Wednesday Inspiration::Tom Thompson

Tom Thompson is another member of the Group of Seven whose work I have admired for many years.  I attended a number of exhibits at the Winnipeg Art Gallery and Glenbow Museum in Calgary to view his work and oddly enough it was always his small colour sketches on wood panel that drew me.  It's odd in that I prefer to work large (the painting above on the right measures 4x5 feet) but I am inspired by his love of Canada and the strong lines in his work.

A wonderful friend (thank you Jacky) often sent me books of his work and they never ceased to inspire me.  For many years I preferred his work to any other member of the Group but over time I learned to appreciate them all for different reasons.

His use of line and vivid colour still inspires me and I hope that I can bring some of it to the landscape work I've been creating of late.  I love how he lays a bright turquoise against a hot yellow in his skies and how many of his trees are outline in reds and oranges.  It was he who inspired my use of a rich orange ochre or burnt yellow on my canvas prior to painting many of my pieces and to work alla prima, just laying the colours down quickly and intuitively.