Connectivity: A Solo Exhibition by Karla Cosford

This collection of oil paintings conceptualises the idea that everything in the universe is linked to you and you to it. We are not isolated, we are intrinsically connected and this connectivity means that we have influence reaching beyond what we realise. The threads that wove the fabric of who you are go back immeasurably in time and will also unknowably shadow into the future.

The images in this collection of people, animals and landscapes arise from the enigmas of life; from the mysteries of how we interact with the natural world and with time. Time itself being an imperfectly understood dimension. A visual image touches a deep subconscious root in all of us. These images, as artists know, resonate in a different way from words and can manifest the paradoxical world that we live in.

The creation of each image is a long process for this artist, taking many months. First the images arrive unexpectedly like gifts from out of the sea. Some are inspired by real events, some by emotional experiences.  The artist's work is to give form to this inspiration. Some of the images in the current collection had stayed in the painter's imagination for a long time, gradually becoming more defined and detailed. The painting process only started when the entire painting was clear in the painter's mind.

First a notan drawing was done. This is a tiny drawing showing the composition. Then a detailed large scale pencil drawing followed, using the natural world here in the Coromandel as reference. In the painting 'Cicada Time' the cicadas thoughtfully appeared in the painter's garden when required. The pond and trees are from a farmer friend's extensive hill and valley garden. Then the colours were chosen and having worked through all the conundrums of design, the pleasurable painting journey began. 

Paintings have a voice of their own and have different conversations with each viewer. The meaning of paintings can't be pinned down by words. So come to The Little Gallery in Tairua from 1 - 16 October (exhibition opening at 4pm on Saturday 1 October) and see how these paintings connect to you and feel how you connect to them.

About Karla Cosford

Karla Cosford began her journey as an oil painter at a young age when she co-painted a large painting with her very tolerant, and gifted, grandmother. Since then not a day passes without some drawing or painting, even if only in her imagination.

She has a degree in Fine Arts and studied at three university Art Schools, each widening her knowledge about art, but also focussing her artistic vision more clearly. She has explored many different mediums such as oils and watercolours, pastels, coloured pencil and graphic mediums such as charcoal and etchings. Currently she is a full time oil painter involved in painting large canvasses containing people, animals and landscapes. She lives in the fabulous Coromandel Peninsula which is an endless source of inspiration of natural forms and seas.

A contribution to society has been made over the years holding art classes for various groups, from children to university art students to adults. Hopefully some of her passion for painting and drawing has brought happiness and satisfaction into the lives of other people.

Over the years Karla has received commissions to paint portraits, and some portraits were too irresistible to refuse especially when the sitters were amenable to the artist's vision for the work. Various murals were painted in public buildings - and thank heavens for modern acrylic water based paints! Michelangelo would have suffered less had he used them in the Sistine Chapel instead of tedious fresco painting techniques. However Karla paints mostly to satisfy her Muse and does not paint for commercial reasons or to satisfy fashions in art.

Her inspiration comes from people and the natural world. The images that she paints are not consciously planned but arise mysteriously from the subconscious mind. In other words they are gifts from the Muse.

 

 

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