Real Talk!

Here it is… only the 18th of September and the leaves are already changed and falling! Seems like some great winter conspiracy is nearly upon us. This weekend is Studio Tour time in the area. Many of the local artists and artisans will be opening the doors of their studios and homes. Ironwork, multi-media painting, fashion, stained glass, leather goods , weaving and more will be on display at various designated points, dotted throughout the region.

In the spring of 1912, a young lad named Tom Thompson (who was employed with Grip Ltd, in Toronto as a commercial painter) went on a trip into Algonquin Park with some friends from work. They spoke about it, at the Arts & Letters Club (a private club for people involved in the arts) and their enthusiasm soon spread and soon, a number of the other artists from the club soon began visiting the Algonquin Park region to relax and paint the extraordinary landscape. This would be the early beginning of the Group of Seven.

It is fun to visit the areas immortalized by Franklin Carmichael, A.J. Casson, L.L. Fitzgerald, Lawren Harris, Edwin Holgate, A.Y. Jackson, Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer, J.E.H. MacDonald and Frederick Varley. Much of the group’s work is on display at the McMichael Gallery in Kleinburg, Ontario.