Doors and Windows

 

Watch this blog for the finished artwork.

David Blackwood and True North

We are in the midst of the cold at the moment.   Let's dive deeper for tales told by our True North.  On show at AGO are etchings by Canadian artist and printmaker David Blackwood (1941-2022), who was born in Newfoundland and developed much of his career in Ontario.  It is the preoccupation with the stories and history in his childhood territory that inspired many of his works.  All of them are hauntingly beautiful.  The traits of his style and techniques, in particular aquatint, are unmistakable.  Of course, there are those etchings related to the landscape and built environment of the harsh territory that engulf me.

 

Titles of etchings shown in the order of display are here:

1.  April Iceberg off Bragg’s Island, 1976

2. John Stokes' Horse, Cape Freels, 2007

3. Fire down on the Labrador, 1980

4. Great Lost Party Adrift, 1971

5. The Flora S. Nickers in the Labrador Sea, 1982

6. Survivor Drafting, 1970

7. Great Lost Party Adrift, 1971

8. Uncle Eli Glover Moving, 1982

9. Abandoned Ancestors on the Bragg's Island, 1971

10. Autobiography, 2010

 

Waves, Oversights

 Just an emotional response while travelling in open water.

 

There is an eerily similar visual experience of the Earth from the astronaut – 

Ron Garan from below link:

Think like an artist?

 

Here are some great maxims, sharp insights, perhaps harsh truths for artists, or indeed people who are reflective enough to face themselves.

The book that crossed my path at MAXXI is Think Like an Artist, Don’t Act like One by Koos de Wilt.

Credit: Koos de Wilt, Think Like an Artist, Don’t Act Like One

Image source: Internet (various search engines)

Man Ray: When Objects Dream

 

Man Ray: When Objects Dream (Metropolitan Museum of Art NYC, Sept 14, 2025 to Feb 1, 2026) is an exhibition that speaks volume on the multi-faceted talents of the artist, who is better known as a photographer.  The curated works comprised a revelatory display of Dada, Surrealism, photographic experimentations or light installations.   The exhibition design exploited in full on concepts of light and shadow, aperture openings and vintage points for settings.  It was a wonderful occasion to revisit and cast new lights on the artist’s achievements.