The Final Week Of My Exclusive Holiday Painting Sale!




It's The Final Week Of My Exclusive Holiday Painting Sale on ebay! This is the closest I've ever come to a Black Friday type of exclusive art sale for my small study paintings. The bidding has been furious and exciting and now as it draws to a close in this final week it's about to get even better for those who have not yet pulled the trigger and bid on their favorite works. I have seven new works now listed on ebay and these will be the last paintings that I plan to list this year. So bid often, bid high in this terrific sale! Thank you for such a thrilling painting sale in the last few weeks and being such awesome bidders! In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I am putting up for auction the painting I did last Saturday with the plein Air Connection at Jordan Pond Stream! Enjoy!


"The Bubbles From Jordan Pond, Acadia National Park, Maine" an oil on oak board 8 x 10 inches by Michael E. Vermette. CLICK HERE to bid on this painting on ebay.

Last Saturday the Plein Air connection group meet in Ellsworth and car pooled to the Jordan Pond Tea House to paint in the field below with spectacular views of the Bubbles in Acadia National Park. The painters in the group were Kay Carter, Anne Spencer, Becky Whight, and myself. Amazingly as we pulled into the parking lot of the Tea house and standing on the well manicured lawn stood a young 8 point buck that could have doubled for a bronze Forest Hart sculpture. We were all close enough to be pleasantly surprised and delighted. this time of year the Jordan Pond Tea House is closed as well as access to Cadillac Mountain. There were a handful of hikers and runners as well as walkers out with their dogs who remarked how they admired what we were doing.  But for the most part, the people left us to our work, but the wind was an entirely different element to contend with.

The wind chill was in the high 20's but we were all ready with our layers of clothing to brave the elements. The sky was eye-achingly clear with bright blue skies and a cool crispness in the air. The rolling field offered multiple zigzagging pathways that led down to the pond. There was also a zig-zag angular look to the very muted mountains called "The Bubbles" which had exquisite cool and warm grays, greens and peach tones. The fields were rich with bushes and grasses of challenging red, Naples yellow and green ochre. The pond was dark as the waters usually are in October and November and broken up into 4 or 5 bright blue shapes that were absolutely jewel like in between the trees and brush. Then the field's granite rocks that protruded  up from the grassy field and even the paths provided a surprising balance of neutral accent color.  

The PLEIN AIR CONNECTION NEWSLETTER November 16th, 2013

It's the Second week of my Holiday Exclusive painting Sale on ebay!  Many of you have taken the time to view my paintings on ebay and actually did bid on work. Thank you for that and making it a very exciting week for me. This week I have seven new works to share with you mostly for the same starting price of $125.00 for oils studies painted en plein air on board that are 8 x 10 inches. So if you were out bid by another buyer and lost the work for the price of a meal or you wish you had bid on a work but didn't; here is your chance! To place a bid Just go directly to ebay by clicking on the "CLICK HERE" button and you will be hyper-linked directly to the painting's auction site. Enjoy, have fun, and bid often.


Surf At Gull Rock, Monhegan Island, Maine" an oil 8 x 10 inches on oak board by Michael E. Vermette, CLICK HERE to bid on this painting on ebay!

This week the plein air connect group met at the Holy Ground Coffee Shop at the newly named Grace Church to discuss the letter written by Robert Henri to the class, Art Students League, 1916 in the book, "The Art Spirit". We discussed how the letter offers a process for making a study and the advantage of making the drawing and design first, then later developing color to the painting's completion. This process of working up drawings first reminded me of the cartoon method used by the painter James Fitzgerald. He would draw up to 20 preliminary sketch overlays made of tracing paper to establish the drawing's value and design. He would do this because as Henri is suggesting, each has its own complexities. There is a focus one needs to break down shapes, the tremendous information we receive, into seven areas of essential interest. Then once completely understood in terms of value and tone the artist would explore color to its fullness in each of these areas by not going into factual details, but devoting oneself to making the finest design one can make with the seven shapes. It is a very interesting way of working that is a method used to teach students even today how to make the painted sketch en plein air. All of these paintings that you see on this page are painted sketches made in a two-hour block of time. Although my technique is a little different in making these studies than how Henri suggests, It remains an excellent way to teach students who are struggling with too much detail. It focuses on the one thing that is the "Truth" of the painting; value. The lightness and darkness of a color as the 1st half of the paintings primary concern.


"Lobster Cove Sunset, Monhegan Island, Maine" an oil on oak board 8 x 10 inches by Michael E. Vermette, CLICK HERE to bid on this painting on ebay!

The second half of the paintings development is the exploration of color. Henri describes through an example of breaking down a portrait of a man in seven different parts, that you can actually give life to your subject this way by making your canvas rich and full with harmony, contrast, and color. We also discussed how the landscape and all subjects painted en plein air can be broken down into this seven shape method. Henri states,

" I do not say that with the few flat tones I have indicated for this portrait, a Monet-like impressionistic picture may be painted, but I do say that any one of you who might desire to paint such a picture, or one with a full iridescence of color, would do well first to acquire the ability and habit of registering on your canvas, in any way you can, an impression in large of the general shapes which go to make up the character of the subject."      -Robert henri



"Katahdin From the North Shore of Katahdin Lake, Baxter State Park" an oil 8 x 10 inches on oak board by Michael E. Vermette, CLICK HERE to bid on this painting on ebay!

We discussed the whole idea of conceptualizing your paintings before you touch your canvas, being ready to use the right brush, quantity of paint and fluidity. A sort of walking yourself through the process of painting before actually putting brush or palette knife to canvas. We discussed that your drawing must obey the spirit; and that your motive informs the painting. Without motive we will stagger about. As painters we are to develop as seers who are appreciators as well as craftsman of our works. We must give to the craftsman in us a motive or else we will not be able to develop as artists.


"Gulls Over The Headlands, Monhegan Island, Maine" an oil on oak board 8 x 10 inches by Michael E. Vermette. CLICK HERE to bid on this painting on ebay!

We talked about finishing our paintings as quickly as possible because there is no virtue in delaying. We must spend as much time as we can on each essential shape developing a kind of "mileage" out of the form before we go onto features that require detail. The greatest drawing, expression and completion lies in what we do in the larger masses and gestures.

We discussed the role of backgrounds in a painting and that the subject creates its own background. We liked what Robert Henri said about background becoming an extension of the subject projecting beyond the literal space the subject occupies. 


"Foggy Day at Squeaker Cove, Monhegan Island, Maine" an oil 8 x 10 inches on oak board by Michael E. Vermette. CLICK HERE if you would like to bid on this painting on ebay. 

The background is an environment that changes according to the state we are in. Material things are the least part of a background or an environment. And how we all laughed at how true it is when Robert Henri said, " But a cocked hat won't make a general." So with the study of too many material things in the background won't make a painting. A background should be so well made that the viewer is simply not aware of them. A weak background in a painting can be a deadly thing. Every subject must claim its own background.


"High Surf at Lobster Cove, Monhegan Island, Maine" an oil 8 x 10 inches on oak board by Michael E. Vermette. CLICK HERE if you would like to bid on this painting on ebay!

As artists we agreed that every movement in nature is orderly with one thing the outcome of another that is a growing force. When we live our lives in tune with nature we are happy. All of our unpleasant experiences are the result of our effort to dictate against nature. As painters we must listen to the spirit and value revelation, creating under its wisdom. Our work can evoke that spirit that brings beauty and dignity to the shapes in our paintings. We must paint our subjects to use them not to copy them for the sake of fact. We still live in a world that is a materialistic. But we must pioneer beyond the mere matter if facts. We must paint only what is important to us, yes. But we must not respond to outside demands by people who do not know what they want, or what we have to give.


"The Cathedral Woods, Monhegan Island" an oil 8 x 10 inches on oak board by Michael E. Vermette. CLICK HERE if you would like to bid on this painting on ebay!

We ended the discussion by talking about Rembrandt's drawings and how in them he seems to have drawn human states of being. There is an intimacy of life in his work that seems to have a flow of movement through forms which are in response to states of being. We agreed that our art is headed toward this similar state of infinite simplicity of shorter words and longer meaning. A painting with less detail but filled with meaning. 

The next Saturday we will be meeting at the Holy Grounds Coffee shop will be November 30th between 10 am and 12 noon. We will be covering pages 49-76 of "The Art Spirit" book by Robert Henri.

Next Saturday November 23rd, 2013 we will be painting at Jordan Pond Stream at Acadia National Park to plein air paint. We hope to see you all there.

May your painting this week be filled with meaning and motive this week,

Michael E. Vermette
Coordinator of the Plein Air Connection

"Squeeker Cove, Monhegan Island" an oil on oak board 8 x 10 inches by Michael E. Vermette Click Here to view on e-bay.

Dear Friends,

During the whole month of November and into December, I will be having a Christmas Holiday Sale/Auction on E-bay of 26 or more of my small 8 x 10 studies. The paintings can be found in the  "Maine Landscape", or "Maine Seascape" section of E-bay's search category and each painting will be up for auction for 10 days with a starting bid of $125.00.  The paintings are of high quality and painted on my prized gypsum gessoed solid oak panels that the master's painted on. The oil paint I use is handmade Willamburg, Old Holland and Blockx oil paint mixed with my Black Oil Wax Medium to add luster to the my expressive impasto style. The paintings are not framed so you would have to frame them yourself. But the shipping is on me and is garenteed to arrive before Christmas.

This is a great opportunity to buy in auction a small study of mine for a fraction of the price that you would purchase in a gallery. This opportunity is for a limited time only and is the only season I use this service. I and will not be posting any works beyond December and once they go off e-bay they will go back to their regular price. Seven of the paintings are already on there for 10 days each as I post one of them each day. The first one will be coming off in a few days. So I invite you to check out the works, bid often and get into the fun as you make this a wonderful holiday season for yourself and your loved ones. The following paintings are listed now. Keep checking each day for new listings.



"Griffin Head, Reid State Park" an oil 8 x 10 inches on oak panel by Michael E. Vermette Click here to view on e-bay


"Sand Bars at Reid State Park" an oil on oak panel 8 x 10 inches by Michael E. Vermette Click here to view on e-bay.


"Tidal Surf, Monhegan Island" an oil on wood panel 8 x 10 inches by Michael E. Vermette Click Here to view on e-bay.


"Foggy Headland, Monhegan Island" an oil on oak board 8 x 10 inches by Michael E. Vermette Click here to view on ebay.


"Katahdin Alpine Glow" an oil on oak panel 8 x 10 inches by Michael E. Vermette Click Here to view on ebay.


"Katahdin From Millinocket Lake at Twin Ponds Camps" an oil on oak panel 8 x 10 inches by Michael E. Vermette Click Here to view on ebay.

I will also be participating in the Art Walk in Bangor this Friday November 15th Showing at WBRC Architects & Engineers, 44 Central Street, Bangor, Maine between 5 and 9 pm. Please join me and three other artists as I will be showing 16 paintings at a special one-day Art Walk price.

And also a friendly reminder that the Plein Air Connect group will be meeting at the Holy Grounds Coffee Shop at Grace Church at 1404 Broadway, Bangor Maine between 10 am and 12 noon this Saturday November 16th. We will be covering the 
letter to the Class, Art Students League, 1916 of Robert Henri's book, "The Art Spirit" followed by soup and bread.

Happy Holiday Shopping,


Michael E. Vermette
Coordinator of the Plein Air Connection

THE PLEIN AIR CONNECTION NEWSLETTER November 2nd, 2013
Painting with Mercy not Sacrifice.


"Katahdin From Rocky Pond, Baxter State Park" a watercolor 20 x 26 inches by Michael E. Vermette

Many painters sacrifice a visual God-given moment in the landscape for a fear that chases after and appease every changing mood of the subject. They rarely achieve a genuine experience because they never get around to judging what it is about the subject that they want to say. By chasing and copying they will never actually catch its nature, thus sacrificing what they judged as true and beautiful in their heart. Is there a way to paint from a heart of mercy and not sacrifice?

Last Saturday Anne Spencer and I discussed issues like this in the Plein Air Connect group. In his "Letter to the Class, Art Students League, 1915; Robert Henri makes some very poignant statements that clarify this whole practice of judging what is to be said in a painting. By discerning what is to be the subject at its peak moment of excitement, no matter how fleeting, the artists allows the painting experience to be focused on a single moment of divine beauty. Henri describes it this way. 

The most vital things in the look of a face or of a landscape endure only for a moment. Work should be done from memory. The memory is of that vital movement. During that moment there is a correlation of the factors of that look. This correlation does not continue. New arrangements, greater or less, replace them as mood changes. The special order has to be retained in memory - That special look, and that order which was its expression. Memory must hold it. All work done from the subject thereafter must be no more than data-gathering. The subject is now in another mood. A new series of relations has been established. These may confound. The memory of that special look must be held, and the "subject" can now only serve as an indifferent manikin of its former self. The picture must not become a patchwork of parts of various moods. The original mood must be held to.
Robert Henri p.27 Art Spirit


So what is this memory of the subject's peek moment of beauty that we must hold on to? I think it is the practice of trusting in the development of our ability to appreciate and articulate our motives as a seer. Valuing what we love about what we see and what we are passionate about in our vision, rather than ignoring it for clever processes and imposing design principals, connects to the very life of the painting. We as painters need to give the craftsman in us a single motive when painting the subject instead of copying every mood that presents itself as a confusing patchwork of unrelated parts. But instead, painters begin a painting without even asking themselves what it is that they want to focus on, what it is that tugs at their heart about the subject, and what moment will be the peak point of excitement that will define the painting of the subject at its best. There is judgement involved in painting like that. The very things that are not always and permanently beautiful to us have moments of revelation and unity that give us a sense of understanding and great happiness. As a Christian I am reminded of what Jesus himself said in the bible.

"I can of myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and my judgement is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me."      -Jesus /NKJV John 5:30

I believe as artists; we are encouraged to judge with a visual rightness that comes from a higher revelation than what comes from ourselves. As seers and painters we have the exciting opportunity to expect daily revelation to come to us through the landscape or subject so that we can see the Kingdom of God's beauty on the earth no matter how fleeting. We can expect to witness this distinguishing attribute of the beauty of God that signifies divine goodness in the landscape en plein air or painting the figure from life. Our responsibility is to develop our memory of these moments by holding on to them as overlapping moments of timelessness. The question here is whether or not we shall live in and deal with our greatest moments of happiness. Will we humble ourselves and mercy paint by developing our ability to see and keep in our memory that which is essential or will we sacrifice our emotions and sense of rightness by not discerning anything thus ending up with a painting that appears to hit or miss. To make a record that tests how true our seeing and memory have been is the way to true joy, clarity and happiness in our work. 

Many know that one of my favorite painters is James Fitzgerald who died in the early 70's. Many critics who have researched his paintings remark at how well we was able to hold on to the first excitement of the painting even though he painted up to 25 preparatory sketches and tracing paper overlays before making the final painting. He would do all this preparatory work from painted sketches to drawings that simplified the subject but always retained the spirit of the subject as he experienced it in its highest moment of visual excitement. One of my favorite stories of Jim was told to me by my good friend Ann Hubert, who is now deceased. She had a close friendship with the artist, whom upon his death willed all of his paintings to her and her husband Ed. She once told me of a person who came to Jim to express her appreciation of his work. According to Ann this women was so moved by the work she said with excitement," That is a beautiful watercolor!" and Jim replied, "You should see it in my head!" Ann would always smile ear to ear after telling these stories. Why? Because Jim really knew how to hold on to the moments that occurred in the landscape and his subjects that gave him the most joy and happiness. Ann shared this divine revelation with Jim and it is rare to find it in an artist today.  The inspired painting of the mind translates to the canvas over to the viewer and causes a heartfelt reaction of appreciation, sometimes moving them to tears. I have seen this reaction myself.

So how do we paint with a sense of mercy and not sacrifice? How do we get into a place of wishing and not willing or forcing it? Henri gives us a few important keys to help us develop our memory of our best painting experiences. 

1) A painting that is started without life, revelation or motive cannot be finished. Try to see the life of the painting before beginning. And
    realize a paintings beginning and end is about its beginning. That is what is meant by, "a thing that has not been begun cannot be
    finished."

2) Be ready to return to the subject many times, more than if you were coping from nature. Artists who work in the habit of
     memory-practice actually use the subject more than those artists who rely on direct observation from start to finish. 

3) After you have studied and collected information through oil sketches and drawings, dispense with these, the presence of the model or
    the landscape at the time of the actual making of the final work. Only carry what you know to the work in your studio, not unnecessary
    details that you don't yet understand.

4) Once you have it, hold on to it by not sharing with anyone until the work is completed. The impact of the work can be compromised by
     talking about an unfinished work. Finish as quickly as you can. This is because the most vital elements in a painting endures only for
     a moment. Work from memory  as rapidly as you can. There is no virtue in delaying or procrastinating. 

In closing I would urge all of you to delight in what you have in the memory of your subject! Don't allow the many rules and academic compositional principles of formulas enslave you in copying nature's ever-changing moods. This is an endless sacrificial way of painting that requires no spirit and produces a lifeless work that never seems to be enough or completed. Make a decision to be your own seer who understands, judges, discerns and makes beautiful visual organizations. Paint in such a way that God's mercy is allowed to flow from your hands to the viewer. Begin with research studies and drawings yes, but put them away and explore the meaning of your findings. Expect to be inspired by moments of great beauty that surpasses your own expectations.  As Henri suggests, could this be the source of your moments of great comprehension and happiness as a painter? It also creates the best paintings that have a surge of life, unity, and mark true organization. For " if we knew what we saw, we could paint it."

The next section we will cover in the Art Spirit book is "Letter to the Class, Art Students League," 1916 p. 33-51 on November 16th. Next Saturday November 9th we will meet at Grace Church parking lot at 8 am to car pool and paint on location in Acadia National Park. Hope to see you all there.

Have a creative week filled with great happiness in your work,

Michael E. Vermette
Coordinator of The Plein Air Connection