Artist Profile: Martin Bellmann Canoe Art

Martin Bellmann is a self taught artist who has made some lovely paintings feature the bark canoe theme. His web page of Historical Art has wonderfully descriptive captions of his artwork. Below is a piece entitled "First Light"


"First Light"
I really enjoy the color of the wake behind the canoe reflecting the first glints of sunrise...the ideal time to capture a Blue Heron taking off in the distance. The paddles seem to reflect a more tradition, pointed beavertail shape

Another piece is "Forgotten Voices" which features a couple paddling alongside tall cliffs. I really like the perspective of this piece and the sense of movement through the water. The bow paddler looks to have a large Northwoods style paddle with a slightly elongated grip.


Forgotten Voices
There's a similar granite rock face on my cottage lack (nicknamed "Hastings Rock" by the locals) that serves as a diving platform for the more adventurous. Seeing this painting makes me eager to get the bark canoe out of storage and back on the water where it belongs.

Many thanks to Martin for permission to reproduce his work and for the inspirational art. More paintings please!

Western Cree Paddle by Mike Elliot

One of the blogs I follow keenly is that of Mike Elliot of Kettle River Canoes. Mike's artistry and skill with cedar canvas canoe restoration is just wonderful. His posts are filled with nuggets of wisdom and fantastic photos of restoration projects. A recent post about spring cleaning for the canoe included a picture of a custom made paddle in the Western Cree style with a bobble grip.

Adney has an illustration of the Western Cree paddles and noted that this tribe was the only one he was aware that had separate paddle designs for men and women. Graham Warren also has a reduced image of this paddle shape in his books as well.


Adney's Plans; Mike's Alder version
Mike generously emailed some extra details about the paddle. It is made from an 8/4 board of Alder (Alnus rubra) which was then worked down to shape the 2" bobble grip. That's a lot of extra carving! This prevented the need to laminate extra wood on the grip, as was the case with my bobble grip experiment. Never made a paddle out of Red Alder before but I just checked out the Exotic-Woods.ca site and it is available - looks to be a gorgeous grain pattern as well. Many thanks for the paddle wood suggestion!

Artist Profile: David Wright Canoe Art

Continuing this historical art theme, I came across the artwork of David Wright. At first I could only find a few pics with a canoe theme, including the lovely work, "Quiet Reflections". It features a decorated paddle featuring a red grip and blade, very akin to the fur trade / voyageur paddles of the day.


A solitary Woodland Indian fishes
from his birchbark canoe in a serene setting
David graciously emailed an image gallery of his other works featuring bark canoes of various, including Maliseet, Fur Trade, and old style Alonguin.




His most haunting work is that "The Captives" which features an emotional scene with an unknown ending that leaves the audience in suspense.


It turns out that David has thoroughly researched these various canoe shapes and models and even has some practical experience in paddling them. He owns a 14 foot Old Style Algonquin canoe that he has paddled in the Boundary Waters. If the lines of the canoe look familiar, it served as the "model" for The Captives piece above.


David's 14ft Old-Style Algonquin Bark Canoe
Many thanks to David for allowing me to share these beautiful paintings with you.

Hudson Museum Paddles - Thanks Bob Holtzman

Bob Holtzman runs a great blog on indigenous watercraft from around the world which includes some discussion on birchbark canoes. A recent post outlines some fantastic museum paddles from the Hudson Museum in Maine.

I especially liked the local paddles on display, one of which Bob mentions has metal strips to repair a serious split. The bottom two are long stern paddles which seem like early incarnations of the modern Northwoods paddles documented by the Conovers


Paddles from Maine
In the photo below, I'm really drawn to the grip style of the paddle on the left, a segmented grip that is reminiscient of my own version that I'm working on. This one has much more fluid lines however, especially with the additional indented edges. Had I not already thinned out my grip and balanced the paddle the way I like it, I think I would've preferred this style. Oh well, there's always the next paddle.


Segmented grip
Also on display is a decorated paddle from the Amazon with an interesting tip, perhaps to get a grip on shallow, muddy waterways when poling upriver.


Its design is similar to another Amazonian paddle I posted on earlier from a now completed online auction.

Amazonian Decorated Canoe Paddle, 60.5"
From the Estate of John Auraden of Hamilton & Fairhaven, Ohio.

Many thanks to Bob for taking these pics and giving us an inside glimpse of what the museum has to offer. If I ever make it out to Maine, I think I'll be checking it out in person.

Artist Profile: John Buxton's Paddle Art

As a bit of a new diversion on the site, I thought I'd begin a series of posts profiling living artists who produce wonderful works of historical art featuring unique paddles designs.

John Buxton is a historical artist whose stunning works illustrate a time when birchbark canoes plied the waterways of North America. Three of John's pieces from his historical vignettes gallery feature some marvelous canoes and decorated paddles.

Below is piece entitled "New Canoe". He captures the eloquent lines and tumblehome of the bark canoe with a personalized bear claw decoration on the bow. The angular paddle being used features straight lines and a thick spine running the length of the blade.


"New Canoe"
Another piece entitled "The Agile Bark Canoe" shows a set of canoes being loaded with muskets and gear. The native in the foreground is paddling a similarly shaped paddle as the "New Canoe" but with chevron etchings at the throat and shoulders, echoing the chevron-theme decoration seen in many other historical paintings, especially that of Frederick Verner.


"The Agile Bark Canoe"
My favorite is "Dry Mocassins" which shows a solitary canoeist with his gear laid out on the rocky shoreline - very reminiscent of the Canadian Shield where I paddle. The two paddles in the foreground include another with a red chevron decoration and some curved, abstract patterns on one side of the blade. The 2nd non-decorated paddle looks very consistent with some of the Iroquois paddles on display at the Royal Ontario Museum - wide rounded tip, lengthy spine and short, flattened grip style.


"Dry Moccasins"
Many thanks to John for the permission to reproduce these stunning prints on the site. Be sure to visit his page BuxtonArt.com for more of these historical masterpieces.