Today went to Owen Sound with Maryann to see the John Hartman show at the Tom Thomson Gallery in Owen Sound. Nice start to the day with warm weather and sunshine. Stopped at Gramma Jo’s in Flesherton for breakfast and arrived in Owen Sound just before 11 when the gallery opened. Gallery is situated next door to the library which was once a Carnegie Library. Carnegie libraries were the original lending libraries before the Public Library system took them over. There were once 2500 of them all over Canada. M suggested that we get a grant and photograph and draw them. We were welcomed into the TT gallery by a very cheerful and knowledgeable woman – we already like this place especially when I get a senior’s discount of $2 off the entry fee of $5. Much better collection of Tom Thomson than the AGO’s! There was also a small exhibition of, to us unknown except for A Y Jackson, Canadian artists who had painted in Europe. We were impressed at the quality of the paintings. Finally went into the Hartman show. Big, juicy paintings. Overhead views of various port cities mainly in Canada except for NY and London. Also pencil sketches and watercolour sketches. What I found particularly interesting was the fact that Hartman added historical details to the map-like quality of the paintings. I was also interested in the fact that he had used concentina sketchbooks. These allow you to extend the sketch ad infinitum or have a series of linked sketches. Drove to Southampton on Lake Huron after the show and did some drawings of the waterfront there before driving back to Toronto.
