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Caven Atkins was born in London, Ontario in 1907 and raised in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. From 1925 to 1928, he studied under Lionel LeMoine FitzGerald, a later member of the Group of Seven, at the Winnipeg School of Art and then the University of Toronto. After graduating, Atkins worked at a commercial art firm where he met Charles Comfort, a well-known Canadian artist. During this time, he was also introduced to German expressionism. This style and the Group of Seven would become strong influences on his art practice. At the start of the Second World War, Atkins expected to be recruited as a war artist but instead was commissioned to create a series of paintings and drawings at the Toronto Shipbuilding company. He focused on depicting the construction workers, welders and bulkhead grinders amid their cold and musty environment. Twenty-four of these artworks were donated to the National Gallery of Canada. After the war, Atkins found employment as an illustrator and designer for the Ford Company in Michigan until his retirement. Throughout his artistic career, Atkins exhibited alongside the Manitoba Society of Artists, Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour, and the Canadian Group of Painters. He had also served as President for the Canadian Society of Graphic Art and the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour. He passed away in 2000. Throughout his career as an artist, Atkins favoured painting with watercolours and oils and experimented with mixed media techniques. His works were more often abstract rather than realist, particularly when it came to landscapes and figural paintings. This came from his two biggest inspirations; the Group of Seven and German Expressionism. His friend and fellow artist, Fritz Brandtner, was the one to introduce Atkins to German Expressionism. A style aiming to convey internal emotions using a vibrant colour palette, gestural brushstrokes and simplified shape. This style’s influence can be seen in the majority of his works. When he was commissioned to create a series of paintings at the Toronto ship company while depicting the welders and bulkhead girders inside the factory facilities Atkin used dynamic lines, vivid colours and overall dramatic imagery which reflected the stylistic characteristics of German expressionism. |
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GET INSPIRED
Get Inspired by Weather
Try this creative activity based on the artwork!
Caven Atkins Sudden Storm, Kingston, Ontario, 1943 depicts a thunderous storm so well you can just about feel it! Try your hand at depicting the weather around you through art! This activity is best done over a couple of days to try and capture different weather!
SUPPLIES
- Paper
- Coloured Pencils, Crayons, Markers, or any drawing materials – you could even use paint
INSTRUCTIONS
- To start you will have to choose what kind of drawing material you want to use you will want to have something colourful so that you can capture the feeling of different types of weather. Coloured pencils will be softer, crayons are bright and can blend and layer together, and markers are full coverage and bright, & paint is versatile and can be blended easily. If you do multiple drawings, you can try different drawing materials for each.
- Start with your chosen drawing material and a piece of paper. If the weather is nice go outside or sit near a window or door. Take a moment to think about how the weather feels today, focus on the sky. Is it bright and warm outside or dark and cool?
- Start to create your artwork, it can be literal or abstract but focus on the colours and movements you use.
- If it’s a sunny day and warm maybe you use bright and warm colours (Yellow’s, Oranges, or Reds) and soft lines. If it’s stormy or raining maybe you use darker and cooler colours (Blues or Purples) with hard fast lines.
- Try doing a couple on different days to get different weather and experiment with every picture!
- Once your done all your images you can even staple or sew them into a book or glue them onto a bigger piece of paper to create a weather collage!
Don’t forget, there are no mistakes in art! Be bold and have fun!
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Share your inspired work with us!
Send us an e-mail with your name, photo of your work and the activity it was inspired by and it could be posted on our website!
Please be aware that whatever is posted is widely accessible. The AGA is not responsible for the copyright and has no control of what people will do with the posts.
Please send you submission to: [email protected]
Please be aware that whatever is posted is widely accessible. The AGA is not responsible for the copyright and has no control of what people will do with the posts.
Please send you submission to: [email protected]