GATE

                                           Gate Oil on linen 100 x 100 cm


I have ruminated for days on the title for this painting above. I know what I want to say, but there's so much! The question I have been asking myself is; how do I encapsulate, in a succinct way, the enormity of possibilities which have permeated through my mind? When I started the painting I had ideas of portraying the gate to Eden ie: the gate Adam and Eve, after taking from the tree-of-knowledge, fled through, and which we [humanity] have the possibility of finding and returning to. Finding [or seeing again] the gate promises the return to Eden, Paradise, Heaven, Stillness...to One. I have previously written about the story of Adam and Eve, and its metaphysical lessons.
http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/08/garden-of-eden.html
http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/09/adam-and-eveleft-and-right-brain.html
http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/09/where-is-your-paradise.html

Yes, it is the metaphysical that holds the enormity which I have tried to grapple with. So, after coming up with lots of possible titles, each holding intrinsic limits, I decided to simply call the painting 'Gate'. Without other accompanying descriptor words, gate can take the viewer [and myself] to wherever we want to
go...and maybe to places we had not thought of going? We just have to open it!

So, the painting has a circle, or wreath, created with my much loved transcultural/religious tree-of-life/knowledge. Two white trees meet with entwined branches on the left of the painting. On the right, their trunks are connected by a oval ball of, what seems like, pulsing energy. It is this 'energy' that is one of the 'gates' in the painting. Another 'gate' is the circle of trees itself, which takes on a portal-like appearance. I have previously written about portals and their capacity to impel, beyond and within.
http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2011/03/beauty-as-portal.html
http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2011/02/portal.html

I have painted the trees white to indicate the time before knowledge ie: when Adam and Eve [humanity] could not see each other's nakedness. The fourteen trees which seem to grow out of the white wreath, represent knowledge ie: the knowledge of opposites revealed when Adam and Eve took from the tree-of-knowledge and could see their nakedness. You will notice that the trees are painted in the seven colours of the rainbow, the seven chakra colours. Each colour is repeated twice, once on the lower half of wreath/circle and once on the top half, as if they 'speak' of the knowledge of the conscious and subconscious, human and divine. I have previously written about my thoughts on colour and knowledge:
http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/12/colour-of-knowledge.html
http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/10/knowledge-of-stillness.html
http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/12/knowledge-and-cooking.html

The 'gate' of pulsing energy is again two trees which meet in entwined branches. The trees, rather than being white, are painted with the seven rainbow/chakra colours, as if opening the gate with knowledge, returns humanity to a realisation of Oneness, Paradise, Eden, Heaven, Stillness.

If you have a pair of 3D glasses...go get them and put them on to look at this painting! The wreath/circle immediately distances itself from the background. It seems to float in space like some kind of celestial entity. Regular readers will know of my interest in the realms of the universe and the enthralling possibility that we are not part of one universe but many ie: multiverse. Maybe the 'gate' is a portal to other universes...and of course these other universes can be out there in space, or inside us within the realms of the subconscious!

I don't deliberately paint 3D. I discovered that many of my paintings take on the 3D appearance when a visitor to my exhibition 'Frisson' in 2010 brought in a pair of 3 D glasses! he returned to see my exhibition 'Vortex' earlier this year and brought some glasses again!

The act of putting on 3D glasses is, in a way, an act of deliberately seeing differently. I wonder how we can do this without the aid of external devices? I wonder how we can do this with the miracle of our imaginations? Seeing different perspectives, without aids, I believe, is the key to engendering compassion for ourselves and others.

The idea of a 'gate' being energy, excites me. Maybe I've watched too much Dr. Who? But, that's what I like about simple titles for paintings...they let the viewer's imagination stir! So, if I had called the painting 'Gate to Stillness', 'Revealing The Gate', 'Gateway to Eden' plus all the other titles I played around with, I suspect I would have diminished the work with prescription...even if it was just a little dose.

Regular readers will know that within my practice I have, what I call, my quiet activism work. I have not painted anything screamingly, obviously or even quietly activist very recently, but please see some links below. However, in a subtle way my paintings, such as 'Gate', are politically toned, because their underlying pathos is that they remind us of what we could lose if we maltreat our earthly paradise. They provoke wonder and imagination, powerful qualities to circumvent negativity, and bypass tired thinking!

Cheers,
Kathryn

NEWS

• I'd like to recommend a book called 'Metanoia: Renovating The House Of Your Spirit' by Russell Stugess. It is a complex book, dense with massive amounts of information that truly opens up wonder. It is a book I often refer to. http://www.beattitude.com.au/index.php?/resources/metanoia_book/

• I am presenting at the Qld Jung Society on 4 Aug. Here's a link to their homepage where you will find links to the various events, including mine. http://www.jungqld.com/

• My next solo show Paradise at Purgatory Artspace, Melbourne opens Friday 9 Sept. Exhibition dates 8 Sept - 8 October. More details soon.

• Quiet Activism
• http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2011/05/gas-gallery.html
• http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2011/06/planet.html
• http://www.visualartist.info/visualartist/artist/subpage.asp?ex=gallery&I=1690&sub=4325&artistId=1292&PageId=1690

MEETING PLACE OF THE MIND

Meeting Place Of The Mind Oil on linen 100 x 70 cm

Click on the image to make it enlarge.

Meeting Place Of The Mind is a new painting, which I have been working on for many weeks. After creating the background I placed the painting in a spot where I'd see it as I went about my daily activities. I did this because I had too many ideas and could not work out which one I'd focus upon. By having the painting in sight I could sift through my ideas more easily, until just one seemed right.

I knew I wanted to paint an image which did not cover over the entire background. Why? Because I actually think the background is quite beautiful. I created it through a controlled accident, which is how I create most of my backgrounds. There are normally a couple of layers of paint involved, with each of these needing to be dry before the next phase happens.

The image is a man and woman, who seem to morph into one being. There outstretched arms reach forward erupting into cascading trees. The vortex/spiral enclosing the figures is like a spring of energy, suggesting that the man and woman, who are at the centre of this energy are... conduits, the core, the essential element, the stillness that is replete. The moon, in its phases, represents time and the energy of push and pull, an innate balance.

Regular readers will note that the trees are my much loved transcultural/religious tree-of-life motif. They will also note that the spiral/vortex is another of my recurring visual guides. I wanted to create an image which 'spoke' of mind, thinking, intelligence...all in their broadest senses from nano to universal, from human to divine. The trees, figures and the spiral in Meeting Place Of The Mind have an almost synaptic appearance, which I am really pleased about, because it references interconnectedness and the life propelling nature of systems. I have previously written about systems. Here's a link to a previous post. http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/10/majesty-and-order.html

The synaptic appearance has pleased me because synapses enable the passage of signals to be passed in the brain. These signals are pretty important for life propulsion! In Meeting Place Of The Mind the trees take on a dendritic appearance, but whilst references to the brain are obvious, in this case the 'dendrites' are seemingly connected to the universe. As the phases of the moon remind us of it's push/pull energy, the quiver of the spiral dances to the rythm, the vibrations of life forces.

The meeting place of 'the mind' is a wonderful concept...I think anyway! It conjures up things like collective thinking, compassionate energy, innate intelligence, universal consciousness. I deliberately did not use the plural of mind ie: minds, in the title, because I wanted to suggest something march larger than the mere sum of its parts...a gestalt that takes our thinking to places beyond compartments to stretch our imaginations. Paradise!

NEWS

WEBSITE

I have made two new 'galleries' on my website... Paradise and Landscape.

Paradise has some images of paintings I am considering for my exhibition Paradise in Melbourne in September.

8 Sept- 8 Oct at Purgatory Artspace, 170 Abbotsford St, North Melbourne.

http://www.visualartist.info/visualartist/artist/subpage.asp?ex=gallery&I=1690&sub=5777&artistId=1292&PageId=1690

Landscape has some paintings I have created over the years that are landscape inspired.

http://www.visualartist.info/visualartist/artist/subpage.asp?ex=gallery&I=1690&sub=5796&artistId=1292&PageId=1690

If you are interested in buying, you just have to click on 'make an enquiry' which appears on each page.

And, check out my 'quiet activism' gallery Water and Gas

http://www.visualartist.info/visualartist/artist/subpage.asp?ex=gallery&I=1690&sub=4325&artistId=1292&PageId=1690

ART AND INSIGHTS

WORKSHOP

After two successful Art and Insights workshops, Gabriele Engstrom and I are planning more!

Here are the details for the next one!

DATE: Saturday 16 July

TIME: 9.30 am -12.30 pm

PLACE: QUAKER MEETING HOUSE 10 Hampson St, Kelvin Grove.

PRICE: $75 per person. Numbers are limited to ensure individual

attention, so please book and pay prior to the workshop.

Payment details will be sent to you at booking and a receipt will be issued upon payment.

If you are interested in attending let me know either by commenting [which I won't publish] or through my website www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com

This dynamic three hour group workshop, where art insights meets vibrational healing, will give you the opportunity to reveal and remove unconscious blocks, discover how to access gateways to new ideas, learn new and fun ways of problem solving that invoke your deeper wisdom, and learn simple tools that you can use every day to revitalise body, mind and soul.

The workshop is a powerful experience, which involves creative activity, experimental art [drawing], vibrational therapy, meditation and the ancient Chinese practice of QiGong. It does not matter if you consider yourself an artist or not, you can access greater insights and higher wisdom through art.

The underlying quest is to discover the power of your own symbolism. The journey is yours.

Cheers,

Kathryn

STIRRING THE SENSORIUM

Into The Sensorium Oil on linen 30 x 30 cm

I am writing this on New Year's Eve, and like many people am pondering upon and wondering about the decade past, and the new one which is about to commence. Also, as I write this much of Queensland is flooded, with many towns evacuated, farms water sogged with submerged crops, mines full of water and/or cut off by flooded roads. I have just heard from a friend of mine that Rockhampton airport is closed and will not reopen until well into January. For many people this New Year's Eve is devastating, and my thoughts go out to them.

The beginning of a decade is like a doorway into possibility. When I was a child, my brothers and I would talk about how old we'd be in certain years into the future. I remember at the ages of around 12,10 and 8 in the early 70s, we thought 1990 was just SO far into the future and we'd be SO old!

NEW PAINTINGS

The painting above 'Into The Sensorium' speaks of that place, I imagine inside the vortex core, where stillness enables us to listen to things we did not know we could hear, see things we did not know could be seen and feel things we did not could be felt. Sensorium means 'the sensory apparatus or faculties considered as a whole' [Oxford online]. With this meaning in mind, I 'see' the vortex core as a place where sentience is about simultaneous knwoings, where we can absorb all and BE still with ourselves, and all of humanity.

Regular readers will identify my transcultural/religious tree-of-life motif which 'speaks' of life on Earth, and beyond to cosmological realms and spiritual worlds, both vast and intimate. The spiral of colourful leaves draws the viewer into the painting...the leaves are simultaneously moments and eons of time. I like the way they 'kind of' dance!

Into The Sensorium will be in my Februrary show 'Vortex: Seeking Stillness At Its Core'.

                               Glimpsing The Truth Oil on linen 30 x 30 cm

Glimpsing The Truth is again my vision of being inside the vortex, at its core. Yet, a bit like Dr. Who's Tardis, once inside the vortex core, one realises that size, distance and perspective are no longer relevant...or at least how we humans judge them with our limited line-of-sight. This painting refers to another recent painting called Multiverse, where I have painted a tree with intermittent small portal like 'holes' or 'vortexes'. Each one of them suggests the possibility of other universes and new dimensions. Glimpsing The Truth is like a close up of one of the small portals in Multiverse.

Whilst the idea of other universes 'out there' is exciting and stimulating, the search for 'universes' can also be about discoveries within our psyches and souls, both individually and as a human race. Indeed, a search within, reveals that size, distance and perspective have no limits, and thus might need to be conceptually and spiritually re-negotiated...and in doing so reawakened 


22 Feb-6 March 2011, Graydon Gallery, 29 Merthry Rd, New Farm, Brisbane

If you want to see more than one painting at a time, I am gradually uploading images for my exhibition at http://www.twitpic.com/e/v3x Twitpic reproduces images really well.http://www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com/


Cheers and Happy New Year,
Kathryn



Glimpsing The Truth will be in my February show 'Vortex;Seeking Stillness At Its Core' .

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 obssessive! 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 perculating 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.

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 the '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...God?...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 sentiently depict multiple perspectives.

In this painting, I have used my much loved transcultural/religious tree-of-life motif which cuts its capillory-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 the 'happening'...that we are both witnesses and participants.  I wanted to give a sense that the image contained more than it revealed. To do this, I have tried to create a feeling that viewers sense they have encountered a cross-section of the outer edge of a vortex, and as they meet this phenomena they are immediately drawn into its movement, which compels them to be both witness and participant. Regular readers will know of my interest in vortexes. Check out http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/10/knowledge-of-stillness.html

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 minutae of life. Things such as the snaking cracks in the black soil, which miraculously closed up when rain turned the soil to 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 [vortexes!] 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. Grand-ma-ma knew all the constellations and tried to teach us to identify them. My grandmother 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'.

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 treeless plain landscape of my childhood. The distance frightened them. Even friends of mine from the city had issues with the vastness of this landscape. 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] inspiration 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

REDLAND ART PRIZE
My painting 'Colour Of Knowledge' is one of the finalists in the Redland Art Prize. There were over 400 entries with only just over 50 selected as finalists, so I am pretty happy. Many paintings are for sale [including mine!!] The exhibition is up until Dec 5. Check out http://www.redlandartawards.org.au/ 
Here's a link to the BLOG post for 'Colour of Knowledge' http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/12/colour-of-knowledge.html

VORTEX
My next solo exhibition 'VORTEX" will be Feb 22 - March 6 2011 at Graydon Gallery, New Farm, Brisbane.

THANK YOU
Thank you to all of you who visit my BLOG. Every day my BLOG gets multiple visitors and I'm thrilled. My STATS page tells me how many people drop by and from what country, but not who you are.
Please remember you can comment.
Cheers,
Kathryn
http://www.kathrynbrimblecombe-fox.com/

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

HOVERING

Hovering At The Centre Oil on linen 30 x 30 cm

This painting above is a small 30 x 30 cm work. It was inspired by thoughts of vortexes, stillness, possibility and the potency of the archetypal tree-of-life symbol. I am reading another book by the Lord Astonomer, Martin Rees. This book 'Just Six Numbers' is entirely layperson readable, just like his book 'Our Final Century', which I have written about previously. http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/04/idea-sketches.html   http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/05/presence.html

Well, a few things have got me excited. One is that prior to reading 'Just Six Numbers' I was pondering the phenomena of the vortex, literally as well as metaphorically. Regular readers will have read some of my 'vortex' posts. Rees writes about spirals and vortexes in cosmology eg: galaxies. Another source of excitement is Rees's chapter 'Primordial 'Ripples'. I was reading in bed a few nights ago, with my eyes falling out of their sockets due to tiredness, and I started to read the chapter and laughed.  It transfixed me, because prior to reading all about primoridal ripples, I painted 'Cosmic Frisson', which was inspired by ideas of ripples. I even called a recent post 'Ripples'. http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/07/ripples.html   http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/08/cosmic-frisson.html

So, back the painting above...Hovering At The Centre. I wanted to leave some space, because so many of my paintings are full of vast textures which only suggest space as a dimension beyond the surface. I wanted to create an image that included a sense of empty space, simultaneously vast and minute, like a portal or a vortex/spiral core. I wanted to create a sense of finding stillness, a place of possibility, alluding to a complexity that, whilst not understood can be sentiently felt, thus asking us to have faith.

At one level Hovering At The Centre is inspired by Rees's words, 'Most galaxies harbour a central hole as massive as millions of stars.' These central holes are 'black holes'. They defy explanation, but are discernible by scrutinising external forces such as gravity and light. But, this is where an artist's imagination is triggered. For me, my painting portrays a sense of life surrounding the 'black hole'. This is indicated by the tree-of-life motif, which suggests celestial systems finely balanced to stimulate the continuing expansion of the Universe. The tree-of-life is also gravity which stops the Universe imploding into black holes and perhaps surrending existence.

In Hovering At The Centre the circle or hole is like a portal, embraced securely by the tree-of-life. So, entering the portal may not be too bad, because it might be like being inside a big hug [worse case...a crushing hug!]! Portals are metaphors for choice, other dimensions, crossorads in life. Portals, do not have templates to follow, otherwise they'd not be portals, but merely glass doors through which we could see. Portals are not understood by criteria or agendas. If we ascribed these things to portals we limit ourselves and the potential opportunities offered by the unknown. Portals compel us to dream and imagine, and criteria and agendas are not good bedfellows.

Here is a link to another painting where I 'speak' about portals. The painting is called 'AH HAs' and sold at my exhibition FRISSON in March. http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/02/ah-ahs.html

NEWS

My painting 'Halo' is one of  the 70 finalists for the 2010 Tattersall's $20,000 Art Prize, Brisbane. This year the prize is by invitation, so I am very excited to have been chosen as one of the exhibiting artists. The exhibition opens Wednesday 8 September.

On October 8 a rather interesting curated exhibition BAware will open at St. John's Anglican Cathedral in Brisbane. The exhibition is themed to the Millenium Goals to raise awarenss of gloabl issues of social justice, poverty and sustainability. I will have between 3 and 5 paintings in this exhibition. I will post updates over the next weeks leading up to the exhibition.

Until next time,

Kathryn

COSMIC FRISSON

                                         Cosmic Frisson oil on linen 90 x 180 cm

This is the painting I was working on when I wrote my recent BLOG post 'Ripples' http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/07/ripples.html  Yes, it is finished!

I wrote in 'Ripples' that I wanted to create a painting which seemed to ripple, at one instance appearing to reveal something and at the next swathing it under swift and repetitive movements. This  painting could be a landscape of the Earth in the cosmos, her outer protective atmosphere meeting the sun blessed sky space, creating a frisson between multiple dimensions. Yet, the cluster of rounded shapes could be a cluster of space presences, from planets to particles of dust, saluting a sun star many light years from ours.

I have used my tree-of -life/knowledge motif to create the planetary shape, but beneath the rippling-like branches, glimpses of other forces can be seen. These same forces are glimpsed through the sun's felt presence within the sky space. The cosmos teases and tantalises us with its secrets, by revealing its inner essence languidly.

Without the teasing and tantalising would we question? Would we be curious? The search and acquisition of knowledge survives and thrives on the stimulation and seduction of glimpsed secrets.

I have used the tree-of-life/knowledge to suggest that 'life' lies beyond our planetry existence. It may not be life like we know it, but as the Universe continues to expand, its propulsion is the potential. I am so glad the Universe and the sub-atomic, and the simultaneously expanding and decreasing space and distance between them, are complex. Complexity means there are forces, whilst we may not understand or be aware of them, that keep life's processes operating. My faith lies in the complexity that holds the questions we have not thought to ask and the answers we don't even know exist yet. Now that's frisson!

Regular readers would know that my solo exhibition in March here in brisbane was called Frisson. Here is a link to a previous post http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2010/01/feeling-frisson.html

Until next time,
Kathryn

AH! HAs

AH! HAs Oil on linen 30 x 30 cm SOLD

My last post was about change and how change leads to us 'becoming' whatever we are meant to be. 'Becoming', like change is a constant process!

I made a comment that we can control some changes...change does not always have to be something that is done to us. In this post I want to write about those 'AH! Ha' moments, which through their very intensity can afford us an opportunity to change and perhaps depart from one 'becoming' road to another. In a way 'AH HAs' are like crossroads...and crossroads are very significant as we do have a choice of which way to travel.

'Ah HAs' are those nanosecond revelatory instances which can lead to new insights, perspectives, letting go old beliefs, 'seeing' something or someone with new eyes...and so on. These instances are felt physically as one's brain explodes with revelation and the gut twists simultaneously with a plethora of feelings from dread, to excitement, thrill and hope. Yes!!!!! these instances are frissons!

'AH HAs' can precipitate change, and thus our 'becoming'. I remember attending...for want of a better term...a spycho babble group session at a health retreat a few year ago, where the facilitor shared an 'Ah Ha' that he had experienced. He recounted how he had had many relationships over a number of years and could not understand why none had worked out...until...he realised... he was the common denominator and maybe it was something about him! I must admit that this made me scramble to think about the things in my life which seemed to consistently not work out. Was I the common denominator? Did I need to look at myself rather than seeing the other person, thing, event, etc as the problem? This is all about perspective, which as regular readers of my BLOG know, is another favourite subject of mine.

I have had many 'AH HA' instances which have caused me to consciously change [or attempt to!] unhelpful beliefs, attitudes and behaviours. One of the most difficult things to change are core beliefs ie: those ones we often don't even know we have because they are rooted in the inherited belief systems of our families and societies. Sometimes, these rooted beliefs are just not helpful to us or anyone in the time we live now, and they need to go. However, there is always a choice...we do not have to let go, if for some reason we cannot or do not want to. But, I think situations will consistently happen, knocking on our psyche, imploring us to change.

An 'Ah! HA' can also cause a period of mourning. Why? I think it is because we mourne those things we missed if a revelation opens our eyes to how certain attitudes, beliefs and behaviours lassooed our 'becoming' or worse, lassooed the 'becoming' of others. But in the suffering there is hope and the latter is the element I like to focus on. As I have previously written on this BLOG, I do not ignore the negative, sad or bad. They exist in absentia, because I consciously elide them. Someone once said to me that my work did not have enough suffering...I will write about this in the future.

So...to the painting above. I have called it 'AH! HAs'. My much loved transcultural/religious tree-of-life embraces the whole painting. It is life! The spots are 'AH Ha' instances offering little windows of possibility. They are like the openings to new universes...which can seem so far, but are really sometimes very close. Distance collapses! This painting is not large at 30 x 30 cm, but it is 'kinda' BIG. Even as I look at it I feel drawn into it. Maybe I am glimpsing the universes beyond! I hope you do too.

THANK YOU
Thank you to all the people who have been visiting my BLOG. You are coming from all over the world and in the last few weeks the numbers have been increasing quite quickly. I started this BLOG in 2006 and whilst I only had a very small trickle of visitors initially, I enjoyed writing and the reflective opportunity it gave me, so I have happily persisted.

And, please feel free to make comments!

UPDATES
For those of you who have read about my exhibition ‘Frisson’ I have some sad news. Due to circumstances beyond my control currently being experienced by Joshua Levi Galleries the decision to cancel the exhibition ‘Frisson’ at this gallery has been made. As you all know I was very excited about the exhibition, but this decision had to be made. I am remaining positive and will keep working. There are some alternatives for the exhibition and I am looking into these. I will keep you updated about a possible ‘FRISSON 2’!

My painting 'Elemental' which has been pre-selected for the Stanthorpe Art Award has gone to Stanthorpe. I put it on the bus yesterday. The prize is announced on the 26 February. http://www.srag.org.au/events.php

Cheers,

Kathryn

FAITH IN IMAGINATION

Into The Symphony Oil on Linen 120 x 160 cm 2008

I have not posted for 10 days and those 10 days have passed so quickly. I am working on a large rectangular painting which I will be calling 'Halo'. The world's halo is revealed! I will discuss more on my BLOG when I have finished and photographed the painting.

IMAGINATION

I was thinking about something I said in my last post which was, 'The largest system is the one which gives pulse to the Universe and whilst we may not completely understand this system we know it exists. Now this got me thinking...if we have evidence of a system it does not mean we know how it works, yet we have faith that it does.' I have continued to think about faith, the kind of faith we have which may seem blind, but somehow resonates at a core level. Maybe this resonation occurs in what has been labelled our 'junk DNA' ie: the over 95% of DNA scientists do not understand!

I have been particularly thinking about faith in imagination, faith in our own imagination, faith in the collective imagination. It seems to me that it is imperative to have faith in imagination, because without imagination we cease to wonder, question... and really live. But, as I wonder about faith in imagination I also 'see' that imagination has been hijacked by written and unwritten rules and regulations, fashion, education!...all causing a lack of faith. I have seen this slow erosion in my own children and as I travel back in time [in my head and imagination] I feel the erosive events in my own life again. I have learnt to repel and irradicate some of the unhelpful influences, but first one has to identify them. This can be difficult because over time they have often entered the subconscious insidiously weaving networks of belief about oneself and others. It actually requires some imagination to irradicate! I see it like some sort of pest control!

IMAGES

All the images posted have my tree-of-life motif. Regular readers of my BLOG will identify all that these trees 'say'.

I have written previously about this painting http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2008/09/into-symphony-again.html

The Brush Of Angels' Wings Oil on linen 52 x 92 cm 2008

This painting is currently in the Manning Art Prize exhibition in Manning Regional Gallery, Taree, NSW, Australia. It is one of the finalists selected for the prize and exhibition. This show ends this weekend 18 october. The price is $2300 AUD Gallery contact details are: taree.manning.gallery@gtcc.nsw.gov.au 61 2 6592 5455

I have written about this painting on my BLOG previously
http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2009/05/angels-wings.html


Into My Galaxy Oil on linen 85 x 147 cm 2008


This painting is currently in the Warwick Art Prize and Exhibition which continues until November 8. It was selected as one of the finalists for this prize and show. In fact, it received a Highly Commended, so it got noticed! This painting is $4500 AUD. Gallery contact details are:
warwickart@southerndowns.qld.gov.au 61 7 4661 0434

Generations Oil on linen 80 x 120 2008

This painting is in the Women's Legal Service exhibition this weekend 16-18 October. The artwork in the exhibition has been through a selection process. Details for the exhibition can be found @ http://www.wlsartshow.com.au/ This painting is $4000 AUD and I have nominated that 50% of the sale proceeds goes towards the Women's Legal Service http://www.wlsq.org.au/
You can read more about this painting @ http://kathrynbrimblecombeart.blogspot.com/2008/04/can-one-persons-epiphany-change.html

So, I will hopefully have a good photo of the paintng I am working on at the moment for my next BLOG post. Until then, cheers!