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Abstact artist and watercolour landscape painter, Toni Onley, was born in Douglas on the Isle of Man, England, in 1928. Onley studied with landscape watercolour artist, John Nicholson, at the Douglas School of Fine Arts from 1942 to 1946. Onley came to Canada in 1948, at the age of 20, and resided in Brantford, Ontario. In 1951 Onley furthered his studies at the Doon School of Fine Art in Kitchener, Ontario, under the tutelage of Carl Schaefer. In 1950, Onley wed Mary Burrows, an artist and art critic from Brantford. Onley and Mary had two daughters, and in order to support the family Onley worked a variety of positions; however, he continued to paint. By the mid 50’s, Onley started to exhibit his work at many respected exhibitions, such as the Royal Canadian Academy. After the death of his wife, Onley moved himself and his girls to Penticton, British Columbia. Here, Onley taught children’s art classes, as well as adult night classes at the Penticton High School. Additionally, he worked as a surveyor, a draftsman, and a commercial artist. In 1957, he won a scholarship from the Institute Allende, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. In turn, Onley and his daughters spent three years in Mexico, where he was highly influenced by the abstract work of James Pinto. In the 1960s, Onley created complex and colourful abstract collages, and in the 1970s Onley returned to landscape paintings. In the 1990’s, Onley created large-scale mixed media collages in parallel to his stunning landscape paintings of British Columbia, Canada. In 1999, Onley received the honour of becoming an Officer of the Order of Canada. Onley’s collection is vast and diverse, and it resides in private and public collections across North America and in England.
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