This past Sunday we were at the AGO and I had an opportunity to take a relaxed look at the exhibitions – haven’t done that in years. After working my way through the photography exhibitions I found myself in the contemporary Canadian section with the Group of Seven.
I remember seeing some Group of Seven paintings as a child at the McMichael Gallery with my mother. They left a lasting impression on me. Already having a strong affinity with the outdoors from camping and cottaging and then seeing these flowing elemental interpretations of the same were… incredible. I understood the paintings immediately.
And then to come upon Lawren Harris’s blue paintings of mountains and lakes again. My awe is renewed. I see why I’m drawn to simplify the elements in my own images. I love the strength of statement and his sense of light.
I seek the same in the city.