I just wanted to say a few words about another influence on my work, this time from Canadian printmaker David Blackwood. I first stumbled on his work several years ago when I came across a documentary on him called, fittingly, Blackwood. It was nominated for an Oscar as best documentary when it came out in the mid-70’s and brilliantly depicts his technique and how his art and the personal mythology of his home are intertwined.
Much of his work deals with Newfoundland and Labrador and its hardy inhabitants. There are whalers and Mummers, lost parties adrift on the ice, colorful kites flying over a frozen starkness and houses being dragged across ice. It is fascinating work and beautifully done. He has created his own visual vocabulary that resonates in his pieces.
This meager description of his work doesn’t do it justice and I encourage those interested to do a bit of research
and discover this treasure for themselves. He has a beautiful website that I will add as a link and there is a beautiful book, David Blackwood: Master Printmaker that I highly recommend, with a foreword from Annie Proulx, whose own The Shipping News owes much to the mythology that Blackwood’s work depicts.
Really great stuff. I always enjoy pulling out his book and absorbing the great compositions and sense of place he creates in his work. Always inspiring…
Redtree Times 