Canoe Murals Raise $4,450 for Art Programs
Huntsville, ON – Gerry Lantaigne spent months painting seven canoes to commemorate The Group of Seven, Canada’s famous landscape painters. The canoes were displayed at multiple venues for the public to enjoy prior to being featured in the recent Algonquin Outfitters Paddle Art Contests auction. When the online auction closed on September 27, the canoe bids had raised an impressive $4,450 for school art programs, public acquisitions, museums and galleries.
Gerry is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art, an incredibly gifted artist, and a REALTOR® with Sutton Group - Muskoka Realty Inc. In 2020, he was selected to paint canoes to commemorate Canada’s famous Group of Seven landscape painters.
“This project was sponsored and inspired by Dan Watson of the Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and it was particularly enjoyable for me,” says Gerry. “I also created an outdoor mural display in our region called The Group of Seven Outdoor Gallery. More than 20 years ago, we began recreating their masterpieces. The goal is to be as true as possible to the original works, with no room for artistic licence whatsoever. Brush stroke for brush stroke, colour for colour, the process is very painstaking and requires a great deal of concentration and effort. The canoes, however, allowed for lots of artistic licence.”
Gerry discovered it was impossible to match the original masterworks because of the curved shapes of the canoes and the limited range of colours available in marine paint.
“These factors let me be much freer, and to be creative with the design concept. It was way more fun than a perfect re-creation. That being said, I was painting these canoes during the busiest time of my real estate sales year, so every once in a while, I ended up getting paint all over my phone. Showings or contract deadlines pulled me off the job a number of times, but I made up the lost time afterwards.”
This summer, Gerry and six other artists were busy working on seven more canoes to honour Canadian artist Tom Thomson. These will appear in the 2023 Algonquin Outfitters Paddle Art Contests auction.
Gerry’s next project involves creating new murals for The Group of Seven Outdoor Gallery. He’s excited to note that the experience will include a community mural. “Members of the public will be invited to help us paint it. This is usually a great success and is loved by the community as it creates a wider a sense of ownership.”
Sutton is a 100% Canadian-owned and operated company with more than 6,500 REALTORS® in over 200 offices nationwide. To find out more about Sutton, visit www.sutton.com. To learn more about Sutton Spirit, visit www.suttonspirit.com.
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Sutton Group Realty Services Ltd. Contact:
Brooke Matthews
604-691-1689
stories@suttonspirit.com
Sutton Group Muskoka Realty Inc. Contact:
Gerry Lantaigne
705-380-1710
gerryl@sutton.com
Jamie Lockwood
705-788-1200
homejames@vianet.ca