Episode Details

History is an important facet of mokuhanga. It goes without saying that whatever we learn as printmakers comes from somewhere else. It's up to us as to whether we embrace it or push it away. In this episode of The Unfinished Print I look to the past, at artist Walter J Phillips, who's prints I have been a fan of long before I took up the art form myself.

As a British Canadian, Phillips used Canada as his muse, it's ruggedness, power, and humanity to make his woodblock prints. Phillips was a bit of a Renaissance man, with his hand in many aspects of society and art in Winnipeg, Manitoba, from 1913-1940; and then teaching in Banff, Alberta, Canada. He was a water colourist, made etches, also tried his hand at oils but it's his woodblock prints which have always been the most powerful of his artistic forays.

Joining me on this episode is curator Sophie Lavoie, of The Muse/Douglas Family Art Centre, a museum and gallery located in Kenora, Ontario. Sophie curated the popular Phillips Interpreted show which ran from July 16th - September 11th, 2021. She also guest curated the amazing McMichael Gallery show, Walter J Phillips: At The Lake which ran from February 15th - October 12th, 2020. Her knowledge about the life and times of Walter J. Phillips is what makes this episode special for me.

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Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase.

Walter J Phillips - here are various hyperlinks for information about Phillips. A great historical website dedicated to Phillips can be found, here. Phillips technique and method can be found, here. This is a modern website dedicated to Phillips, here.

Sophie Lavoie - The Muse/Lake Of The Woods/Douglas Family Arts Centre info can be found, here. The McMichael Gallery info can be found, here.

etching - also called intaglio printmaking which uses chemicals on a metal plate , copper or zinc. The Tate Modern has a good definition, here.

Cyril Barraud (1877-1965) - was a British/Canadian artist who focused on etching. Roberts Gallery has a fine bio of him, here.

Winnipeg, Manitoba - Phillips spent a lot of time in Winnipeg, before moving out West to Banff in 1941 and then Victoria, British Columbia in 1948. For the history of Winnipeg, more info can be found here.

Studio International Magazine - founded in 1863 and lasted until 1964 was based in London, England. The International Studio was the American version from 1897-1921.

Pavilion Gallery Museum - based in Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg the Pavillion focuses on artists from the province of Manitoba and contains many of Phillips' works. Website, here.

brayer - is an artists tool used to spread ink or pigment onto a surface. It looks like a small roller but with a handle.

The Technique of the Colour Wood Cut (1926) - was a book published by Brown-Robertson & Co, which is Phillips describing his process of making w