Kurt Swinghammer's TURPENTINE WIND

It was at this time of year that Canadian landscape painter Tom Thomson would leave his commercial jobs in Toronto and head north to paint the wild lands of Algonquin Park and the wind swept pines of Georgian Bay. The way Thomson captured nature in his distinctive paintings have become icons of our national identity.

Thomson's vision of the wilderness in the early part of the 20th century inspired the art of city dweller Kurt Swinghammer in the early years of the new millennium. Swinghammer spent years crafting his new CD project titled Turpentine Wind. It's a 12 song tribute following the life of Tom Thomson. However, Turpentine Wind goes beyond the music, Swinghammer also created 500 paintings based on the digital wave forms of his lyrics in the music. Both the art and music are being released in a joint CD/Blu-Ray disc package.

He will unveil Turpentine Wind in song and DVD, and show his 500 acrylic-on-wood paintings May 19th at the Music Gallery in Toronto.(197 George Street, at the south end of Grange Park behind the AGO). Find out more at Swinghammer's website.