For You: Rainbow Goddess Desk Top!

Happy Valentines Day, Creampuffs! To celebrate I have a little gift for you--a rainbow laser goddess desk top! A cosmic sticky note to remind you of your kick ass super powers:

What a strange sparkling and smexy creature you are.

Click for a larger view, kittens. <3 xo

ELEMENTAL DANCE

Elemental Dance Oil on linen 55 x 80 cm

 

I hope those of you who read my last post 'Love-Valentine's Kind' enjoyed a bit of fun. Dancing is also fun! It is also transformative in a number of diverse ways. It is great exercise, so can help with weight reduction. It can be a very social passtime where frissons of romance blossom. It can take an individual to places within as they lose themselves in the energy of movement and music. I've seen my daughter dancing in ways which indicate she has lost herself in the moment. I remember the same feelings when I was younger and used to prance around my parents' living room. I have seen how dancing, with the need to remember sequences and work as a team when in a group, assist in alleviating attention deficit issues and sequential thinking blockages. I know dance can express more than words can say...it's like a painting!

The Whirling Dervishes are, of course, one of the most famous examples of the transformative power of dancing and movement. Check out this website for more information. The repeated whirling movement mirroring the revolving or circular motions of the universe within us and beyond to the multiverse.

In the painting above 'Elemental Dance' I have tried to capture Mother Nature's embodiment of life, the quiver, the quake and the jazz! Everything is in a constant state of movement, whether quickened or slowed. Life is a symphony! It is an ongoing one propelled by nature's pulse. The painting below 'Into The Symphony' is an older painting, but 'speaks' of the nuances of life's rhythm.

In 'Elemental Dance' the female figure representing Mother Nature is the link between everything. The two trees-of-life erupting from her head and feet connect her to all seemingly opposite elements. The  red umbilical-like cord which connects her heart with the larger tree-of-life is the universal/ multiversal pulse.

We are dance partners with Mother Nature! Sometimes we take steps that do not synchronise, such as plundering resources in ways that are detrimental to the environment. But, the dance will go on   sometimes with tempo and other times with restorative slow waltzes.

I consider my work at one level to be quite political in a provocative sense rather than an overt one.

Regular readers will know I have written about this before, particularly in reference to beauty. By

harnessing beauty, love and compassion we have the capacity to neuter violent and agressive argument. The very act of harnessing then can be seen as the supreme political act.

BEAUTY POSTS

Lifeblood

Beauty and The Vortex

Beauty as a Portal

Beauty Gives Hope a Chance

Into The Symphony Oil on linen 120 x 160 cm

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2008/09/into-symphony.html

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2008/09/into-symphony-again.html

COUNT DOWN

For Everyone: Words and Paintings

Book Launch!

Details HERE

APRIL QUIVER

17-29 April

Solo exhibition

Graydon Gallery, Merthyr Rd, New Farm Brisbane

QUIVER is an exhibition of new paintings inspired by concepts of Mother Nature. Using the age-old transcultural/religious tree-of-life symbol, Kathryn Brimblecombe-Fox explores distance from the nano to the multiversal. In this distance where perspective, both literal and metaphoric, takes on multi layered dimensions, the quiver …tremble….vibration…of all life reminds us of the shared rhythmic pulse across time and space. 

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

P.S. If you are looking for THE perfect Valentine's gift, then make sure you check out 'Love...Valentine's Kind'

LOVE...Valentine's Kind

                                                    Sending Love oil on linen 90 x 180 cm

So, I have decided to be a little light hearted for this post. I've decided to focus on love...yes love....the romantic kind.  Valentine's Day is just around the corner!

I have uploaded a few paintings which I think would make great Valentine's Day presents. Why, because they are about love, some are a little sexy, a couple remind us of the Adam and Eve adventure. That story which is so often very simplistically interpreted eg: man was lead astray by a woman!

So let's begin:
Sending Love above, is my interpretation of love emmanating from a central force eg: heart! The heart is the tree-of-life, which is a symbol of life, itself signified by a pulse...heart!  Love is pure, hence the white and pale tones of the tree and the emmanating light which cascades from it. In my mind, we have the capacity to conjure great feelings of love, and then send this love, as white light, out into the world or to the people we love. Our imaginations hold a force which extends beyond us.

Into My Galaxy Oil on linen 85 x 147 cm

Into My Galaxy...well what more can I say! When in love the 'galaxy' is just the two people who are in love. Their own world, where sparks fly, frisson seduces, time collapses and perfection reigns.  Now, this painting, as it has been pointed out to me, can also be read as the moment of fertilization! Regular readers will know of my great interest in collapsing perspective. So, we have travelled from a galactic perspective to a very intimate internal one. The latter being the moment of life's first quiver, a culmination of an act of love.

Forever Connected Oil on linen 120 x 80 cm

Forever Connected is a painting which 'speaks' about the connections forged by shared stories across time and cultures. On a macro level we all share the same story...the one about how the universe/multiverse was created! Focusing in a little Forever Connected refers to the story of the burning bush and Moses. This story is shared by the three Abrahamaic religions, thus connecting Islam, Christianity and Judaism forever. And focusing n a littel more, the love of two people also forges a connection across time through children and other relationships...and this connection continues even in divorce and after death! 

Compassion Oil on linen 100 x 100 cm

Compassion is a really beautiful painting! It is currently hanging in my sunroom and many people have commented on it. This painting was also selected for the Blake Prize Directors' Cut online exhibition. The paintings selected for this were shortlisted for finalist selection in the main Blake Prize, but did not quite make it. http://www.blakeprize.com.au/galleries/directors-cut

Two trees-of-life meet in a blaze of light, their branches connecting and embracing to form a circle, which seems to be many things at once...an opening to a portal, a crown, an embrace, a celestial entity.

Compassion is a very important ingredient in any relationship, whether it be between countries or individuals. This is the post where I write about my thoughts on compassion and Compassion http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/07/compassion.html

Remembering The reason Why Oil on linen 100 x 70 cm

Sometimes, in a relationship, one needs to remember why. Please check out my previous post HERE

In The Garden of Eden Oil on linen 50 x 94 cm

This is a painting not simply about Adam and Eve, but about men and women. please check out my previous post on this painting HERE 

'She was not made out of his head to surpass him, nor from his feet to be trampled on, but from his side to be equal to him, and near his heart to be dear to him." [Jamieson-Fausset Brown Bible Commentary] Oil on linen 80 x 120 cm

The title of the painting above says it all really...don't you think?

Hot Gouache on paper 15 x 21 cm unframed

So, back to a bit of fun. Hot is a small painting and it is meant to be HOT! Sprouting wings, red, swirling colour...up to you! 

The paintings above range from $300 AUD up to $6,800 AUD [Excluding packaging and freight]

[Prices correct as of 11-1-12, but will change as time goes on. if you are reading this in many months time, please check for updated prices]

AND, I do have many other paintings on my WEBSITE

Some paintings are listed with prices. Please contact me via my website for any price enquiries.

 

AND

Please check out my BOOK LAUNCH SITE

For Everyone: Words and Paintings

NEXT EXHIBITION

QUIVER

17-29 April

Graydon Gallery

 

Cheers,

Kathryn

PS...Please click on the 'share' buttons below if you have Twitter and Facebook accounts...or any other sharing social network membership. It all helps spread the word. Thanking you in advance.

Hiding In the Goldenrod - Macro Monday

Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place.

~Zora Neale Hurston

I think this is a type of crab spider - however - I have no idea what type.

I found this info on Wikipedia about crab spiders. I LOVE Wikipedia!

This guy was itsy-bitsy. I used my 105mm Macro Lens for this shot (seen in my sidebar under favorites).

For More Macro Monday Shots - Visit Lisa's Chaos - HERE

Buddy - Faithful Friend

I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive.

~Gilda Radner

My niece's dog - Buddy. Aptly named.

Happy Father's Day

My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.

~Clarence Budington Kelland

KNOWING STILLNESS

Knowing Stillness Oil on linen 85 x 150 cm

It's been over a week since I blogged. I have been busy. Plus, I've been working on 'Knowing Stillness' [above]. I'd started this painting at the same time I started 'Infinity', the painting I wrote about in my last post. By starting, I mean, creating the background movement of colour. This part of my creative process, sees me getting covered in paint and carrying the faint whiff of 'eua de turps' with me for a few days. Yes, the initial process can take a number of days, as I normally use 2-3 layers of pant, but each layer has to dry before the next layer is applied.

I'd had the idea for 'Knowing Stillness' in my head for awhile. I wanted to play with perspective [regular readers will know I love to do that!] by hinting at notions of the 'beyond'. However, this 'beyond' can be the emotional and spiritual depths within us and/or the extremes of the universe outside of our physical bodies, but with imagination, possibly reachable.

The title 'Knowing Stillness' can be read a couple of ways ie: that stillness is all knowing, or that we can get to know stillness. I like to think that multiple interpretations can be absorbed, so that stillness is both knowing and known.

In stillness we can see, hear and feel things we did not could be heard, seen or felt. In stillness the distance of time and space collapses. As regular readers know I have written about stillness before.

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/10/knowledge-of-stillness.html

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/10/in-stillness.html

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

http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/06/listening-to-stillness.html

In 'Knowing Stillness' I wanted to capture a sense of discovery...not the intrepid Indiana Jones kind, but a more resonating revelatory kind where you sense that you already know something, but have forgotten. The kind of discovery which reveals your presence at the 'Beginning'. Indeed, if we are cosmic dust, then at some level, possibly imbedded in our DNA, is knowledge we currently do not grasp. Yet, there are hints, and in stillness, we may discover more than just tantalising hints.

The painting is part landscape, with the multiple trees forming maybe a mountain, the edge of the earth, or maybe the edge of the universe...or the edge of something seen under a microscopic. Yes, this is my 'play' with persepective, the possibility of the painting being simultaneously an investigation of the nano and vast...mirrors the intimate and vast depths of our inner psyches . The trees are my much loved transcultural/religious trees-of-life, linked together to form life, to create systems, to energise.

If you look closely, the 'sky' is dotted with white circles. For me, these represented the possibility of other universes...that we are not a universe, but a multiverse. As I have written before, Martin Rees's book 'Just Six Numbers' inspired me to visually articulate some things which had perplexed me since I was a child.  'How big is the sky?', 'What is beyond?'. Here's my previous post 'Multiverse' http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/12/multiverse.html

Yet, these white circles need not be just other universes 'out there'. They can represent the other universes within us, within the depths of our psyches. Last week I attended a fascinating lecture at the Qld Jung Society. It was entitled 'Technology and Soul' and presented by Dr. Glen Slater. I came away from this lecture concerned about the seduction of technology which sees us reliant on virtual life type situations, immediacy, bites of information and constant entertainment...and so on. Of course, there can be major benefits, such as an immediate response from a doctor on the ground if someone falls ill on a plane [happened to a friend of mine recently], virtual consultations in any kind of emergency and so on. However, as we skim the surface of virtual life, social networking, immediacy disguised as urgency, are we creating a superficial persona, easily polished with the latest and greatest device or application, but with increasingly nothing behind it?

So, let's not lose touch with the depths within. Let's not let technology hijack imagination. Beware of the narcisstic imperative that suggests plished perfection is progress. Let stillness reaquaint us with the imperfect, where courage takes us in multiple directions within and without. Allow stillness to reveal the questions we did not know we needed to ask. No polishing required...just digging with love and imagination. Stillness knows!

NEWS

On August 4 I am presenting at the Qld Jung Society monthly session. Here's the link to all the details.

http://www.jungqld.com/2011-8-brimblecombe-fox/

September: I have been invited to participate in the Tattersall's Landscape Art Prize. It opens September 7.

September 8- October 8: My solo exhibition 'Paradise' at Purgatory Artspace, 170 Abbotsford St First Floor], Melbourne. Opening Friday 9 September

Cheers,

Kathryn

www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

Hummingbird Moth with Transparent Wings

In our life there is a single color, as on an artist's palette, which provides the meaning of life and art. It is the color of love.

~Marc Chagall

Very busy here and it has rained a LOT - so another one from the archives.

Hummingbird Moth - August 2010 - Deerfield Trail

Hands of Love

All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.

~Abraham Lincoln

SENDING LOVE and HEART

                                Super Mum oil on board 30 x 30 cm

I am a single parent...a single mother...and have been for 11 years. My children were 8, 5 and 2, eleven years ago. I cannot remember much of the first 5 to 6 years of our new life in Brisbane. It was just so, so frantic.

My children are older now, and don't need the kind of supervision and attention small children demand. However, my housekeeping standards have not returned to those I held dear in 1999. I let go of a huge amount of pride in housekeeping between 2000-2006 and I now don't really notice unmade beds, piles of ironing, crumbs on the kitchen bench! Though, I do have a hissy fit if the kitchen rubbish bins get so full that the rubbish starts filling the airspace above  ie: they're doomed to collapse [can't the kids see that????]!

Being the single parent, who has the children most of the time, is incredibly demanding. But, it is also very rewarding to witness and be part of their lives...and also to have others comment on how grounded, gorgeous and mature they are...that makes my heart sing!

As an artist, I work at home and this has been fantastic, because I have been available for my children. I am at home when they get home from school, I can pick them up from school or from whatever sport and other extra-curricular activities they undertake. I have been able to collect them when I've been called by the school to say they are sick. I have attended a range of sports carnivals, music recitals and so on. One of my children was very sporty at primary school and was a champion at a variety of sports....so I trod the well worn track to a number of school, district and regional titles...I think we made it to a couple of State ones too. My attendance was enthusiatically welcomed when the children were primary school age, before they started thinking I was totally embarrassing...yep teenager time! 'Mum, why can't you dress like the other Mums?'...well.... if your Mum is an artist....!

But, this all sounds very much like many Mums and Dads. The only thing is...when you do it on your own, day in and day out, it is exhausting. There are other elements which people may not think about...like...when either of my eldest children had early morning [ie: 6.30 am] sports training, I had to wake the youngest to take her too. I could not leave her at home alone. Her teachers often commented on how tired she seemed some days.

So, I think you will understand my willingness to be involved in two curated fundraising exhibitions to be held in Brisbane. They are::

• The Women's Legal Service Qld From the Heart exhibition http://www.wlsq.org.au/index.html Opening Friday 20 May 6 pm till late. All the details, exhibiting artists etc are on the website.
• The ACT FOR Kids exhibition. http://www.whitecanvas.tv/gallery/images/stories/exhibitions/docs/ACT_for_Kids_Invite.jpg Opening Friday 13 May

In both cases funds raised go towards helping provide services to women [WLSQ], and to children who have been abused [ACT for Kids].

In both cases the artwork is selected by a curator, and then hung be the curator.

                               From The Heart  Oil on linen 85 x 147 cm 2008

This painting above, serendipitously titled 'From The Heart' is one of ten paintings being auctioned at the Women's Legal Service 'From The Heart' exhibition. The curator has selected another 3 of my paintings for the general exhibition. If you are interested in bidding please make contact with the WLSQ. This is my short artist's statement for 'From The Heart':

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 from my heart to encompass the person, thing or the Earth...and yes even the universe. In this painting the tree-of-life cascades as white light to encompass great distances.

                                Sending Love Oil on linen 90 x 180 cm 2009

The painting above 'Sending Love' will be in the ACT for Kids exhibition, along with 3 other of my paintings.

The statement above, for the painting From The Heart is certainly exemplified in this painting as well. I chose to enter it for selection to the ACT for Kids exhibition, because I feel it embodies the sentiments and emotions people feel when confronted with the sad stories, lived daily by abused children.

Here are the websites again:

•  http://www.wlsq.org.au/index.html 
• http://www.whitecanvas.tv/gallery/images/stories/exhibitions/docs/ACT_for_Kids_Invite.jpg

This post is a departure from my posts and paintings about water and coal seam gas! But, hey I'm sending everyone LOVE!

Cheers,
Kathryn
http://www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com/

Kisses From HerSpeak: xoxo

The Greatest Science

The greatest science in the world; in heaven and on earth; is love.

~Mother Teresa

A little bit of love ~ smooths the rough edges.

Another "heart shape" I have found in nature ..... can you see it?

LISTENING TO THE STILLNESS

                                         Listening To The Stillness Gouache on paper 30 x 42 cm unframed

I have previously, in recent posts, written about my interest in the concept of the vortex and the stillness I imagine to be found in the centre or core of the vortex. In the stillness I imagine a quietness which allows you to listen to yourself, your thoughts and reflections, your heartbeat and breath. The imploring hysteria held within the twirling and whirling of the outer vortex fades away to leave a place where listening can be really experienced...a listening to life from within yourself, and a listening to the space and energy of the Universe. I imagine the vortex core to be a space of unfathomable immensity and also intimacy. This paradox is completely imaginable if notions of lines of sight and traditional perspective are abandoned.

I have written before about my thoughts on perspective and the need for us in the 21st century, where we live locally in a globalised world, to develop skills in 'seeing' multiple perspectives simultaneously. Indeed, another word may need to be created to describe the collapse of perspective.

But back to the vortex core. The painting above, and those in other recent posts, are my visual explorations of being inside the vortex. I imagine an attraction to, and an emmanation from, the vortex representing a natural and consistent flow of life and love. The hysteric twirling and whirling of the outer vortex strips life and love to the point where they are confused with such human derailments as jealousy, materialism, neediness, martyrdon etc.

The image above is a close up of an oil painting I am currently working on. It is my first oil painting focusing on my vortex ideas. As you can see my much loved tree-of-life has a dominant part to play in the visual story. [regular readers of this blog will not be surprised!] As in my recent works on paper, the tree-of-life/knowledge is connected to the inner core of the vortex like a sustaining vascular system, suggesting that once stillness is listened to, our lives expand beyond the reaches of the hysteric turmoil existing in the noisy outer world.

ON ANOTHER MATTER
Please have a look at this website 'coal4breakfast'. It has been set up by a group of farmers who live near or along a road called Haystack Rd, on the Darling Downs west of Dalby, Queensland, Australia. I grew up on my parent's farm not far away from this place. The soils surrounding Dalby are some of the most fertile soils in the southern hemisphere, thus representing major food producing capacity. However, there are minerals under the ground, mainly coal. Mining is threatening the sustainability of the fertile food producing soils of the area. There is no gurantee that lands can be rejuvenated and restored. For me, the risk is too high, because it is a risk that will influence future generations. These soils can produce food for 1000s of years, yet a mine's life is vastly shorter. http://www.coal4breakfast.com.au/page10.htm

Cheers,
Kathryn

Wishcastin Wednesday: I Send You Love!

***It's WishCasting Wednesday!***

Whew! It's been a whirlwind of a week-- barely a moment to blog! I've been let out of class early on a Glorious Spring-like day and it feels like a perfect time to spin a wish! This week, our Wishtress Jamie asks us to contemplate, “Who do you wish to send Love to?”

So, I’m stepping up to the Mic of The Universe:
*tap tap* Is this thing on?

I wish to send Love to my brother,
You are doing what you Love! Love what you do!


I wish to send Love to my sister,
You are changing the world with your gifts!


I wish to send Love to my Mom,
You are a Force of Nature and a most a clever witch.


I wish to send Love to my Dad,
A Soul of impeccable Sweetness, the kindest I’ve ever known.


I wish to send Love to my Muffin,
My affectionate, understanding and dearest partner in crime.


I wish to send Love to my fellow students
As they wrack their brains for graduation,
Some Miles, some days, some years from Home--
Know comfort, know the satisfaction of ACCOMPLISHMENT, know Sleep!


I wish to send Love to The Blogosphere,
These Women, These Artists, These Poets
In constant transformation
My comrades, my gurus, my Girls.


I wish to send Love to the Earth,
To the dirt
To the wet places
With hope that it heals.


I wish to send Love to the Lonely,
To the Frightened
To the Broken.
To the Overwhelmed.
Don’t despair, friends—

SHE is listening.

Who do you wish to send Love to?

Step up! The Mic is On.~*

A Love Note to Winter

I'm anxiously anticipating the snow. As I type this I'm looking out of my third story window at the dove greyness waiting for it to start. (Was that a flake?! No.) I know for lots of people, winter is a hellish time of year--that it is some sort of seasonal punishment or penance. The traffic, the holi-daze, the sludge, the salt to sub zero temperatures, but...

I love winter.
There, I've admitted it. I love winter.

Something about the quality of the air or the way snow absorbs colors and light sparks my imagination. Maybe in another life I was a great snowy owl, or maybe I'm simply a hopeless romantic. It conjures epic images of vast tundras and white mares with wild manes, crowns constructed of opals and icicles as well as stillness and secrets and groves of naked birches. The movement of falling snow has such a dramatic cinematic essence and yet a quietness that makes you conscious of your breath, like you're watching a prayer. It's like an incredible blue dream that I get to waltz through. And every little flake that falls is it's own piece of elaborate microscopic origami--an infinitesimally small cosmos made of chandeliers, and it's right there, right there on the lapel of my pea coat. Amazing.

"Crow Keeper" by Molly Roberts 2008

And winter nights--even more brilliant. The sky is not just black, but a deep clear onyx. Or when snow is falling in the dark, the sky becomes a beautiful mix of something like lavender down and mourning dove feathers. I like to squint at stars and pretend I could pluck them, one at at time and put them in a little parchment envelope to save for later--for something secret. And the moon, She is always the most radiant on bitter nights. Her halo stretches out in sapphire rings, casting long inky shadows over both skyscraper and field mouse house alike.

When I walk outside and the wind cuts at my face and I see the skeletons of trees, I don't think that everything is Dead. When I see branches draped with snow or icicles clinging tightly to tall grasses, it's like hearing someone whisper in a gentle and barely audible voice:

"Shhhh...go to sleep."

It's as if everything around me is resting, everything is breathing deeper, everything is dreaming. When I'm outside, I'm tempted to speak quietly as not to wake anything, step lightly as not to disturb anyone. The last thing I want is to to upset the dirts dreaming. Yes, winter comes with it's challenges, but what season doesn't? In spring there are fleshy tulip buds, as well as mold blooms and basement flooding. In summer there are trips to the beach and endless nights of no sleep because the air conditioning in your unit doesn't work and you can't stop sticking to your furniture. Fall brings an amazing pallet and pumpkin harvests as well as endless mountains of yard work and buckets of frigid rain. It's part of the cycle-- just like spring, summer and fall. By resisting it, by fighting it tooth and nail, we separate ourselves from it. And when we severe ourselves from it, we miss out on the phantasm, the stunning work that is winter.

It's now starting to flurry here, and I couldn't be more happy. I'm off to my studio to sketch Snow Queens, great cakes with frost frosting and arctic atmospheres! But first, a little hot chocolate...

What are you going to make?

Wondrous Winter Wishes and Many Blissings!~*

An Altar for Us: Art for My Muffin

After a quiet moment in the closet staring at the blank space, I set to work our "US" altar. I shuffled through the candy tin that serves as my photo album and found a blurry snapshot of the two of us from high school--both of our eyes are closed. Then I found the "CONEY ISLAND IS FOR LOVERS" postcard from our trip to New York this past summer and a wrinkly ticket stub from "Edward Scissor Hands: The Ballet" which we attended in St. Paul two springs ago. While I looked at the glossy ticket I smiled as I recalled crying when the music swelled and snow suddenly started falling slowly from the auditorium ceiling. I realize it was only lights and costumes, but I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the moment. I placed a few glistening snail shells on the shelf--shells we found while shifting through wet sand at the cottage. As I arranged the scraps of paper, trinkets, string and travel artifacts I thought about how much we've evolved since we were scared seventeen-year-old kids, how many strange cities had seen us stumbling around in the wee hours of the morning, and fancied where we might be headed. I lit the candles and stepped back to view the work, savoring a small, silent celebration for us.