Lorne McDermott brings “palette of the mind” to life on canvas
Born on Canada’s east coast, Lorne now resides near the southern shores of Georgian Bay, where he is known for painting large-scale oil paintings of the ever-changing water and skies. While he has spent most of his artistic career teaching at The McMichael Gallery, one of Canada’s most prestigious galleries, he is self-taught.
McDermott watches and contemplates the shoreline, absorbing the colours, energy and mood reflecting back. The sketch that follows this process provides the lines for the painting, but it is the oils spreading across the canvas that allow it to breathe. From here the painting begins to grow with emotion and passion. It is this creative exchange – the conversation between artist and paint – that brings his canvases to life.
As he puts it, “If I could rebuild the world ‘sky, water and land’ with the palette in my mind … then you would see what I see and feel what I feel.”
He is currently a resident artist selling his work exclusively at the Loft Gallery in Thornbury. For more information, visit loftgalleryart.com or follow his blog at lornemcdermott.com. ❧
