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Basil Blackshaw HRHA RUA (b.1932)
SIX MILE VALLEY
oil on canvas
signed lower left; signed again and titled on reverse; also with inscribed Peppercanister Gallery label on reverse
30 x 34in. (76.20 x 86.36cm)
Peppercanister Gallery, Dublin;Private collection
Six Mile Valley is an area in County Antrim close to where Basil Blackshaw has lived and painted for many years and
the Six Mile Water runs into Lough Neagh. Particular landscapes of personal significance have played a crucial role in
Blackshaw’s work since the 1950s. While the people and animals who populate the countryside and their activities
have remained as a constant subject, Blackshaw also seems drawn to specific places, unpopulated landscapes where
he engages with the struggle to capture the essence of a place through the familiarity of long examination. While the
present painting shares the same sense of scale and expansiveness as the landscapes around Dromara and the views
across the Lagan Valley towards Colin Mountain that had previously absorbed Blackshaw for over a decade, the process
of formal analysis and conscious abstraction that defines the earlier series has been replaced by a highly intuitive
response to the landscape. Blackshaw’s handling of paint is broad and expressive. The tautly-drawn line of a fence leads
the eye in from the foreground and down towards the river, reflecting its gently winding curve and also the line of
ragged trees to the left, while the sense of drama is reinforced by the low, scudding dark clouds.Dickon HallNovember
2015
€15000-€20000 (£10800-£14400 approx.)
Large Image & Place Bid Lot 43IMPORTANT IRISH ART · 30 November 2015