Often favouring an autumnal colour palette, Palmer created works with warmth and atmosphere capturing the Canadian landscape and pastoral scenes. The inclusion of sheep and cattle grazing or relaxing in fields figured prominently in the artist’s body of work, contributing a sympathetic and pleasant rendering of rural Canada. A sombre sky hangs above the cattle grazing in the dry field, an indication of the changing seasons. One can imagine the feeling of an early autumn breeze and the heaviness of the atmosphere that comes with the cloud cover before a rainfall.
Palmer was a member of and exhibited with the Ontario Society of Artist's, the Royal Canadian Academy and a founding member of the Toronto Arts and Letters Club. He exhibited at the Canadian National Exhibition as well as the Art Gallery of Ontario, the National Gallery of Canada, and the Tate, London among other esteemed institutions. In recognition of his work and dedication to visual arts in Canada, Palmer was awarded the inaugural Baxter Foundation Fellowship.
