Radiance Oil on linen 92 x 208 cm
This painting is a few years old, and it is one that I have grown very fond of. It is currently hanging in
my house, but will soon be exhibited at an exhibition I have been inivted to participate in ie: MOMENTUM at the Brisbane Grammar School, 19-21 August. I have previously written about Radiance :
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.
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.
Regular readers will see my much loved tree-of-life motif rippling across the canvas, to form what looks like some kind of landscape formation...depending on what perspective you position or imagine yourself to be placed. The viewer could be looking into a landscape, be above or inside a landscape, or they could be viewing a crossection of a landscape... or many other possible perspectives. Maybe, they could be seeing all perspectives at once. Now that would be special.
Regular reades will know of my interest in perspective and my deliberate attempts to encourage the viewer to question the perspective required to view my paintings. Well, it is really up to the viewer, but I have discovered that if I give hints that multiple perspectives are possible, the viewer 'flies' on there own. On a broader prespective [!] seeing different and multiple prespectives are essential in a globalised world in which we live locally. We need to be able to take a global view of the world and our place in it, at the same time as tendering our own back yards [so to speak]. By placing oneself in another's shoes, compassion for oneself and others is engendered, as we see them and ourselves from their point of view. I believe compassion is fundamental force to propel and nurture us ie: the human race and our planet, into the next centuries.
Radiance reminds us of what we lose if we don't nurture and find compassion. For me, as regular readers will know, one of my enviromental concerns revolves around the potential problems caused by the coal seam gas industry. They include detrimental issues with above ground and aquifer water, soil contamination, farm practices severely interrupted [thus reducing yields etc], deterioration of food production, loss of land value and so on. In the last few days there has been a Senate enquiry into the CSG industry and there has been quite a lot of media coverage. I detect a change in rhetoric from politicians and others...an awareness of how severe problems could be! Here is one article about a submission to the Senate enquiry about possible health issues and CSG mining.
And, a blog post from the David Suzuki Foundation about the belief that gas is cleaner than coal.
And, here is a link to my 'Gas Gallery' where I have written about some of my more 'Quiet Activist' paintings.
NEWS
PARADISE
My solo exhibition Paradise is at Purgatory Artspace, Melbourne 8 Sept-8 Oct.
JUNG SOCIETY
I am giving a presentation about my work and the tree-of-life at the August CJ Jung Soc meeting.
4 August 7.30 -9.30pm
TATTERSALL'S LANDSCAPE ART AWARD
I have been invited again this year to participate in this award. I will put more details up soon. It is announced on September 7.
Cheers,
Kathryn
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