Studio Weathervane, Wesleyville | 1991 | Etching 73 of 75

About the Artwork

Studio Weathervane (1991) is an etching and aquatint with hand-colouring by David Blackwood (1941–2022), presenting the artist's own Wesleyville studio building crowned by a whale-form weathervane. The vertical composition shows the weathervane atop the studio's peaked roof, hand-coloured in salmon-pink and warm coral tones. The cardinal direction markers—N, E, S, W—frame the dark whale silhouette at the vane's peak. Below the studio building, a solitary figure stands with a dog on the foreground dock. Beyond them, the frozen Reach stretches toward Bennett's High Island: children engaged in "tippypanning"—jumping from one ice pan to another in the after-school ritual that trained generations for the seal fishery.

—the same view he had from his childhood bedroom window looking toward Bennett's High Island. In describing Bennett's High Island Trilogy (1981), the artist wrote: "This is now the same view from my studio window in Wesleyville. The building was constructed with this island in mind, on the rocks above Blackwood's Cove."¹ The figure with the dog on the dock below echoes Blackwood's own companion, Banquo—named after the Shakespearean character in Macbeth. The artist recalled in 1993: "'Banquo' my dog in Wesleyville circa 1959, named after the Shakespearian character in Macbeth."² The children on the ice practice "tippypanning"—jumping from pan to pan, "a great pastime after school" that provided "excellent training for the day when this kind of activity was part of everyday life at the seal fishery."¹

The composition links three realms: the weathervane marking wind and direction above; the studio building at middle register where the artist works; and the dock and ice field below where human companionship and childhood learning unfold. The whale weathervane—a real object atop Blackwood's own studio—becomes symbolic: marking direction but also embodying the creature that shaped Newfoundland's economy and mythology. Light appears to emanate from the studio building's peaked roof, hand-coloured in warm pinks that glow against the Prussian blue ice. This is not an imagined scene but a portrait of the artist's own workspace, where the tools of navigation, creative work, childhood play, and winter survival converge in a single architectural prospect.

Dimensions and Details

• Title: Studio Weathervane
• Artist: David Blackwood (1941–2022)
• Year: 1996
• Size: 35 1/2" x 15" (90.2 x 38.1 cm)
• Medium: Etching and aquatint with hand-colouring on paper
• Edition: 73/75
• Condition: Pristine. This impression has never been displayed and remains in museum-quality condition. Stored in archival darkness since creation, the hand-coloured salmon-pink base tones retain extraordinary saturation, the Prussian blue and aquamarine ice field shows complete tonal gradations from pale turquoise to deep indigo, and the paper remains bright white. This is a museum-grade example showing Blackwood's whale symbolism and ice rendering at their most luminous. Professionally framed; signed and numbered by the artist.

Acquisition Enquiries

Studio Weathervane is offered exclusively through West End Gallery. Serious acquisition enquiries are welcome. We invite you to contact us directly to arrange a private viewing. Layaway options are available upon request. Shipping is quoted based on location; local delivery within Edmonton and surrounding communities is complimentary.