Saturday, June 09, 2012

Killick Coast

Available for purchase from my website


According to the Dictionary of Newfoundland English, a killick is "an anchor made up of an elongated stone, encased in pliable sticks bound at the top and fixed in two curved cross-pieces, used in mooring nets and small boats." In other words, it's a homemade anchor. The Killick Coast stretches from St. Thomas to Logy Bay on the northeast coast of the Avalon Peninsula and includes Bell Island.  It winds through fishing villages, farmland and a mining town.  And it passes through the town where I live, Flatrock. 

The coastline is rough in most places in Newfoundland and if you are in the right place at the right time, as I happened to be, the light is just right and you can capture the sun starting to break through the fog and reflect on the water.  This painting is 8" x 10" in oils.   I wanted to capture the essence and light, not a realistic interpretation of the scene. 

4 comments:

Nancy Van Blaricom said...

How very interesting Jeanette. I was so curious as to what a 'killick' looked like that I had to google it. It was just as you described.

I love your painting also. Very costal scene. Lovely!

Jeanette Jobson said...

You can see killicks scattered around, usually as leftovers from the past or as tourism attractions here. But in some areas, fishermen still use them. The original anchor when iron wasn't available or too costly to buy.

Jennifer Rose said...

gorgoues colours in the water :) saw "home made" anchors all over when I was in Nove Scotia

Jeanette Jobson said...

I think they're pretty common all over the Atlantic region Jen. You make do with what you got.