Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

About Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer

This contemporary surrealistic painting with a summer theme is by Toni Hamel.

‘Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer’…This catchy song was made popular by an American singer in the late fifties/early sixties, and it serves as a fun title for this oil painting. Toni Hamel is known for the imaginative, surreal worlds she often creates in her work and her ‘tongue in cheek’ humour.
Here the vibe is the sixties as an older man is seen mowing the lawn with a vintage push lawnmower. In the background, a beloved and familiar Peanuts cartoon character—Snoopy, the dog and his best friend, the bright yellow bird Woodstock lay on top of a red roofed dog house. The colour palette is vivid and cheery—bright blue, green, red, yellow and white.
The entire image is framed by a circle, which gives the appearance of the viewer looking at it through a camera lens. Hamel’s work is often inspired by music and its lyrics. Titles are often borrowed from popular tunes that many of us are familiar with.

“The title of this piece belongs to a Harry Belafonte popular song from the late 50s. It's just a humorous piece, and I like its playful tone.” Toni Hamel

Toni Hamel was born in Italy in 1961. In the early 1980s, she acquired a BFA from
the Accademia di Belle Arti of Lecce in Italy. Upon arriving in Canada, she furthered her studies and attained a post-graduate Certificate in Computer Graphics from Sheridan College (Canada, 1991).
The recipient of several awards, among others, she received the Golden Key National Honour Society Award from the University of Toronto (Specialist Programme in Psychology, 1997), and the Lubiam Prize (Milan, 1983).
Her work has been exhibited in public and commercial galleries in Canada, USA, and Europe. It is included in the public collections of Mr. J.J. Abrams, Ms. Whoopi Goldberg, Ms. Julia Roberts, the Archives of Ontario/Government of Ontario, the Robert McLaughlin Gallery, the Omer DeSerres Corporation as well as many private international collections.Toni Hamel lives and works in Kingston, Ontario.