Making Fish - Women in the 19th Century Newfoundland Fishery

March 20, 2018

I’m back in St. John’s, Newfoundland completing research for a new series of portraits. I will be working Provincial Archive of Newfoundland and the Maritime History Archives researching the history of women who worked in the cod fishery throughout the 19th Century. Over the next two weeks I will be collecting details of the economic activity of women through surviving merchant ledgers and court documents. The unique truck or credit economic system in Newfoundland provides a wealth of information to draw on as I explore this topic.

Portraits will be completed this spring and summer in my Halifax studio.

Funding for this project has been provided
by Arts Nova Scotia.

Instagram

After a few long weeks in the studio, we escaped to my favourite spot in Lunenburg County this weekend. We enjoyed the gorgeous sunshine and had a chance to check out a vintage fair that was full of little bits of rural inspiration. I snagged this amazing sign that would have been used in an agricultural exhibition barn. Ron Storch’s 4H cow is moving into my studio to keep all those good memories close by. . . . #fourpointsvintagemarket @4pointsmarket #4h #agriculturalfair #bigex #agriculturalexhibition #farming #getsway #inspiration #rurallife #lunenburgcounty #ruralnovascotia #novascotia

Happening tomorrow on Instagram live! Join us at 12:30pm AT (11:30am ET, 1pm NT) as @jenn_verma and I go live to share our work-in-progress Last Fish, First Boat. We’ll share a reading from the script, show snippets of artwork in progress and our video storyboard. We’ve been collecting questions and are excited to hear any you have as we’re live. This is my first live Q & A and I can’t wait! . . . #bringingtheartstolife #instagramlive #artistcollaboration #livestream #fishinglife #reading #codcollapse #boatbuilder #illustration #workinprogess #gouache

Pieces of Gene Maloney for ‘Last Fish, First Boat' are coming together. The final format of this work will be a digital video with narration by @jenn_verma. This format has given me the opportunity to add a few simple still frame animations to help bring the story to life. That means painting little things in many different ways. Next I’ll scan each piece and bring it together in photoshop. . . . #gouache #gouacheillustration #illustration #lastfishfirstboat #portrait #portraitillustration #painting #bringingtheartstolife #canadacouncil #newfoundlandstory

Join @jenn_verma and me next Thursday for a chat on Instagram live! We will talk about our collaboration, Jenn will be reading an excerpt from “Last Fish, First Boat” while I share the accompanying storyboard thumbnails and artwork in progress. I’m so excited to share sneak peeks of how the pieces are coming together and answer your questions! We’ll be going live Thursday Sep 17 at 12:30pm AT (11:30pm ET, 1pm NT). . . . #bringingtheartstolife #codcollapse #fishinglife #artcollaboration #canadacouncil #illustration #artistsoninstagram #instagramlive #qanda #bookreading #LastFishFirstBoat @canada.council

A study for Last Fish, First Boat as I explore compositions, tone and colour palette. This project with @jenn_verma is still in its early stages as we work through storyboard thumbnails and revise the script. I’m looking forward to sharing insights into our process as we move ahead. I’ve started a newsletter as a way to share more peeks behind the scenes on projects like this. The link is in my profile if you’d like to sign up and get the inside scoop. :) . . . #illustration #storyboard #lastfishfirstboat #bringingtheartstolife #gouache #gouachepainting #codfishery #fishing #fishingboats #codfish #newfoundland #jennverma

A little study inspired by my work with @jenn_verma. I was fascinated to read in The Guardian this week about the recreational dip net salmon season in Alaska where residents fill their freezers with salmon for the year. Twenty five fish for the head of the household and ten more for every member. I’d fill my freezer with mackerel if I could, but it would take while. 😉 . . . #illustration #gouache #gouachepainting #bringingtheartstolife #cannedsalmon #salmonfishing #alaskafishing #recreationalfishing #stilllife

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