|
Canadian artist Toni Onley killed in plane accident.
by Joe Foy •
Friday March 05, 2004 at 11:23 AM
joe@wildernesscommittee.org (604) 683-8220 227 Abbott Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 2K7
Toni Onley, Canadian, artist and great friend of wilderness, was killed in a plane accident near Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada, on Sunday February 29.
Onley, 75, was a renowned watercolour painter who often used his floatplane to access the backcountry. He was an Order of Canada recipient.
carmanah.jpg, JPG image, 1000x786
News Release – Friday, March 5, 2004 Canadian artist Toni Onley
killed in plane accident. Wilderness Committee regrets the loss of
great defender of Canadian wild country Toni Onley, Canadian, artist and great friend of wilderness, was killed in a plane accident near Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada, on Sunday February 29. Onley, 75, was a renowned watercolour painter who often used his floatplane to access the backcountry. He was an Order of Canada recipient. “Toni was a passionate defender of the wild Canadian landscape he loved to depict in all its misty moods,” said Wilderness Committee Campaign Director Joe Foy. Foy reminisced about all the help and encouragement Toni had given the Wilderness Committee over the years. “When the Stein Valley was being battled over in the mid 1980s and it looked as if it might be logged, Toni came up with the fantastic idea of flying in artists to paint and draw the area to publicize its beauty to the world,” explained Foy. “The project worked, and it’s one of the reasons the Stein is protected from logging as a provincial park today,” said Foy. In the late 80s Toni joined with the Wilderness Committee again to defend the Carmanah Valley rainforest, located on the southwest coast of Vancouver Island. This time the artists’ project was much larger than the one at Stein Valley. It resulted in the publishing of a coffee table book – Artistic Visions of an Ancient Rainforest, which featured the works of the artists who had hiked into the Carmanah. The book soon became a Canadian best seller. By the mid 1990’s the entire Carmanah Valley had been protected as a BC Provincial Park. “Several weeks ago Toni was in the Wilderness Committee’s Vancouver Gastown offices having a laugh with us, talking about our wild times together,” said Foy. He was participating in a video project about his life and times and we dug out some of the photos from the Stein and Carmanah days,” said Foy. “Toni Onley was a great human being and a great friend of wilderness. May his works of art and his good works of wilderness preservation continue to surprise and delight people for generations to come,” said Foy. “He will be badly missed,”. For more information contact Joe Foy – (604) 683-8220
Artistic Visions of an Ancient Rainforest
by Joe Foy •
tony-onley.jpg, JPG image, 1000x910
We thought it appropriate to attach a photo (above) of the watercolor that Toni Onley painted and donated towards our campaign to save the Carmanah Valley. He titled it "Morning Fog, Carmanah Valley. We've also enclosed the words that Toni wrote for the book. The great forest of Carmanah still stands, thanks in part to the efforts of Toni Onley. The words he wrote fifteen years ago ring as true today as they did then. Joe Foy
Dear Tony of the Isle-of-Man
by Midge Cringle-fellow artist •
Wednesday March 24, 2004 at 01:48 PM
midgeart@manx.net 01624 843980 Creative Arts Centre, Glen Maye , Isle-of-Man
Tony had a one man exhibition in Douglas Isle-of-Man last year 2003. He also gave a splendid lecture describing his art carreer and his adventures in his plane.
We in the I.O.M. had a good chance to see his work which was greatly influenced by John Nicholson and other Manx teachers.
I was impressed by his openess and honesty.
Some of his work was bought by the Manx Post Office and reproduced on a complete stamp collection. We have a great respect for our Manxman artist and send condolences to his family.The worl has lost a great artist and naturalist.
From an admirer in the IOM- Marjorie Thorne-Cringle BA
| 
