Pickerel Weed Conversations, 2024

Allan O'Marra  

Allan O'Marra has been painting and exhibiting in solo and group shows since 1971 primarily in the Greater Toronto area of the Canadian province of Ontario. He puts shows together with specific themes, i.e.: "The Joy of Falling" (2004); 'Family Reunion' (2006); 'Moments of Awakening (2007), "My Landscapes" (2010), a show with his daughter, Emily, titled "O'marra squared", shown in October 2010; "The real:the abstract:the fusion", February 2014; "Lush Gravitas", June 2016; and 'Magical-Mystical-Mythical', March 2017; "Recent Figurative Work", summer 2020; "Living My Muse", May 2023.

Education:

Graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design University (1971) and the Transpersonal Therapy Centre of Toronto (2004).

Awards & Distinctions:

Numerous juried show awards, including Best Oils, 2nd in Oils and Best in Show (2011) and Best Landscape (2016) at the Oshawa Art Association show at the McGlaughlin Gallery, Oshawa, Ontario; and Best Painting at the Uxbridge Annual Juried Show plus Best in Show at the Pineridge Arts Council show in 2017.

Exhibitions:

50 solo shows and more than 100 group shows over the past 52 years.

Professional/Teaching Experience:

Teacher (basic art to 3 levels of children, 2 adult classes and 2 seniors classes) for the City of Pickering (Ontario) Recreation department. Volunteer art instructor at the Ontario Shores Mental Health Center. Art columnist for local arts organization. Art jurist. Curator and organizer of numerous group exhibitions.

Artistic Influences:

Salvador Dali, Maurits Escher, David Hockney, Norman Rockwell, Maxfield Parrish, Jack Chambers

Tags:

Oil painting, landscapes, figurative, portraits, allegory.