This mural is located on the east wall of wayne Simpson & Associates/ Portage Promotions at 11 Centre Street S. The Mural depicts a sketch, called " The Canoe 1914", originally painted by Tom Thomson. This mural painted by artist Gerry Lantaigne is about 3 by 4 meters. It depicts Tom Thomson's canoe beached on the rocks between two dead cedars. The dead cedars frame the foreground and gives it a distant view of the rawness of the northern landscape.
Gerry Lantaigne
Gerry Lantaigne graduated from the Ontario College of Art, majoring in set design and scenic painting. Lantaigne attended OCA’s New York City Campus, where he was a set design assistant and painter for various Off Broadway Theatres. Lantaigne later worked in Toronto’s sign industry. As an airbrush artist Lantaigne worked as a production manager for Murad painting photo realistic murals up to seven stories tall in Toronto and Montreal. Lantaigne’s love of Algonquin Park drew him to the Group of Seven and Thomson story, which he has now brought to life on the walls of Huntsville. A few years ago, Lantaigne decided to make Huntsville his home. When he’s not off painting, Gerry can be found with his wife Robin, in their downtown Huntsville retail store, Caterpillar Heart.
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Tom Thomson
Thomas John Thomson (August 5, 1877 – July 8, 1917) was an influential Canadian artist of the early 20th century. Tom Thomson was largely untrained in painting, but in 1901, he had studied lettering and design in Seattle, Washington, and then worked at photo-engraving and commercial artwork for various area firms. On his return to Canada, he began to work in a commercial art studio in Toronto doing the lettering on graphic art. Many of the other men in the studio had studied in the academies of Europe, and in his early 30's, Thomson took up painting. On his holidays, he travelled with them to the wilderness of Algonquin Park, and he was like a sponge, absorbing everything he could learn from them.
By 1915, he was painting major works such as his Northern River, which now hangs in the National Gallery of Canada. The influence of Impressionism, Art Nouveau, and the work of the future members of the Group of Seven are evident in his work, but Thomson's natural talent made him a dominant figure in early 20th century Canadian art.
In 1917, Thomson painted what is probably the most famous of all Canadian images, a pine tree, standing battered but strong against the elements. For many, the painting is the quintessential image of the Canadian spirit. The picture vibrates with colour. Presumably lakes and the sky are blue, but his picture is pink, violet, green. And to make the colours even more vibrant through complimentary contrast, he allowed spots of the red under-painting to show through.
Unfortunately, Thomson's career was cut short in 1917, when he was drowned at the age of 39 in a canoeing accident. His impact on the future members of the Group of Seven and on Canadian art in general was out of all proportion to the few years that he was at work.
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