Inside and Outside

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

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

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

Inside The Vastness Oil on linen 80 x 120 cm

THROUGH THE FLYSCREEN

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

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

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

Through The Flyscreen oil on linen 80 x 100 cm

SEE THIS IN MALENY

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

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

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

SHARED DESTINIES

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

Shared Destinies Oil on linen 120 x 160 cm

LIVING THOUGHTS

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

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

Living Thoughts Oil on linen 55 x 80 cm

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shared History oil on canvas

NEW WORK

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

PAINT

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

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

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

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

Assimilation 80 x 100 cm Oil on linen

PRAISE

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

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

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

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

In Joyful Praise gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

Gallery L Seoul

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

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

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

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

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

HIDDEN ENERGY

Amazing to think that great forces of energy are not discernible by the human eye except with the help of technology. I have always been interested in scientific ideas and the lives of scientists. As a child I devoured biographies of famous scientists such as Flemming, Pasteur and Madame Curie and many others. Doing science was never a great love, but thinking about ideas has always fascinated me. The recent talk and debate about String Theory is one of the latest ideas to grab my attention. I like it when there seems to be an element of other world-ness or a beyond.

Having said all of that, ultimately my works are also landscapes. I cannot seem to depart from thinking in both macro and micro landscape mode. By micro, I mean the minutae which makes up our landscape ie: sand, cracks in the earth, the movement of leaves. By macro I mean those images of vastness which are so familiar to Australia. However, as one delves deeper the micro often becomes the vastness when smaller elements of existence are discovered. What once seemed small becomes immense.

The landscape is also a metaphor for emotional 'scapes', either individual or collective.

This painting above [along with various others] has been sent to Korea for an exhibition at Gallery L, Seoul opening 12 April.

Hidden Energy Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

DANCING

I just cannot believe it is a week since I posted. However, it is!

I have been busy organsing multiple paintings [both oils and gouaches] to go to Korea for an exhibition opening in Seoul on 12th April. It has all happened very quickly, but it is also exciting. Maybe later in the year I will get to go to Korea.

Dancing can mean lots of things not just literal dancing with or without others. One can be lead on a 'merry dance'. Deal makers can 'dance around each other'. Dancing can also be used as a metaphor for a certain kind of existence. I often use titles such as 'The Earth Sings', 'Dancing Mountains', 'My Heart Sings'. I find these short utterances very inspiring and stimulating. My imagination 'sees' pictures which translate into images on canvas or paper. These short statements sum up a vast array of thoughts and dreams. They are not pithy statements designed to be clever. Like the images I create I believe these titles can be taken at many levels and thus expand in potential.

Dancing is also a great way to descibe the energies and vibrations which give life. This Universe is made up of endless components each dancing in ways which complement. A perfect dance.

The Universe Dances Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

MEMORY

I have had quite a few paintings leave recently ie: sold which is fantastic. So, as they have left I have hung some older work. This is one of them. I painted it in 2002 not long after my divorce. It has always been a favourite of mine and as I hung it the other day I saw things in it that I was unaware of at the time of painting. It has also been in storage so I have not seen it for awhile and 'new' eyes and time can help with further insight.

I called it 'Memory' because the bride has memories of her childhood dreams of romance, weddings, love. I know that not all little girls have these dreams but as the mother of three daughters I can say that a vast number do. This is despite the rigours of divorce afflicting society today. I also know I had those dreams. The grown woman always carries the child-self within her.

However, I now look at this painting with some more thoughts. I still carry the child-self within. But I see the unlimited potential for discovery. It is a discovery of those subconscious core beliefs that dictate our responses to life. These core beliefs are deep within us and very difficult to uncover or unravel. As time passes and as life's circumstances happen we learn more about ourselves...and I think we can become more empathatic towards others. In fact, we can be more empathatic towards ourselves too.

When I painted this painting I was very sorry that my childhood dreams had been destroyed by divorce. I think now that the painting is more about growth encompassing a range of human emotions rather than anything to do with simply and only sorrow. I really like this painting because it makes me think and after five years it still makes me think.

Memory Oil on linen 80 x 100 cm 2002

INSIDE SUBSTANCE

Some great things have happened in the last week or so. Sales, people coming to view my paintings, offers to represent from overseas!! plus some 'unrelated to art' things which have just made life a little more joyful.

I am painting some a work on paper at the moment which I feel compelled to paint with small strokes. I do not know what comples me but it happens. The only thing is that I have a sore arm and my eyes are seeing double!

I have some new stretcher frames being completed at the moment. I cannot wait until they are ready to pick up as I am very keen to paint with oils again. I have had a break for the last couple of months while I have concentrated on the works on paper. But, I am keen to put some of the ideas I have developed onto canvas.

I am fascinated by the things we cannot see but we can feel. I am wanting to explore how these 'feelings' might look if we could see them. For example the concept of sending love is intriguing as I know it works. But what does this 'love' look like as it transmits itself through the ether? This concept does not mean the sender expects anything back...it is unconditional. How can I envision the the idea of 'unconditional'? How can I portray the energy within such powerful gifts? The idea that thought has an energy is also a fascination for me.

So, looking forward to the new stretcher frames being here with me.

Inside Substance Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm unframed

MORE SUBSTANCE

Over the weekend I went to the inaugural Interfaith Festival at Maleny. I could only go for one of the two days, but I am so pleased I got to go to one day. The first session was a panel discussion with representatives from the three Abrahamaic faiths, Islam, Judaism and Christianity. The host was Rachel Kohn from the ABC Radio National program The Spirit of Things. She was excellent hosting the event, asking very deep and penetrating questions about the meaning of 'faith' for each of the faiths, what issues were the most pressing within each faith and so on. The responses from each of the panel were thought provoking, revealing and heartening. Each spoke of love, embracing similarities at the same time as respecting differences, the profile the media gives to fanaticism and extremism.

One of the most insightful comments for me was that to be a 'moderate' does not imply ambivalence but rather a position which is held passionately, deeply and thoughtfully. The very word implies something other than passion, but in reference to religion to be passionately 'moderate' makes sense and certainly does not conjure up images that the clashes of fanaticism do.

The last session " God is Not dead: Religion, Truth telling and Hopefulness" given by Prof Kevin Clements from the Peace and Conflict Studies Centre at the Unviersity of Queensland was also excellent... except he really needed 3 hours rather than 30 minutes. I came away feeling that there are pathways for abundant leadership and a caring community. His comment that the arts/creativity have an important part to play in the environmental circumstances for peace to be understood and gained gave me some hope that there is a purpose 'Out There' for me.

Substance Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

ENERGY

I cannot believe it has been a week since I last posted. It only seems like yesterday. I have had a very busy week. As Chairman of an organisation I have had to attend various functions, organise others and respond to a great deal of correspondence this week. So, at the end of the week my energy levels are running a little low. More so because a couple of things which took a lot of time to organise fell through...somewhat frustrating. I have come to the decision that a few of my extra activities have to be let loose for others to tackle. But, this will take a little time.

Many of my paintings over the years have had something to do with vibrations and energy. I have felt compelled to paint these things. Sometimes the detail surprises me. Although, recent physio on my right arm [after last years RSI in my right elbow] tell me that my painting arm [and my computer arm] needs to be well looked after!

I have had a few 'Ah Ah' moments recently when reading various literature on spirit and energy, scientific discoveries and questions. I have always been interested in scientific discovery and thought. As a pre-teen I devoured books about the lives of famous scientists and I wanted to be one. My grade 4 and 5 teacher put an end to that dream! Another story for another time.

I am fascinated by unseen forces. We may know they exist but it is only through other senses other than the normal ones that we 'know'. It is a feeling kind of knowing...but even this does not describe it appropriately. Most of my work is fundamentally 'landscape'. I seem to fall for it every time. Even the painting above is a 'landscape'...one of the internal forces which make up our world. The micro and macro exist within each other. The closer you look the more the vastness becomes intimate details, each with its own 'landscape'.

Spirit Energy Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm

PENDULUM

The swinging of a pendulum can be mesmerising. However, extreme limits of the pendulum can be agitating. If we allow the emotional pendulum of extremes to exist within us it can be very scarey. But, when you think about it there is a natural balance.

So, this go me thinking about those days or moments when you can go from a state of great pleasure to complete depression. The emotional pendulum exists within the individual but a pendulum also exists in the collective out in the world. If we use too much water then the natural balance is the extreme we are experiencing now. If we pollute our air the natural balance seems to be the extreme distress out planet is under at the moment. The latter certainly gets people rallied to help which is part of the natural balancing. Let's hope the pendulum is not allowed to swing to the extremes in the future.

So, at an individual level how do we ensure the extremes of the pendulum are not allowed to cause us scarey moments, days, weeks, years. With great will power, imagination and thought, wisdom and self knowledge the pendulum can be made to swing less vigorously.

As an artist I am only too aware of the power of the imagination and how it can cause the extreme swinging of the pendulum. Vivid imaginations mean a great ability to catastrophise about almost anything. Imagination also equips you to create great bliss and beauty. The latter is so much more fun.

Pendulum Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm unframed

INTIMACY

This gouache on paper 'Intimacy In The Vastness' has been preselected for the Broken Hill Works on Paper Award which will be announced at the opening on the 23 rd March. This is the second year in a row that one of my works has been preselected. The general them is an outback one. The Australian landscape offers opportunities to ponder vastness and intimacy because the viewer can simultaneously see far into the distance and yet be inside this same distance. On a macro level the vastness can seem endless and broad. However, at a micro level patterns and intimate details emerge.

Intimacy in the Vastness 104 x 129 cm framed