am going to call '$oils Ain't $oils...Anymore' [close up detail image below]. Regular readers of this BLOG will recognise that it is another painting inspired by my concern about the influx of Coal Seam Gas and open cut mining in areas of Queensland where prime agricultural land exists. When the painting is finished I will upload a photograph. Here are links to previous posts:
http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/11/food-fantasy-in-future.html
http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/10/water-gallery.html

                                          Detail of, as yet unfinished $oils Ain't $oils...Anymore

 PUBLIC FORUM
I attended a public forum 'Environmental Implications of Coal Seam Gas and Coal-to-Liquids Projects' at the University of Qld on Monday this week. The speakers included 2 soil scientists, a hydrologist, 2 Government reps, a mining industry rep, Greens Senator Elect Larissa Waters [also an environmental lawyer], 4 spokesmen from farmer action groups and a lawyer from Dalby.

A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE FORUM
The soil scientists emphasised that the types of soils, which exist in the threatened areas of the Bowen and Surat Basins, cannot be rehabilitated. Issues concerning water included, across aquifer leekages, unknown outcomes of aquifer fault disturbance, depletion of aquifers, disruped feeder water supplies, salination, silting.
Issues affecting farming practices, and thus viability and efficiency, included above ground pipes and roads to each CSG well, criss crossing farming paddocks. The CSG wells, estimated aroound 40,000, are only around 1 ha apart. Access roads to wells will disrupt farming [ploughing, harvesting etc], disprupt natural water flow across flood plains leading to pooling of water, silting and potential salination. Social, business and health issues were also discussed. One alarming outcome is that farm values will [and have] drop because people will not buy when uncertainty exists. As valuations drop, at some point, triggers for banks to start agitating will happen. The general outcome of the forum, which was expressed very clearly, was that what's happening is 'madness'.

*I am reminded of a quote I have posted before ... by Lord Martin Rees, Royal Astonomer and Professor of cosmology and astrophysics and Master of Trinity College at the University of Cambridge, from his book 'Our Final Century' . I have previously written about his books' influences on my work. http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/04/idea-sketches.html
http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/11/beginning-of-everything.html

It may not be absurd hyperbole—indeed, it may not even be an overstatement—to assert that the most crucial location in space and time (apart from the big bang itself) could be here and now. I think the odds are no better than fifty-fifty that our present civilisation on Earth will survive to the end of the present century. Our choices and actions could ensure the perpetual future of life (not just on Earth, but perhaps far beyond it, too). Or in contrast, through malign intent, or through misadventure, twenty-first century technology could jeopardise life’s potential, foreclosing its human and posthuman future. What happens here on Earth, in this century, could conceivably make the difference between a near eternity filled with ever more complex and subtle forms of life and one filled with nothing but base matter.

Martin Rees, Our Final Hour: A Scientist’s Warning: How Terror, Error, and Environmental Disaster Threaten Humankind’s Future in This Century—On Earth and Beyond (New York: Basic Books, 2003) p.7-8

PETITION
If you'd like to sign a petition for a morotorium on CSG please visit this link:
http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/view/EPetitions_QLD/CurrentEPetition.aspx?PetNum=1592&lIndex=-1 


 NOW TO SOMETHING ELSE!  The Donkey by GK Chesterton

I painted the work on paper above when I was 16. It is an illustration for G.K Chesterton's wonderful poem 'The Donkey' [see below]. As a child, I loved this poem and I still do. It was the one I would recite when I had to recite a poem! And, my children have also recited it many times at school, eisteddfods  and so on,

THE POEM
Despite all the difficulties faced by the donkey, he/she holds a wonderful secret...he/she carried Jesus. This is a simple interpretation and other interpretations can delve further into ideas of self worth, overcoming adversity and so on. I like this poem because the 'secret' gives the donkey a sense of peace. The first 3 stanzas speak of turmoil, like the kind I imagine in the twirling, whirling of the outer vortex, aka life. Yet, the donkey's secret 'knowing' provides a sense of peace, as if re-entering the memory propels the donkey to that peaceful place at the vortex core...that place where stillness reveals those things we did not know we could see, hear, feel or touch. Indeed, the poem says, 'I keep my secret still'.

Regular readers of my BLOG will know of my interest in vortexes and that my next solo exhibition will be called 'Vortex'. Here's are 2 links to previous Vortex posts for you,
http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/10/knowledge-of-stillness.html
http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/10/in-stillness.html

THE DONKEY

G.K. Chesterton

When fishes flew and forests walked
And figs grew upon thorn,
Some moment when the moon was blood
Then surely I was born;

With monstrous head and sickening cry
And ears like errant wings,
The devil's walking parody
On all four-footed things.

The tattered outlaw of the earth,
Of ancient crooked will;
Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb,
I keep my secret still.

Fools! For I also had my hour;
One far fierce hour and sweet:
There was a shout about my ears,
And palms before my feet.

So, until next time!
Cheers Kathryn
http://www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com/

FOOD - A FANTASY IN THE FUTURE?

                                  Can We Eat Coal For Breakfast?...NO. Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

                                                                       Value Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

These two new works on paper are a continuation of my interest in water. Regular readers will know very well of this intense interest. Please have a look at this previous post, which also has links to other earlier posts http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/11/murray-darling-currency.html

Can We Eat Coal For Breakfast?...NO
Can We Eat Coal For Breakfast?...NO was inspired by a number of things, but two are significant. The first is that about 2-3 years ago I took my youngest child out to Dalby, where I grew up. She had never seen where I came from and I thought it would be a great mother/daughter pilgrimage. On the drive out to Dalby, and as we got closer, I could not get over the number of mounds of coal. In fact, I must have had my head buried in the sand, because up until then, I had not realised the extent and growth of the mining industry in the region. Since that trip open cut mining's  burgeoning partner ie: Coal Seam Gas is also changing the landscape, both externally and internally [underground aquifers].

In the painting Can We Eat Coal For Breakfast?...NO, the two mounds, painted with small dark $ signs, represent coal mounds. The red $ signs underground signify the potency of the soil and the environmental dilemmas confronting citizens of the planet. The white layer on top of the soil and underneath the mounds alludes to the disastrous potential of soil salinization.

The second significant influence for this painting, and its title, was hearing about a grass roots action group called Coal4Breakfast. 

Value 
Now to Value which speaks of how we value our land. Soil is not something we should compromise in any form. For me, risking soil quality, should not ever be considered...even a small risk. Soil quality underpins food production, not only now, but into the future, both foreseeable and not foreseeable. Compromising our soils diminishes the quality and amount of produce.

Food in the Future
BUT...HEY...in the future...if we don't have food we can always come up with some kind of alternative...pills, intravenous drips, nanobot internal distributors we replenish once a year! Oh what fun... replays of Masterchef will seem like fantasies as our great and great-great grandchildren ask their parents , 'What are those people doing?' ....'Cooking? What's that?'

PUBLIC FORUM
Tonight [Monday 22 Nov, 2010] there is a public forum at the University of Queensland 'Environmental Implications of Coal Seam Gas and Coal-to-Liquids Projects'
The list of speakers looks impressive.


Cheers,
Kathryn

THE BEGINNING OF EVERYTHING

                         The Beginning Of Everything: Remembering Distance Oil on linen 90 x 180 cm 2010

I have been working on this new painting for weeks, full days and into the nights. After looking at this painting, viewers could think I was a little obsessive! Well, that might be the case with this painting! It just kept propelling me and I now feel somewhat lost. This feeling will go, when I start the next painting, which is already percolating in my mind.

The Beginning Of Everything ....where do I start!! Funny question when you think of the title! But, that's just it...the title and the painting pose more questions than answers...not that I think art necessarily does, or should, even try to answer anything. If it had the answers, I think, art would truly be dead.

Perspectives

I had this idea that I wanted to paint an mage which 'spoke' about the beginning, those nano seconds after the Big Bang. What would 'landscape' be like? I wanted to paint an image which gave an impression of those nano instances, but also the presence of whatever it is/was that set it ALL in motion. Coupled with those post-Big Bang nano instances I wanted to paint an image which could be 'read' as that intimate nano-second when each human life begins. Regular readers will know that my interest in the connection between close and far distance, the intimate and vast, the micro and macro, drives my search for a way to open multiple perspectives.

Tree-of-Life

In this painting, I have used my much loved transcultural/religious tree-of-life motif which cuts its capillary-like branches across the 'landscape' ...from the Universe of outer space and the 'universe' within the womb, to the 'universe' of human psyche. The tree's branches weave their way across the space, which can seem to both inside and outside something...vast and/or intmate. I wanted to give a sense that perhaps we, the viewers, are witnessing something from the edge of a 'happening'...that we are both witnesses and participants.  I wanted to give a sense that the image contained more than it revealed. 

Childhood Landscape

The vastness of my childhood landscape on my parent's farm outside Dalby on the Darling Downs, has influenced my interest in the 'play' between the vast and intimate. Indeed, the vastness meant that one could be both witness and participant, because multiple distances could be seen and felt simultaneously. The relentless blue skies of the daytime turned into the twinkling sheath of the Milky Way at night. The Bunya Mountains, cutting a majestic silhouette in the east, contrasted with the flat treeless horizon in the west. In between this distance there was space to notice the minutiae of life. Things such as the snaking cracks in the black soil, which miraculously closed up when rain turned the soil into thick mud. Things such as grains of wheat scattered on the side of the road, the creeping tendrils of prickle plants, drops of water on leaves, little whirly winds which picked up dust, feathers, seeds.

I remember, as a child, lying on my back on a thick patch of green clover [before the prickle bindis formed] gazing up at the sky. The clover was like a lush bed and the sky seemed full of energy. As a child I remember my grandmother, who lived in town, taking me and my brothers outside her house, at night, to gaze at the stars. My grandmother knew all the constellations and tried to teach us to identify them. She brought the galaxy closer to us with her knowledge. In a sense she gave us the experience of being witness and participant in the 'beginning of everything'.

Visitors from Overseas
My parents, over the years, hosted a number of visitors from foreign countries [India, Germany, UK, Malaysia, New Guinea] and many of these visitors had trouble coping with the vastness of the flat naturally treeless plain landscape of my childhood. The distance frightened them. Even friends of mine from the city had issues with the vastness. I sensed they felt 'on edge'... literally on the edge of something which went beyond just physical experience.

Back to the painting! The larger section on the top right, still depicting the tree, gives a sense of space...both within and without. The red tinged appearance is a deliberate reference to the doppler effect, suggesting that what we see is receding, and thus expanding, at speed away from us. Yet, the blue tinge suggests a movement towards us. The round 'hole' references many things, including but not limited to...black holes, the possibility of other Universes, the stillness at the vortex core, atoms, birth canals, an eye [with all its symbolic meanings], veins...the moon of my childhood memories gazing at the night sky with my grandmother.

Whilst my childhood memories and wonderments have inspired this painting, some of the extra [or coupling] inspirations came from a book I have mentioned before...a fascinating book called 'Just Six Numbers: The Deep Forces That Shape the Universe' by Martin Rees [Basic Books, 2000] Martin Rees is Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics, and Master of Trinity College at the University of Cambridge. He also holds the honorary title of Astronomer Royal and Visiting Professor at Imperial College London and at Leicester University.

WATER
Please check out some of my meanderings on water...its issues are the most serious of this century. You can start here http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/11/murray-darling-currency.html

Cheers,
Kathryn

MURRAY DARLING CURRENCY

Murray Darling Currency Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

Regular readers will know of my interest in water; its cost, allocation, various uses, infrastructure, entitlements, and so on. Water is a very significant issue in Australia, as it is all over the world. Each locale has its own particular issues, but the overarching ones are about sustainability and equitable access, not only for us now, but also for future generations.

The new painting above is one that has been percolating in my thoughts for some time. As many readers will know, the Murray Darling Basin and its water, having attracted major debate and argument over the years, are currently under another review. This is generating even more heated debate between the various players, including farmers, government departments, basin townships. The debate also obviously touches the wider community through the environmental, economic, social and business ramifiactions of any review that sees water allocations for agricultural use restricted. Here's a link to the Murray Darling Basin Authority website http://www.mdba.gov.au/

But, to the word 'currency' which I have previously discussed in an earlier post; http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/06/currency-of-water.html  I have called this new painting 'Murray Darling Currency' to suggest not only the currency/flow of water, but also the currency/flow of money which is generated by the economic outcomes of this vastly rich resource. As well, there is the idea that this issue is current, thus 'currency' is also about notions of contemporaneousness with other allied and non-allied issues of national and global importance. The word 'currency' also alludes the Murray Darling's power to generate political currency.

Now to the painting...the dark blue area in Australia's bottom right is the demarcation of the Murray Darling Basin. I have painted it with an array of small blue $ signs. From a distance they are not clearly discernible, but when observed up close, they are clearly visible. Regular readers will recognise that this play with close and far distance/perspective asks questions about how much do we notice, and ultimately care about and value. Australia and its surrounding oceans are painted with my much loved transcultural/religious tree-of-life, to indicate that life is interconnected and that perhaps notions of value include, but are far more than $ value.

The painting below 'GAB: Great Artesian Basin', is another recent painting which is similar to 'Murray Darling Currency'. Here's the link to the post I wrote with some thought about this 'GAB: Great Artesian Basin':

 GAB: Great Artesian Basin Gouache on paper 30 42 cm

I am reading a book called 'Water: The Epic Struggle For Wealth, Power, and Civilization' by Steven Solomon [Harper Collins, NY, 2010]. I have not yet finished...indeed not even half way through. It is fascinating. I knew as soon as I started reading this book, that its incisive message was going to be that we need to take water seriously...very seriously. I quote from the prologue, 'The lesson of history is that in the tumultuous adjustment that surely lies ahead, those societies that find the most innovative responses to the crisis are most likely to come out as winners, while the others will fall behind. Civilization will be shaped as well by water's inextricable, deep interdependence with energy, food, and climate change.' [p.5]

Hopefully political currency will not blind powerbrokers to the extreme importance decisions about water will have, not only for us now, but also for future generations. Just like the human body, our planet Earth  is 70% water. However, only 2.5% of this water is fresh, and a small % of this is accessible. [Solomon p.9, 12] As I have written before, water is so much more than just a substance which keeps us and Earth physically alive. It is also a primordial symbol of the continuation and flow of life over time eternal. It is a symbol of the subconscious, and as such, holds secrets we are yet to discover. Now that's some kind of currency!

Cheers,
Kathryn

NEW EYES AND EARS

                                         Heaven and Earth Gouache on paper 15 x 21 cm

I am still working on the big oil painting I mentioned in my last post. I think I will call it 'The Beginning'... or something like that. I wanted to create an image that revealed that nanosecond after the Big Bang, or the glimpse of a new universe meaning that ours is not the only one, or at a cellular level...the moment of conception. Anyway, I'll just have to see how the painting evolves. This may seem a bit odd, but I never know what a painting will finally look like, until the instant I decide it is finished.

In the process of evolvement I go through a variety of emotional and intellectual realms. There are moments where I feel completely dejected, because I feel the painting is just not working out. Yet, I know that when I this happens, I must walk away. And, this is what I do. I walk away, but before I do, I place the painting in a position where it is the first thing I see when I re-enter my studio. Upon re-entering, it is absolutely amazing how often I see a painting with new eyes and an inspiration to resolve my disquiet will pop into my head. Sometimes, my 'new eyes' cannot see why I thought I had a problem at all!

Now, these 'new eyes' are very handy to have...but I would not have them without walking away. Creativity is not just about doing, it is about thinking as well. These two things can happen either separately or simultaneously. And, thinking is not about trying hard, it is about letting insights and seemingly random thoughts rise into consciousness. I often find that these gems rise much more rapidly when I go for a walk! Then I have to try hard to make sure I remember them when I get home!

                                              Prayer Gouache on paper 21 x 15 cm

The Trees Are Dancing Gouache on paper 21 x 15 cm

Walking away, gives an opportunity for new perspectives...and regular readers will know how I love the idea of new perspectives or even the notion that we can experience multiple prespectives simultaneously. Walking away from my paintings, has prvided good lessons for me. It has taught me to walk away, either physically or metaphorically, from problems and to return to them with 'new eyes'.

Recently on my walks, I have decided to experiment with imagining myself inside a vortex, in that core where stillness exists...the kind of stillness where listening takes on a new meaning, because the listening is not just with one's ears. Ha...now I am going to suggest that this is place where one can find 'new ears' as well as 'new eyes'! And...with these new perceptors comes new knowledge. I've written about the stillness, knowledge and colur in a recent post http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/10/knowledge-of-stillness.html 

CHRISTMAS IDEAS

Now, to something a bit lighter...Christmas presents!!!! I think a painting is a wonderful gift for any ocassion, however, it is Christmas that beckons now that we have entered November. So, I've made a online 'gallery' of paintings which I think would make great presents for that special someone. The paintings above are three

suggestions. This 'gallery' is on my website and here is the link:

http://www.visualartist.info/visualartist/artist/subpage.aspex=gallery&I=1690&sub=5444&artistId=1292&PageId=1690

NEWS

On Saturday I am going to the opening of the Redland Art Award. I am one of the finalists and the winners are announced at the opening. http://www.redlandartawards.org.au/

VORTEX...my next solo exhibition will be 22 Feb-6 March 2011 at Graydon Gallery, Brisbane.

Cheers,

Kathryn

TUILLE SKIRT AND OTHER THINGS

Detail of work in progress

                               Detail of work in progress-taken at an angle

The two images above are details from a large painting I am currently working on. My thoughts are about the creation of the Universe, or maybe seeing another Universe...with the idea of 'Universe' being about our external physical world, as well as our internal emotional/psychological world. Regular readers will identify with my play between the distances of the nano and universal, intimate and vast, macro and micro. In whatever case, my VORTEX ideas are propelling me. The VORTEX gives me the energy to tunnel in all directions! I have written about my VORTEX ideas previously...here is a link that will also take you to other VORTEX links too http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/10/knowledge-of-stillness.html

But, before I leave the VORTEX...just a reminder that my solo show opening 22 February 2011 is called VORTEX. As you can see from the images above, my much loved transcultural/religious tree-of-life is my visual conduit into the life propelling realms of the VORTEX.

IN MY STUDIO
In this post, I have decided not to dwell too much on ideas, theories...heavy stuff. Instead I thought I'd upload some images of my studio and me.

Here I am in my studio where I paint my works on paper. I share this room with the hot water system and the fuse box. It is actually a kind of non-room, so it's perfect for making a mess in.

Here are some works on paper in progress. Regular readers will possibly see that these are the beginnings of some of my 'water' paintings. That is if they don't end up ripped to pieces because I am not happy with them!

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/10/water-gallery.html

Here I am in my studio where I paint my oil paintings...well... it is actually the garage and I share it with a lot of other things, but not the car because I have a carport for it. As you can see I do not have any flash studio furniture. Indeed an old washing machine suffices for a bench! The good thing is that I don't have to be 'precious' about anything.

And, here I am loading a big painting onto the roof racks of my car. Needless to say I do not travel long distances with paintings on the top of my car. However, around Brisbane it is ok, except when wet! Of course, on the odd ocassion I have had to collect my children from school, with a painting atop the car, I have been a complete and utter embarrassment! No-one elses mother has something as conspicuous as a painting wrapped in bubble wrap atop her car!

And now to a photo to show that I can 'glam up' a bit too. Here I am in an outfit, part of which I made! The black top is actually a gorgeous corset which I bought. It 's meant for underwear, but I thought it was beautiful enough for outer wear! [Now I won't go into what my kids said about that!] The tuille skirt and shawl are both made by moi. The shawl was easy. Just a length of tuille with little pink bows randomly sewn all over it. The skirt took a bit longer, because it has layers of pink and brown tuille attached to a lycra band, which I also made.

So that's it for today. Some lighter-note things, which I hope people enjoy seeing.

Cheers,

Kathryn

KNOWLEDGE OF STILLNESS

                                  Colour of Stillness Oil on linen 100 x 60 cm

I uploaded a detail work-in-progess shot of this painting a couple posts ago, but here it is finished. The previous post can be found at http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/10/in-stillness.html

This painting continues a number of interests of mine. Regular readers will be able to see them immediately. I have used my much loved transcultural/religious tree-of-life motif, the spiral/vortex and colour to play again with perspective and distance...literal and metaphoric.

The vortex is one of my latest interests, however, I do have some very early paintings where I have painted spirals. So, these early works are heralding from the past! The vortex and spiral interest me because they suggest an energy of the quivering kind that never stops. Both are spied in the universal world and the subatomic. Galaxies are spirals with black hole centres, and the DNA double helix propels life forces. And...for those of you who are regular readers and know of my interest in water...well how does water go down the plughole? I grew up on a farm and I loved whirly winds as they danced across dusty paddocks. Here's a link to some other posts I have written about vortexs...Oh! and my next solo exhibition 22 February - 6 March 2010 is going to be called 'VORTEX'  http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010_06_01_archive.html

So, to this new painting 'Colour of Stillness'. As I have previously written, I imagine that inside the vortex there is a place of stillness, where we can hear things we did not know we could listen to, see things we did not know were there, and feel things we did not know could be felt. By finding this stillness we learn about ourselves and our relationship to others, the world and the planet. This is knowledge gained by self reflection and letting go of the turmoil of the outer vortex, its distractions and materiality.

If you look closely, there is a figure standing inside the vortex. She is painted green and seems to be floating in a cascade of light. For me, this light, is the reflective process which is revalatory. The light emanates from the pinnacle of the vortex errupting in a tree...a tree-of-life/knowledge. This tree then seems to bloom with seven smaller trees, each one a different colour. These colours are the seven colours of the rainbow, chakras and they represent further knowledge. The tree at the bottom of the vortex reflects the trees above, beckoning the beyond and its knowledge. The circle of leaves suggests a new portal, or the cyclical nature of life, or letting go what we are not and welcoming who we are...it's up to you. The blue background dances with the secrets of the universe.
The process of self reflection assists us to find out who we are not... so that we can know who we are. Colour, as knowledge, is both good and error...not evil. It is about how we negotiate the distances between knowing who we are not and who we are. In this understanding new perspectives hopefully mean we are more compassionate towards ourselves and others. This is important if we are to live locally in an increasingly globalised world. And, where does that place us within a universal existence, where in the future humankind may need to venture beyond our planet to survive?

PAINTINGS ABOUT REMARKABLE WOMEN OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
By Elsie Brimblecombe----MY MUM!

Maleny artist, Elsie Brimblecombe, is exhibiting her zany and colourful paintings in an exhibition inspired by a book of poems, ‘Fanny The Flying Housewife and Other Stories’ by Brisbane poet, Ynes Sanz.


The poems are about remarkable women including Australians, writer Dorothy Hewitt; the Australian Mermaid, Annette Kellerman; founder of Meals on Wheels, Doris Taylor; war hero, Irene Drummond and Blessed Mother Mary McKillop. O...ther inspiring women from elsewhere in the world include the genius, Gertrude Stein; the pilot, Amy Johnson; the singer, Kathleen Ferrier.

Elsie Brimblecombe’s exhibition PAINTINGS ABOUT REMARKABLE WOMEN OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY follows her successful 2009 exhibition ‘Invisible Cities’ which was inspired by a book of the same name by Italo Calvino. Elsie’s new paintings reflect the off-beat, brave and remarkable lives of women who have helped make history.

PAINTINGS ABOUT REMARKABLE WOMEN OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY opened at Maleny’s Upfront Club on Thursday 21 October at 6pm. The exhibition will continue until Tuesday 16 November.
http://www.upfrontclub.org/
31 Maple St, Maleny, Queensland, Australia
07 5494 2592

Here are two paintings from the exhibition:

Motor Power-Isadora Duncan, Acrylic on canvas

                               Gipsy Moth-Amy Johnson, Acrylic on canvas

WATER GALLERY

                                            Airspace Above The Dam Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm
                               

Water is a major issue here in Australia, and indeed all over the world. In Australia, newspapers are currently covering the release of proposals about water allocations, including supply of water to farmers in the Murray Darling food bowl. Farmers are not happy and local communities are worried that reduced allocations will mean loss of jobs and social instability.

WATCHING THE SKY
As regular readers of my BLOG know, I have long held a fascination for water, how it used, allocated, and costed. I am a farmer's daughter and also lived, for 18 years of my adult life, in Goondiwindi, a small rural town on the border of New South Wales and Queensland. As a child I watched my father stare at cloudless blue skies, and also despair when flooding rains ripped top soil away and spoiled bumper crops. Goondiwindi was the same, with farmers staring at the sky, but it was slightly different, because irrigation played a significant part of the rural experience. Cotton is a substantial crop grown in northern NSW on the border with Queensland.

RISK
Water is also an issue with the surge in coal mining, and particularly coal seam gas extraction [CSG]. Water, is a 'byproduct' of the extraction process, but under legislation this water does not come under the control of Water Resources. So, there are a number of issues now confronting communities at large, as well as those immediately affected eg: Dalby [where I grew up] and district. These issues are various, from the potential to reduce underground aquifer levels, to how to deal with the salt water byproduct, to potential contamination, to broader issues of adequate infrastructures of all kinds. The major risk, as I see it, is that lack of foresight...lack of stringent risk analysis...could lead to diminished soil and water viability, and thus the reduction of food growing capacity. I have written  about risk http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/09/risk.html

CURRENT - CURRENCY
I have written previously about all of the things I have mentioned above. But, with water being such a current [I like to play on the word 'current'] issue I thought I'd make an online 'gallery' of some of my water paintings. This is certainly not all of them, plus I have ideas for more. I will be exhibiting some of the newer ones in my solo exhibition 'Vortex' next year 22 Feb- 6 March. After all...water disappears down a drain pipe in a vortex! But, metaphorically the turmoil, stress and strain fraught by water and its various issues, are akin to what I imagine the frantic whirling of an outer edges of a vortex to be like.

Enjoy my 'gallery'.....................................and look for the small $ signs and quotes from newspapers. The far and close distance perspectives are important reminders that we must always look and also see!

              

Blue Gold Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/05/shift.html

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/02/water.html

Cyclical Gouache on  paper 30 x 42 cm

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/06/cyclical.html

Truth Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/06/truth.html

Water Harvesting Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/06/water-harvesting.html

Great Artesian Basin Gouache on paper 30 x42 cm

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/08/airspace-and-phantoms.html

Risk Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/09/risk.html

Phantom Water Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/08/airspace-and-phantoms.html

Tendering Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/04/tendering.html

Hope In The Distance Oil on linen 80 x 120 cm

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/03/hope-in-distance.html

Thank Goodness [It's Raining] Oil on linen 90 x 207 cm

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2007/07/thank-goodness.html

Earth For Sale Oil on linen 120 x 160 cm

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2008/07/earth-for-sale-120-x-160-cm-oil-on.html

Lifeblood Oil on linen 90 x 207 cm

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/10/water.html

Cheers, Kathryn

                                              

IN THE STILLNESS

                                                Detail of new work I am currently working on...as yet untitled

I am working towards my next solo exhibition, which I am going to call 'Vortex'. I have previously written about some of my vortex thoughts. Here are a few of the links: http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/08/hovering.html   
http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/07/finding.html
http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/06/galaxial.html
http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/06/stillness.html

As you can see the new painting, I am currently working on above, continues with my vortex compulsion. I will finish this painting in a day or so and will upload a full image of it then. However, I will write a little about it now. As with some of my other vortex paintings, which I have written about in the above links, this new painting is an outpicturing of my imaginings of being inside a vortex, in that place where the turmoil of the outer vortex finds peace and stillness. A place where thoughts can be heard, where we listen to things we did not know made sound, where we see things that we did not know could be seen, where we feel things we did not know could be felt. A place where the conscious and subconscious hold hands to expand towards an embrace of our sentient and spiritual experiences.


In this new painting I am painting multiple trees-of-life which errupt from the pinnacle of the vortex. There are 7 trees, representing the colours of the rainbow, the colours of the chakras, the days of the week and so on. But, whilst the number 7 is significant, for me, colour is the most important element, because colour signifies knowledge. Colour, as a metaphor for experience of all kinds and thus knowledge gained, paints our psyche and our soul. I have written about colour and knowledge previously; http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/12/colour-of-knowledge.html

With  this new painting I am thinking about the knowledge gained from stillness, from listening, seeing and feeling in a place where peace clears the muddied waters of the exterior vortex. Revelations, insights, new perspectives are all possible in stillness. We can see, feel and hear ourselves in a different way. Yes, this kind of knowledge is self-knowledge...and finding out who we are not in order to know who we are.

I have recognised unhelpful default thinking processes in myself when I have made the time to be still. And being still is a problem for someone who is hyperactive. However, I have found that imagining being inside vortex is very helpful. Ahhhhh.... a wonderful thing our imagination!

B AWARE
The exhibition B Aware which I mentioned in my last previous opened  last Friday. It was an excellent opening. This curated exhibition is themed on the 8 Millenium Development Goals. The show continues until Thursday Oct 21, and is open daily 9.30-4.30pm. All the paintings are for sale too...at St. John's Cathedral, 373 Ann St, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Check out my website 'gallery' B Aware where I have uploaded images of the 5 paintings selected for the B Aware exhibition. http://www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com/



Until next time.
Cheers,
Kathryn

REMEMBERING THE REASON WHY

                                                                      Remembering The Reason Why Oil on linen 100 x 70 cm

I have finished the painting I mentioned in my post 'Spinny'. The woman, whose body is created with small trees...[tree of lifes], is placed amidst a tapestry of multi coloured trees, as if all volume and space hold the same energy.

In my post 'Spinny' I mentioned my memories of the spinnies of sheoaks I planted in my Goondiwindi garden. I reminisced about the whistling 'songs' made as the wind traveled through the thin leaves. To me, it was a reminder that unseen energy forces can be sensed in other ways, if only we are prepared to feel, listen and see with our imaginations.

So, with this new painting, a number of thoughts have come together. I wanted to create an image which showed the human body as an intrinsic part of a much larger energy and force. So, whilst the body is painted with essentially one colour trees, these are seen as small versions of the multi coloured cascading tree. I wanted to give a sense that nothing is disconnected. I wanted to fill space with the promise of some kind of primordial template. Thus, the tree is my much loved transcultural/religious tree-of-life. Its primordial essence is provoking in a way which urges us to look, see, listen, imagine and remember.

When I say remember, I mean a kind of remembering which rustles our DNA, which pokes our subconscious, which hints at ageless knowings. I think the tree-of-life provides us with secrets which we know, but don't necessarily realise. Its vascular-like manifestation with branches, twigs, leaves, roots and so on, suggest an ultimate system, a core masterplan, a memory of all and possible systems and conduits...

I have painted a female because...well...I am female. She is long and lean...a bit like me. So, I hope no-one says she anorexic or not typical of most women! But back to being serious...the remembering concept in the title Remembering The Reason Why reminds us to listen for, to see, and to re-know Mother...Mother Earth...the essential feminine force of a Divine Mother...the Sacred Heavenly Mother. We have all been physically connected to Mother, via the umbilical cord. This vascular connection gives us a physical experience of connection, but it also provides us with other knowledge which stirs memories of primordial and universal systems.

I've written about the Sacred Feminine before...here are some links to earlier posts:
http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/09/adam-and-eveleft-and-right-brain.html
http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/08/garden-of-eden.html

B AWARE EXHIBITION
Opens tomorrow...Friday 8 october, St. John's Cathedral, 373 Ann St, Brisbane. 6-8pm
The exhibition is themed on the Millenium Development Goals.
Check out pages 22-23 http://www.brisbanenews.com.au/issues/804/index.html where my painting Shared Destinies has been reproduced.

Also check out my website 'gallery' B Aware  where I have uploaded images of the 5 paintings selected for the B Aware exhibition. http://www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com/

Cheers,
Kathryn