FAMOUS ARTIST BIRTHDAY - ARTHUR LISMER - CABIN IN THE WOODS MINI MASTER

Homage to Arthur Lismer from "The Guide's Home, Algonquin"

CABIN IN THE WOODS
Original Painting by Sea Dean
4" x 4" on canvas panel
Part of the MINI MASTER Series in celebration of Famous Master Birthdays

When I create a Mini Master, I don't necessarily choose a painting which illustrates what the Master was famous for. My usual criteria is to paint something which will challenge me and one that will teach me something I need to learn. Here I wanted to make minute brushstrokes without making it look too fussy. I also wanted to capture the lovely light blue sky in the original without acrylic darkening so the painting still looked fresh. 

Although I can't put the original detail in a miniature without it becoming too expensive for the buyer, I think I achieved my goals.


To purchase this original painting and view my Gallery please visit Daily Paintworks
Also available in Limited Edition ACEO here

Sorry, not the best image and I won't have time to replace it till this evening. I had a fight with my computer and camera and although I had the painting done in time to post, the image was taken in the dark and then I couldn't get it loaded. I'm too tired to struggle further tonight and tomorrow I have to hit the road running.

ARTHUR LISMER
Arthur Lismer, CC was an English-Canadian painter and member of the Group of Seven.

Arthur Lismer was born June 27th, 1885 in Sheffield England. At age 13 he apprenticed at a photo-engraving company. He was awarded a scholarship, and used this time to take evening classes at the Sheffield School of Arts from 1898 until 1905. Then in 1905 he moved to Antwerp Belgium where he studied art at the Academie Royale.


Lismer immigrated to Canada in 1911, and settled in Toronto where he began to work at Grip Limited – a commercial design company. While at Grip he met MacDonald, Carmichael and Thomson and they eventually became members of the Group of Seven.

Lismer was very much a family man and in 1913, took his wife and daughter on a painting trip to Georgian Bay. From 1916 to 1919 Lismer was the principle of the Victoria School of Art and Design in Halifax; while principle he helped to increase the schools attendance and expand the college’s curriculum. Then in 1919 he moved back to Toronto to accept a position as vice-principal of the Ontario College of Art. He continued to paint in Toronto, and in 1920 the Group of Seven was officially formed. Lismer is actually accredited with naming the group – they failed to come up with an appropriate name – so Lismer counted up the people in the group and gave them a name.

Lismers artistic style was inspired by the Barbizon and Post Impressionist movements in Belgium, and this showed through in his art. He also was said to have had pencil and paper always at hand, as he often created cartoon drawings of his friends, as well as satiric cartoons of people who were perceived to be enemies of art. Not only was Lismer a painter, but an author of several articles about the Canadian art scene. Biography by Brandi Leigh - 2008.


The Group of Seven 
— sometimes known as the Algonquin school
— was a group of Canadian landscape painters from 1920 to 1933, originally consisting of

Franklin Carmichael (1890–1945),
Lawren Harris (1885–1970),
A. Y. Jackson (1882–1972),
Frank Johnston (1888–1949),
Arthur Lismer (1885–1969),
J. E. H. MacDonald (1873–1932), and
Frederick Varley (1881–1969). Later,
A. J. Casson (1898–1992) was invited to join in 1926;
Edwin Holgate (1892–1977) became a member in 1930; and
LeMoine Fitzgerald (1890–1956) joined in 1932.

Two other artists commonly associated with the group are

Tom Thomson (1877–1917)
Although he died before its official formation, Thomson had a significant influence on the group. In his essay "The Story of the Group of Seven", Lawren Harris wrote that Thomson was "a part of the movement before we pinned a label on it"; Thomson's paintings "The West Wind" and "The Jack Pine" are two of the group's most iconic pieces.

Emily Carr and (1871–1945)
was also closely associated with the Group of Seven, though was never an official member.
Believing that a distinct Canadian art could be developed through direct contact with nature, The Group of Seven is most famous for its paintings inspired by the Canadian landscape, and initiated the first major Canadian national art movement. The Group was succeeded by the Canadian Group of Painters in the 1930s, which did include female members.

Cat # 141