March Ice Offshore: Eric Bishop’s Kite, 1998
etching and aquatint
15 x 36 in
38.1 x 91.4 cm
38.1 x 91.4 cm
Number 59 in an edition of 75
This painting is presently on view at our Toronto gallery
$5,500
Inscriptions
titled, ‘March Ice Offshore: Eric Bishop's Kite’ (lower left); numbered ’59/75 (lower centre)’; signed and dated ‘David Blackwood 1998’ (lower right)Provenance
Michael Gibson Gallery, London, OntarioPrivate collection, Toronto
David Lloyd Blackwood (1941-2022) was born in the outport town of Wesleyville, Newfoundland (Google Maps). In the work March Ice Offshore: Eric Bishop’s Kite, Blackwood draws on his deep engagement with Newfoundland outport life to evoke themes of memory, endurance, and the human presence within this harsh environment. Much of Blackwood’s oeuvre is rooted in the collective and personal experiences of Newfoundland’s remote coastal communities, stories shaped by isolation, labour, and the tension of a precarious coexistence with a sea that was both provider and taker.
Kites occasionally appear in Blackwood’s work, as the artist drafted in his childhood recollections from Wesleyville. In Newfoundland outport communities, handmade kites formed part of everyday life; they were a simple form of childhood play easily made from available materials and well suited to the windy coastal environment. These kites were fashioned from brown paper, wood, and fishing line, with the bows were made of rags or the pages from mail-order catalogues. In the present work, Blackwood has documented this faithfully with bows containing marks such as “Eaton’s” and “Simpsons”.
In this composition, the stark expanse of sea, the vast open space, and the tilted horizon all contribute to a sense of vulnerability. The kite is visually delicate and ephemeral, contrasting with the weight of the environment. It acts as a symbolic thread linking childhood and memory, suggesting moments of play and humanity within an otherwise harsh and daunting place.
Blackwood’s mastery as a printmaker is central to the work’s effect. Through etching and aquatint, he achieves a rich tonal range, with deep, velvety blacks to subtle atmospheric greys, and varying ocean blues, imbuing March Ice Offshore: Eric Bishop’s Kite with a strong emotional presence.
The inclusion of a named individual, Eric Bishop, renders the work a specific act of remembrance rather than a generalized scene. Online records identify an Eric Douglas Bishop (1915–1995) from Wesleyville, Newfoundland.
Kites occasionally appear in Blackwood’s work, as the artist drafted in his childhood recollections from Wesleyville. In Newfoundland outport communities, handmade kites formed part of everyday life; they were a simple form of childhood play easily made from available materials and well suited to the windy coastal environment. These kites were fashioned from brown paper, wood, and fishing line, with the bows were made of rags or the pages from mail-order catalogues. In the present work, Blackwood has documented this faithfully with bows containing marks such as “Eaton’s” and “Simpsons”.
In this composition, the stark expanse of sea, the vast open space, and the tilted horizon all contribute to a sense of vulnerability. The kite is visually delicate and ephemeral, contrasting with the weight of the environment. It acts as a symbolic thread linking childhood and memory, suggesting moments of play and humanity within an otherwise harsh and daunting place.
Blackwood’s mastery as a printmaker is central to the work’s effect. Through etching and aquatint, he achieves a rich tonal range, with deep, velvety blacks to subtle atmospheric greys, and varying ocean blues, imbuing March Ice Offshore: Eric Bishop’s Kite with a strong emotional presence.
The inclusion of a named individual, Eric Bishop, renders the work a specific act of remembrance rather than a generalized scene. Online records identify an Eric Douglas Bishop (1915–1995) from Wesleyville, Newfoundland.
