Canoes c. 1917

Edna Boies Hopkins made this color woodcut, Canoes, probably sometime in the early 20th century, and you can tell she’s really thinking about the way colors bump up against each other. The color isn’t trying to be realistic, it's more about the pleasure of putting different hues together. And look, you can see the grain of the wood in the print, right? It’s not trying to hide its process. Like the water in the foreground, the wood grain is pulling you in, horizontally. It's a layered thing, like life. Do you see how the swimmer in the black suit creates a sense of depth, sitting in the canoe closest to us? The orange canoe behind her gives a little zing. You know, this print reminds me a little of some of the work of the Canadian artist Emily Carr. Both Hopkins and Carr are interested in simplifying form and celebrating color. There’s an ambiguity in Hopkins's print that keeps it open, alive.