Glacial Boulders, Savary Island, B.C. , 1984

Private Collection, Toronto

Toni Onley was born in 1928 on the Isle of Man and was educated in England and Mexico. After the passing of his first wife, Mary, Onley moved to Penticton, British Columbia. In this new locale Onley found inspiration for his most celebrated landscapes. Employing muted cool palettes of greys, blues and greens, the artist explored the way light plays with the simplified forms within nature to create ethereal and moody atmospheres. Frustrated and dissatisfied with his work while studying in Mexico, Onley ripped up a painting in progress into small pieces. The oblong shapes of the destroyed work inspired the artist to play with the arrangement of pure form and adopt this technique in his practice. “Glacial Boulders, Savary Island, B.C.” exemplifies the artist’s ability to use minimal design inspired from his early collage experience, emphasized by delicate colouring to capture the calm and meditative landscape of Canada’s west coast. A remote destination, Savary Island is accessible only by ferry or plane, and is known for its white beaches, swimming waters and sweeping views of mountains and the Pacific Ocean.