Programs

May 2, 2018

12-1:30pm

Award winning artist Peter Adams will discuss his evolution as a painter. In particular, he will outline his interest in landscapes where human and natural worlds intersect. The Creemore artist will share some of his recent artistic projects and reflect on his residency in the Amazon Rainforest.


Peter Adams was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and has lived most of his life in Toronto. Adams has a degree in Film Studies from Queen's University but now directs all his creative energy toward painting. Since moving to a farm near Creemore Ontario in 1998, he has spent many years exploring the surrounding landscape -- and the ever-changing human relationship with landscape. Traditionally an oil painter, Adams' most recent work is marked by a transition to mixed media. Combining conte, acrylic washes, paint markers, oil sticks and oil paint, these works have opened up many new expressive possibilities for the artist.

Adams is a co-founder of the Mad and Noisy Cooperative Gallery. He is Past-President of the non-profit Creemore Artists Centre and has served on its board from 2004 to 2013. He has also served on the board of the Purple Hills Arts and Heritage Society from 2007 to 2011. His work is exhibited in many galleries in Ontario, and can be found in many private and public collections in North America and abroad.

Registration:

$15+HST for OMAH Members

$20+HST for Non-Members

Pre-registration is required to guarantee a spot in this program. Call 705-326-2159

Wednesday May 9, 7:30pm

Renowned Group of Seven artist Franklin Carmichael was born in Orillia and is buried at St. Andrews - St. James Cemetery. An inductee into the Orillia Hall of Fame, we are proud of his contribution to Canadian art and his legacy of capturing the beauty of the local landscapes in his paintings. The Orillia Museum of Art and History (OMAH) hosts the Carmichael Art History Lecture annually to honour this legacy.

The History Committee at OMAH is pleased to announce award-winning teacher/professor, artist and author Brian Harris as this year’s guest speaker with his talk entitled “Canoe Lake and the Mystery of Tom Thomson.’’

Tom Thomson died before the Group of Seven was formed. However, he had a huge impact on the future Group of Seven painters. The story and mystique around artist Tom Thomson’s death, one hundred years after his passing, still holds fascination. The circumstances of Thomson’s death at Canoe Lake were mysterious. Was it an accident, or was he murdered? Harris immersed himself in the history of Canoe Lake and Tom Thomson’s story. He spent ten summers working at Canoe Lake and during that time he became familiar with the mystery and the lore that surrounded the death of Tom Thomson. He became friends with Canoe Lake resident artist Jack Eastaugh, who was involved with attempting to dig up the body of Tom Thomson in 1956. Harris’s book Canoe Lake, looks at the influence that Canoe Lake has had on the Group of Seven, the mystery of Tom Thomson’s death and his unexpected rise as one of Canada’s foremost painters. An artist in his own right, Harris has captured the essence of Canoe Lake in his many paintings and has internalized the beauty of the lake that drew Tom Thomson and the Group of Seven to it.

Perhaps you have heard the rumours of what happened to Tom Thomson on July 8, 1917. Now be prepared to hear from Brian Harris accounts of that fateful day that residents of Canoe Lake have passed on to their families. Please join us for a fascinating evening.

Harris’s book Canoe Lake will be available for purchase at the end of the evening. In addition, Brian Harris will have some of his own paintings on display and for sale. He will generously donate fifty percent of proceeds of any sale to OMAH.

Tickets for the Carmichael Lecture are $15.00 per person. Tickets will be on sale at the OMAH front desk effective Monday, April 2. Please call OMAH at 705-326-2159 if you have any questions.