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This painting workshop focuses on three proven methods of working inthe studio to make larger and more

finished paintings from painted sketches, studies, and photographs made en plein air. The instructor will

demonstrate the traditional “cartoon” tracing method used by famous artists’ who painted from memory

to develop value in transferring an image. He will also show how modern painter’s work with photography

and the digital camera, painting directly from their laptop and how to use an opaque projector correctly to

create accurate proportions as in the original studies painted on site. Students will also learn how to carry

over the freshness and excitement of the plein air study in the larger painting by examining when to stop

and when a painting is finished. The instructor will demonstrate from a study of his own and make

suggestions toward using the right technique, composition, and subject development in creating an effective

large painting. Painters may work in watercolor or oil painting mediums. Michael will also have on

hand visual examples to share with the class. This workshop is for anyone who has ever had difficulty making

a larger painting from a smaller study or sketch. Participants are required to bring their own

supplies. A supply list will be emailed upon registration.(bring your own lunch or it can be ordered out)

Please contact us if you are coming in from out of town and need help with accomodations.

Sat., & Sun., May 31 & June 1 9am-5pm $195

From Plein Air to Studio

Turn your painted studies into large finished paintings...

with Michael Vermette - You can view his work at www.michaelevermette.com

Sign up on our website, WWW.JACKSONARTNH.COM

OR CALL (603) 387-3463 for details.

Jackson Art is located in Jackson NH in the White Mountains 155 Ridge Rd. Jackson, NH 03846

THE PLEIN AIR CONNECTION NEWSLETTER March 25th, 2014


"Feeding The Gulls Lobster Shells" a watercolor 20 x 26 inches by Michael E. Vermette

There was a crisp chill in the air but encouragingly bright and sunny when we all met at the parking lot of the original Dysarts truck stop and restaurant in Hampden, Maine. Becky Whight, Kay Carter, Linda Stearns, Anne McKay and myself all car-pooled together to Waterville to take part in the Maine Open Juried Show sponsored by the Waterville Area Art Society and Waterville Main Street. With the exception of Ann who joined us for the first time, we all entered two paintings each to be juried into the show. They had an amazing group of judges selecting the pieces having over 84 pre-registered artists and over 168 paintings if you count the walk-in entries for that day.  Robert Drewal, Helena Farrar's, and Patricia King were the judges and between them they either taught art for over 40 years, had multiple master degrees in Fine Art among them, or held the distinction of the assistant Director of the Colby College Art Museum. Our plan was to take advantage of every moment we had waiting for our paintings to be either juried in or out. So I e-mailed the people who were putting on the show and the Colby College Museum of Art to see if we could get a room in the museum to have our Plein Air Connect Book Discussion and if the Waterville show organizers would be willing to invite members to attend. I quickly found out that the Museum and the Open Show were very supportive of each other and very willing to help us out. 

  So we arrived in Waterville with paintings in hand, and were in and out in no time because of their express registration done by three or four registrants in alphabetical order. This year, because we all pre-registered, they had given us the option of e-mailing the information of the paintings we were entering so that they could make up in advance pre-cut labels. So needless to say, there were no congested lines, just a real nice flow of artwork that was taken to another floor to be judged. As is always the case in this sort of process, very little talking is ever going on, just artists checking each other's artwork out to consider their odds. So after we all entered our works by 9:30 am in the show we quickly traveled to the Colby College Art Museum to set up the classroom for the discussion. On our way out we were please to meet our fellow plein air painting friend and author Alison Dibble. So we waited for her to enter her work and went out of the Waterville Public Library together using the stairs instead of the elevator this time.  We pretty much ran about a half hour early all day and we were early for the museum, but they welcomed us and showed us to the educational room down stairs in the museum. How humbling it was to be in the presence of such great master works in this new Lunder collection and to think that entry is free. There was a long table in a very clean room and we all claimed our spot for the discussion and waited only a few minutes before we all explored the museum while we waited for people to arrive. Kay and I quickly went in search of the Robert Henri portrait that she said was in the Lunder collection. When we found it we spent a long time studying the brush strokes and looseness of his orderly construction. In fact one of the things we noticed was how he dared to leave white canvas in many places in the painting and yet it didn't affect the wonderful order it held. It was there, in that very gallery amongst paintings of Henri and his students: Gergia O'Keeffe, Rockwell Kent, George Bellows and even a Nicolie Fetchen, that we meet a wonderful couple, Mr. ans Mrs. Hans Haase (haasefineart.com). They were specificially there looking for our book discussion on the Art Spirit written by Robert Henri. After they joined us in looking at the Henri Painting we all went back and began what would be a very amazing discussion. 


Kay Carter and Michael E. Vermette at the Colby College Art Museum viewing the Lunder collection.

In these book discussions I usually facilitate and am willingly to  invite others to respond and even take the topics into many different avenues. I love how our book discussions use books like "The Art Spirit" as an in-point to a deeper discussion on how we choose to respond or express ourselves as artists. So it is that I can't write to you all the things we discussed but I can highlight three topics that made the discussion a very rich experience.

We began with what we were struck with in Robert Henri's oil painting of a portrait of a young boy and how it had canvas exposed. Henri say about this, and I quote:

" Probably it would be good to say to you; Consider the whole space of your canvas as the field of your expression. A fine adjustment must be made within its limits. Your ideas must not wander, anywhere, within the confines of the canvas, but they must fill it completely.
A space may be left bare, but that bare space must become meaningful. It is a part of the structure nevertheless."  -Robert Henri p. 181 The Art Spirit.
 
So then the question put to the group was is it appropriate to leave bare canvas and what do we all tend to do? We decided that of course leaving exposed canvas is fine to do, however, it must be considered as a part of the composition of the whole canvas. In Henri's painting that we examined he did leave bare canvas, in over twenty-five different areas. But each place he chose to leave bare canvas it became a critical highlight on the figure's coat or the wall in the background. We decided the real issue is not whether we leave exposed canvas or not, but that if we do, we consider it a highlight the moves forward and how it will that effect the other shapes in composition as a whole.

Then we talked about what that thing is that charms us in nature.  On the same page Henri says and I quote:

"Courage to go on developing this ability to see in nature the thing which charms you, and to express just that as fully and completely as you can. Just that. Nothing else. Not to do as any other artist does. Nor to be afraid that you may do as any other artists does. Do not require of your work the finish that anyone may demand of you, but insist on the finish which you demand."   -Robert Henri P. 181 The Art Spirit.

The conversation then moved into the area of the pressure to "finish" a painting the way we feel others want us to. This is sometimes experienced when painters paint for the judges' tastes and finishing a painting to impress for the glory of winning a prize rather than being true to oneself. It could be a teacher, a spouse or anyone with whom we hold in high esteem. The truth that Henri is revealing is that we will never be able to fully realize our ideas to their completion if we don't get in touch with that sense of rightness in our own judgement. Just as we must love ourselves before we love others, we must also be grounded in painting for ourselves before we paint for and even receive a reward from others. It is hard to know yourself, it is a humble self-acknowledging process.  But we must try to value our ideas over people who set themselves up as our judge and fail to make us as excellent as we can be. Robert Henri elaborates and makes the point:

The only men who are interesting to themselves and to others are those who have been willing to meet themselves squarely. The words of the masters are what they are because they are evidences from men who dare to be like themselves. It cost most of them dearly, but it was worth while. They were interesting to themselves, and now they are interesting to us.   - Robert Henri p. 187 The Art Spirit.

In the light of what we just did in entering our paintings at the Maine Open Juried Show we all laughed at ourselves admitting that awards are really not the most important thing to gain in our work. They are nice and sometimes validating, but lets be honest; they are not everything. The greatest thing we can get for our effort it to own a visual idea given to us that is so interesting, that when we do have the courage to share it, we will value our own whimsical intrigue over the response of an other. 

For example. I will never forget the story Ann Hubert told me of how James Fitzgerald's painting hung near the door of the dining hall at the Island Inn on Monhegan, Island. Every person going to dinner that night had to pass by that painting and many had responses. And Jim would watch to see how people responded. Then a man came up, looked at the painting, looked at Jim and asked him, "Did you paint that painting?" Jim answered him, "Yes I painted that painting." And then the man stated boldly, "I don't see Black Head That Way!" at which Jim replied, "But don't you wish you did?"  For years I wondered why Jim sat there listening to all of their remarks about his paintings in the first place. Then I came to one conclusion that I think is so great about Jim that is more than his response to that man. Jim knew who he was and how intriguing his ideas were. He valued, guarded, and defended the thing in nature that excited him most. He even admitted near the end of his life to his good friends Ann and Ed Hubert that it was worth suffering for. And the revelation to me was that he so valued what charmed him most in nature ( and how his own ideas that intrigued him) that he found it worth the struggle of being misunderstood, even by the great critics around him.

What an awesome attitude to have when entering a contest, a show or mounting an exhibit. To do it to connect with others spiritually and sometimes give a revelation to them of what is possible. But if they do not get it we take the position of wishing they did rather than get offended. Many people have a difficult time experiencing the art spirit in art. In fact I find it interesting to witness a person moved to tears as a response to a painting while another only a few feet away is completely unaffected on a cell phone calling for where a good restaurant is located.  

Henri Puts it this way and I quote: 

The greatness can only come by the art spirit entering into the very life of the people, not as a thing apart, but as the greatest essential of light- a spiritual influence. It is to enter governmental influence, and it alone will keep government straight, end wars and strife; do away with material greed.
When America is an art country, there will not be three or five or seven arts, but there will be the thousands of arts- or the one art, the art of life manifesting itself in every work of man, be it a painting or whatever. We will then have to give in kind for what we get, And every man will be a true enrichment to the other.  -Robert Henri, The Art Spirit p.188-189 The Art Spirit.

In conclusion, If you are one of those people who have entered your work into a juried show and didn't win an award, or didn't get both paintings into the show or didn't even get any at all in, take heart and consider this: That the true paradox that Henri and Fitzgerald knew is that in the times of rejection and suffering, at these very times of even verbal rejection, is the very moment the art spirit enters into you and even multiplies in you! But most of us don't see it that way because we are so preoccupied in identifying with the rejection we fail to see the value in our own ideas. Being a judge myself, I have witnessed the truth about why the judges reject some paintings and include others.  Time and again I've seen paintings with rich ideas and potential rejected because they didn't reached a point where the idea filled the canvas or parameters of the page as a whole.  It could even be that the artists has grown exponentially over the year. But the way paintings are chosen in shows is by the way the look "complete" or work as a "Whole" experience.  Judges are expected to use their experience to mount a show that speaks of the excellence of the conclusion of ideas, not necessarily works in progress. I'm willing to bet that if you went to these highly qualified judges and point-blank asked them why your painting didn't win an award or got juried out of the show the response would be that the working idea didn't go far enough or didn't reach its conclusion as a whole. I did that once with Tom Lynch who told me that my painting was too finished and detailed, leaving nothing for the imagination. Then he goes on to say, "Otherwise It would have judged it Best in Show."

I wonder how many artists walk away without knowing how close they were to winning Best In Show. You see, just because you are rejected doesn't mean that you are not on the right track. In fact when a painting is rejected, in reality it could mean that you are in a prime place to receive the art spirit that always accelerates and multiplies your understanding to a new level. How does the art spirit multiply in a rejected piece? By inspiring the artist to make adjustments that can only come from living an art spirit life. A lot of the comments and suggestions we receive are external. But the true multiplication of excellence in painting comes from living a life in the arts that is vital and meaningful. It's not a matter of tweaking a thing or two to make them more of a complete idea. It's a life style.  All of us need to sometimes take our critical hands off our work and realize that we are not rejected because of our art being inadequate and therefore have to fit it. No, we were rejected because we are in the process of making art in the art spirit of a Creator that is multiplying our work. And sometimes that can be messy. But it always leads to others finding what we do incredibly interesting. I have no doubt that all of us have it in us to win awards and the praise of others for our paintings. It's just a matter of how we perceive rejection and a matter of timing. 
 
  We ended our discussion with agreeing that rejection in the art life is the prelude for multiplication of the art spirit in our paintings. So if you have been rejected, don't worry, this is part of the cost we pay for living the art life. But get ready! It means you are about to expand exponentially through the art spirit. It's the ultimate paradox artists face and when realized is can be a very exciting motivation that leads us all to admit, it's gonna be worth it.

The Bangor Art Society Meeting is tonight at 6PM. We will be having a model to draw from so please bring your art supplies.  the meeting is always open and free to the public so please come and take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to create with others who are living the art life. 

Also the Waterville Art Society is having their opening reception and presentation of awards tonight at 6 PM at the Waterville Public Library. 

May the Art Spirit multiply in all of us this week!

Michael E. Vermette
Coordinator of the Plein Air Connection

THE PLEIN AIR CONNECTION NEWSLETTER March 21st, 2014




"Snowy Katahdin entrance from Little Abol Stream Bridge" an oil on gypsum board by Michael E. Vermette

As much as we would like to say it's actually Spring and feel the changing seasons in the air, March seems to be living up to its reputation of going out like a lion. The snow banks of Millinocket would be higher than ours just an hour south of us. But last Tuesday was to be a glorious moment of bright sun and excellent clarity. The Pein Air Connection group meet at the new Dysarts Deli at West Old Town just off I-95 North. The painters who attended were Kay Carter, Teddi-Jann Covell, Karry Maldanado, Becky Whight and myself. Our destination was to paint at the entrance into Baxter Sate Park near Abol Stream Bridge. The plan was to make two pit stops on the way; one in East Millinocket and the other at the Abol Store on the Golden Road. The temperature started out being 10 to 12 degrees but warmed up throughout the day and also as we traveled North into the high 20's. The sun shone bright and the sky was very similar to our last year's paint-out, without a single cloud in the sky. The sun and the wind was at our backs most of the day and our spirit's were high to capture the mountain's beauty that we could only get short glimp's of on the Golden Road. We parked at the lower parking lot near the Baxter State Park entrance and met a park ranger with his snow mobile and trailer loaded up with plywood and supplies; no doubt for a
repair at Chimney Pond.


Setting up at Little Abol Stream Bridge. From right to left: Becky Whight, Michael E. Vermette, Kay Carter. The photo was taken by Teddi-Jann Covell. 

Every time we return to a place sometimes a year later, we all try to intuitively seek out a new site in the landscape that will bring fresh ideas and new inspirations. It's interesting that most of us, with the exception of Karry Maldanado and Teddy-Jann Covell who were painting there for their first time, decided to painted near the same location as last year. Teddi-Jann Covell chose to paint just off little Abol Bridge near the entrance to the park while Karry painted further back on the trail. We painted just below Teddy-Jann and hiked down with packs and wet paint carriers into the off-trail banks of 12 to 14 inches of snow. Once down on the marsh we had a completely unobstructed view of the mountain. Very few places can take your breath away, and hold enough sustainable painting ideas year after year as this place does. It holds a mystical presence with its main stream meandering through the marshlands from Katahdin and directly towards the viewer. 


We would use our boots to sweep the  snow side to the side to clear off enough space to set up our easels and stand for an extended period of time. We began painting by 10:30 am and by noon we had a quick snack so that we could keep our energy up. We then continued to paint until 3:00 PM  before we started to pack up to go home one by one. We meet a couple on the trail, Mike Peterson and his wife who were snowshoeing inside Baxter State Park. Just before they came we sent Karry Maldanado down the trail and she saw a deer strolling on the path toward her. It was driven onto her by the Petersons who also saw it. Thanks and Welcome to our newsletter Mr and Mrs. Peterson and all of our new subscribers! We are happy that you have joined us.

This is what Michael Peterson wrote:

My wife and I met you yesterday in Baxter State Park. From what we saw on the easel from up above, your painting was spectacular.    - Michael Peterson's Statement

Our painting subject started out to be front lit with the sun high in the sky and to our backs as we faced east. This placed an emphasis on the shapes that made up the pattern of the painting. Katahdin has very unique faceted shapes that are interesting to focus on rather than tone, for example, to create weight. We all paid close attention to value but each painting had a character to it because of the front lighting effect that brought out the surface texture of the patterns of the landscape.  But as the day progressed and the sun moved low in the sky the shadows became longer and the mountain became less about rhythmic patterns and more about dramatic solidity. Katahdin was simply moving into a different look like a model sporting a new wardrobe. As tempting as it was to chase after the changing look, we painted mostly from memory as we reminded each other of the principal Robert Henri spoke of on page 171 of his book, " The Art Spirit."

 " Even with a model before you in quiet light of a studio there must come a time when you have what you want to know from the model, when the model had better be sitting behind you than before you, and unless such a time as this does come, it is not likely the work will get beyond the surface." -Robert Henri 



"Katahdin Winter" an oil on board by Becky Whight.

I think the same thing can be said about painting a landscape from direct observation. There has to be a moment within the first two hours of plein air painting, that you decide what it is you want to say about the painting. Since the light of the painting changes every two hours, we should as painters not surrender our painting ability to mere coping right down to the very last second of the day or session. In fact what constitutes a finished painting is the clarity to execute in paint what beauty you want to capture from the landscape. It is a matter of going beyond the surface of the painting and getting to the truthful design of the work that is deeper.  What we refer to as the "finished work" can not always be assumed as a finished experience, particularly if we have painted it once before. I actually found a much softer light pattern this year than when I did last year when I painted at this exact spot. Without the willingness to explore a new set of experiences in a previously painted site, (because I've painted it once before, and think there can be no new painting ideas), the means and effect of the painting can become a dutiful exercise in means. A painting that rides the surface, instead of digging deeper into the truth of it.


Kay Carter Painting At Little Abol Bridge, her oil painting to the right. Check out Kay's blog.

All great plein air painting explores below the surface of technique and clever design rules and reaches for the unexpected beauty that is at first hidden to the artist. That is why with every painting there is a problem that the artist must solve. There can be no greater happiness than to uncover the beauty found in the deceptively simple. To discover the hidden secrets of solving a compositional problem just under the surface, that then begs to be painted with clarity. 

After we completed our paintings we brought them into the River Driver's restaurant located near Twin Ponds Camps on Millinocket Lake. We order our meal by 4 pm and then went into a very constructive and supportive discussion of our work, each going one at a time. This positive time of talking about each of our works continues to develop our powers to express in words what we feel is working in our paintings. The emphasis is always on this and never on meaningless negative criticisms that leads you nowhere. It is one of the things I love about this group. The very same principles that I base my hermeneutic beliefs on, that easily gets me deeper into my painting subjects, is the same principals that has made this group so strong. Here are a few things that I appreciate about our group.

1) The ability of our group to be inclusionary instead of exclusionary toward ways of painting en plein air. No one will ever waste the time telling painters in our group that "plein air paintings are always small in size never large, that palette knife paintings never sell or that plein air paintings must never be completed in the studio." Those are exclusive remarks that only serve the few and keep narrowing the scope that leads to not being able to relate to the greater world of art. It is important to avoid being too important to the exclusion of others that in the end keeps you completely out of touch with the art world of our time. The art world is ever-changing with new and exciting ways of working. We must be careful that we don't dismiss these new innovations for traditional complacency. 

2) Looking after one another by desiring to grow as a cohesive group and not painting on our own. The whole idea of painting independently on location and than meeting at the end of the day to talk about our work and share a meal together, speaks of our genuine care we have for each other. This contrasts with the idea that you can only grow as a painter by having a highly respected mentor be the only one to comment on your work because you're afraid you might get contaminated or intimidated with bad criticism. Again its exclusivity and none-inclusive. Mentors can be helpful, but they can also be out of touch with you personally as an artist. Being afraid of what anyone will say about your work is more counter-productive to your success in your art as a career than anything else. After all, wouldn't you rather get a constructive comment from a fellow artist who has struggled with you through the day, than a painter who has absolutely no connection to what you are going through or what you are painting because he or she lives in another state?

3) Giving each painter in the group the time to develop the deeper meaning of their paintings on site. This is in contrast to putting a time limit on when a painting should be finished. Although Plein Air painting festivals do this for a daily wet paint auction, it is important that a weekly painting group respects the time it takes to make a connection with the landscape. In is not unusual at all that our group will wait for an individual artist to finish. All great artists give the time and space needed for their fellow painters to create and celebrated what they have discovered, making the sharing a mutual benefit. It is the best way to develop your own abilities as a painter. How we celebrate another's achievements positions us to receive the same merits for our own works. The shared meals and painting discussions afterwards has become for us just as exciting as painting on site. It completes us as and validates our purpose for painting. 

The Trip To Waterville this Saturday March 22nd 2014.


We are very excited to meet up with our fellow painters down south at the Maine Open Juried Show. Just a reminder for those who will be car-pooling from Bangor, we will be leaving from the Dysarts in Hampden between 8:30 am  and 8:45 am. Please don't be late. We will not  wait for you if you are late because of the time limit on the intake process for the show at the Waterville Library. For those who will meet us after for the book discussion at the Colby College Art Museum in Waterville, please meet us at the front information desk by 10:30 am. We have a room reserved for us in the Museum for this discussion. We will spend time discussing the section of "Letter of Criticism" on page 180 to "Letter of Criticism" on page 200 of The Art Spirit book written by Robert Henri. We will also explore the museum and the new Lunder collection. Then we will go to the food court and have lunch before returning to the Waterville Library and checking in to see if our paintings made it into the Open Juried Show 2014.



"Katahdin At Little Abol Bridge" two oils 8 x 10 inches by Karry Maldanado

Have a thrilling weekend filled with many imaginative ideas,

Michael E. Vermette
Coordinator of the Plein Air Connection

Please feel free to share this newsletter with anyone else whom you might consider would benefit. To sign up for the newsletter, go to my web site at www.michaelevermette.com.

THE PLEIN AIR CONNECTION NEWSLETTER March 18th, 2014

PAINTING PLEIN AIR AT ABOL BRIDGE NEAR BAXTER STATE PARK


"Katahdin From Abol Bridge" an oil on linen on Michael's plein air easel painted 3-9-13 by Michael E. Vermette

The next Plein Air Connection Paint-out will be at Abol Bridge Store and Campground in Millinocket. There are spectacular views of Katahdin there. For those who would like to car-pool we will meet at Dysarts Deli just off I-95 North, Hudson exit 43 on West Old Town road at 8:30 am. You can get gas and supplies and there is a bathroom. Then we will travel North on I-95 using the following driving directions: 

Dysarts Deli 1667 Bennoch Rd Old Town, ME 04468

	1. Turn right onto Hudson Rd/W Old Town Rd
		0.5 mi
	2. Turn right to merge onto I-95 N
		47.1 mi
	3. Take exit 144-244 for ME-157 towardMedway/Millinocket
		0.2 mi
	4. Turn left onto ME-157 W/Medway Rd Continue to follow ME-157 W
		11.3 mi
	5. Turn right onto Katahdin Ave
		0.2 mi
	6. Take the 2nd left onto Bates St
		0.9 mi
	7. Continue onto Millnocket Rd
		0.6 mi
	8. Continue onto Millinocket Rd
		5.6 mi
	9. Continue onto Millinocket Lake Rd
		1.0 mi
	10. Turn left onto Fire Rd 18
		236 ft
	11. Sharp right onto Golden Rd
		4.6 mi
	12. Continue onto Gnp Golden Rd
		2.4 mi
	13. Continue onto Golden Rd Destination will be on the right
		3.2 mi

Abol Bridge Campground & Store Golden Rd Millinocket, ME 04462   Abol Campground and Store is located on private land owned by the Paper Company. It is a working forest open to recreational use. All of the roads are privately owned and maintained. For safety reasons ATV's, Bicycles and Motorcycles are prohibited on all company roads and     light vehicles are asked to yield the right-of-way to the less maneuverable log trucks.    The weather for Tuesday is sunny and the temperature will reach 32 degrees. It should be a great day for painting. please bring winter gear and possibly snowshoes because of the snow being deeper in Northern Maine than in the Bangor region. You are also encouraged to bring a lunch or snacks to eat on location. You can get snacks at Abol Store and there is a bathroom available there as well. After we finish painting at Abol Bridge, we will be going to The River Driver's restaurant at Twin Pines Cabins overlooking Millinocket Lake and Katahdin.  We hope all that can will join us for a day of fun, artistic support and good fellowship! There will be a little hiking involved including about a mile long trail to get to the views. The Waterville Maine Open Juried Show 2014 Trip next Saturday Also as a reminder for next Saturday March 22nd, the Plein Air Connection artists will be traveling to drop paintings off at the 24th Maine Juried Art Show in Waterville, Maine. The drop off site is the Waterville Public Library on 77 Elm Street between 9:30 am and 11 am. The registration fee deadline was back in February on the 21st was $30.00. Now it is $50.00 at the door on March 22nd. They are also doing express Check-In for those who have pre-registeredwhich I strongly suggest you do so that you will not have to wait long in line with your paintings.  Here is a letter from their office manager June L’Heureux: Dear Artist, Thank you for your recent registration to the Maine Open Juried Art Show. I would like to encourage, and offer you the opportunity for express check-in on the morning of the show. If you would like to take advantage of expedited registration, and avoid waiting in lines, simply click on the attached form, fill it in and submit OR please fill in the information  requested below. On the morning of registration, proceed to Express Check-In.  Your labels will be cut, preprinted and ready to be adhered to your artwork, front and back, and your receipt will be preprinted. If you have any questions or experience any difficulty, please do not hesitate to call me at 680-2055.  I am in the office from 8am-2pm, M-F. Name of Artist:   Title of Painting 1: Media Painting 1: Price Painting 1- or if not for sale just insert NFS: Category of Painting 1 (oil, or acrylic, or watercolor, or pastel or other media): Year created (2012 or 2013 or 2014):   Title of Painting 2: Media Painting 2: Price Painting 2- or if not for sale just insert NFS: Category of Painting 2 (oil, or acrylic, or watercolor, or pastel or other media): Year created (2012 or 2013 or 2014):   Thanks again, Best, June June L’Heureux, Office Manager Waterville Main Street 44 Main Street, Suite 202 Waterville, ME  04901 Phone: (207) 680-2055 Fax: (207) 680-2056 www.watervillemainstreet.org [email protected] Upcoming Events:  www.watervillemainstreet.org/events.php After we drop off paintings for the day to be juried, we will be meeting at the information desk at the Colby College Art Museum. We will have our book discussion and learn to communicate and make connections with the new Peter and Paula Lunder Collection. We hope to meet up with our friends from the southern part of the state and meet between 10 to 10:30 am at Colby College information desk in the museum. We will have our connect book discussion in one of the campus classrooms there on the campus as we did last year. We hope to discuss "Letter of Criticism" on page 180 to "Letter of Criticism" on page 200 of "The Art Spirit" by Robert Henri and then go over to the museum for a visit. Then we will go over to the Campus Dining Services together for lunch which boasts an expansive choice of food service options to meet many diverse dietary choices. After enjoying lunch together, we will go back to the Waterville Public Library to see if our paintings have been accepted into the show. This will be a full day of fun and enrichment that will motivate us for months to come. We hope we can meet up with many of you then. Have an incredibly inspiring week filled with every good and perfect gift, Michael E. Vermette Coordiator of the Plein Air Connection

A Stormy Silver Sunset at Lobster Point, Monhegan Island

"A Stormy Silver Sunset at Lobster Point, Monhegan Island" an oil 12 x 16 inches on gypsum gessoed panel by Michael E. Vermette.

The power has been out for over 19 hours in my humble Maine home on Indian Island. Two transformers blew at the end of my street as the snow piled up over night up to 24 inches. I shoveled until my arms felt like falling off and then shoveled some more.  But as I pause to think of what I might do between times of snow removal and the wait, I am reminded of a similar storm out-to-sea on Monhegan, the day before our Plein Air Connect group was scheduled to go home. It was the last full painting day that we would all have together on our three-day adventure on February 20th before coming home on the next day on the 10:30 am mail boat to Port Clyde. I like to look at my paintings weeks after I have put them aside for a while because it I can see them with fresh eyes without a memory of the battle. But what I do remember is what a wonderful experience I had that day painting three paintings. I started out early painting a beautiful sunrise at Gull Rock and in the afternoon painting at Squeaker Cove, both without a cloud in the sky on this excellently bright February day. Both of these paintings were painted within a two-hour block of time to capture the ever-changing light. But in the afternoon and on my third painting the sky seemed to be changing quickly to overcast. I worked all day with my good friend Troy Sands who is a professional photographer who enjoys making pictures from places off the beaten path. He photographs from nature in a panoramic format. 

On our way through the village and on the Lobster Cove trail, we meet up with villagers who were coming from the cove. I remember how excited we were to see them because they usually don't venture out unless there was something spectacular to witness. And there was! The bright cloudless sky had transitioned into a windy cloud-filled silvery-mauve gray sky that completely permeated the coast with an out-to-sea stormy mood. The tide and the waves were high of 10 to 14 feet crashing ashore at Lobster Point. The sheer roar of the pounding serf would completely drown out our cries of excitement to each other as we saw one amazing explosion after another. We simply could not hear each other even just 10 feet away  as the ocean's drama pounded the coast one comber after another. 

I quickly set up my easel close to the surf on the flat rock to capture this. I remember I wanted to get close enough to feel obligated to fill the whole painting panel with the subject which was the diffused sun breaking through the foggy sky, while darkish green waves pounded the Iron Oxide colored rocks. They would rise out of the watery foam like the jagged teeth of a behemoth monster. This would be the last painting I would get a chance to paint and it came together quickly as I established most of the forms of the painting within an hour. I paid particular attention to the relationship of the strength and size of the curling dark waves and the retracting dance of the wind-swept lighter green surf that would occasionally reach upwards in a twisting action. All the time this was happening, the sun beamed a whitish Naples yellow over the waves and onto the foam in the foreground. This was as much a dance of light as the foam.  Even though it introduced a slightly warmer color change it was very beautiful and I wanted to make sure I captured it. 

Troy Sands photographing at Lobster Point, Monhegan Island.

In the meantime Troy ventured even closer to the water's edge and continued with tripod in hand to collect dramatic photo's of the waves and rocky coast. He made some images with a very low vantage point that accentuated the size of the waves. This would later motivate him to try to find the very same subject at Ocean Drive in Acadia National Park days later. But the color, the rock shades, and clarity of the waters, had that silvery translucent mood that could not be duplicated. It seems to be only found miles out to sea on an island with unique rhythm and sense of presence. Found in the juxtaposed currents countering powerful waves as luminous subdued sun light showed through veils a mauve gray fog. It seems so true, to place all that silvery greenish gray against an Iron Ore coast line that holds an ancient unique timeless character.   

We both finished at the same time as the light of the seascape got darker, the sun set, and the tide went out exposing more rock. For two hours straight the wind constantly blew into our faces as we pitched out tripod and easel into it. There was very little to do but gin and bare it as we forged forward constructing our images. When we packed up and finally reached the village roads the wind was buffeted by the trees and the cold was not so penetrating. I can still vividly remember the sprinting winds taking the tops right off the surf of large waves. It makes me smile even to this day and one day I'll paint it. 

Sunset at Lobster Cove in February, Monhegan Island.

So today as I look back at my painting alone in my cold home without power and only the natural light of my window, I appreciate what I've been through. I see the intentional form and painted lines quickly sketched by an artist after the timing and rhythm of the waves, giving them that special character of Lobster Point in a February storm. A silvery mauve light that is so unique this time of year that I never get tired of seeing it. This place has a timeless romance with the Creator who sweeps his breath over the seas just to pound and explode excitement on this tiny Venetian Red island coastline. I consider it an awesome gift to have painted three paintings on that day. It was my 56th birthday and it's days like this that help me to look into the bleakness of Maine Winters and appreciate all God has given me!

A MESSAGE FROM ELAINE AND MICHAEL VERMETTE

"Great Head in March, Acadia National Park"

When I arrived at the summit of Great Head in Acadia National Park, on the morning of March 4th, there were two things that run through my head. First, I had not painted here since my residency with the park in August 2006 and second, this was a real opportunity for me because I had never painted Great Head in the Winter. The trails were all icy but easy to maneuver. That is until you made the calculated decision to hike off them and closer to the water's edge. Then it got rougher and icier and the level of the hike moved from moderate to difficult and slow going. But I found the kid inside me when sliding down on my bottom, down the large snow-covered rocks and sometimes hopping from one dried hulking rock to another to get to the flat rock at the base of the cliff. I was in anticipation of the glacial Great Head views Thomas Cole and William Stanley Haseltine painted between the 1840's and 1850's. This head has a huge overhanging rock mass over a cave-like form that seems to tilt forward as if defying the power of the North Atlantic ocean in Frenchman's Bay. But to get there you have to not be standing on the summit or stay solely on the trail that loops around. You have to get down closer to the water's edge and go around huge truck-size boulders and ledges to finally get this view. On this day, when I came around the last boulder that was obstructing my view, thinking I might never see it, suddenly there it was! And it nearly took my breath away! It was just as I remember it but with a lot more. Today there was ice floes and huge icicles hanging down from the roof of the outside of the cave and sides of the face of the edifice. It was not a Frederic Church with a rogue wave-sized comber completely consuming the mouth of the cave, but it more like a Haseltine of serene and subtle facets of tone and color as in his watercolors. And as the tide  come in the surf got more dramatic on this bright eye-aching day. It was difficult to find even a flat rock to set up an tripod and French Resistance easel on the sloping ledge that sported the best views. The wind was coming out of the west at my back and too strong and dangerous to attach an umbrella. So I kept in mind to balance the amount of light that was falling on my palette with my painting surface, tilting and moving it side to side until they matched. So much of the painting can be altered if these two surfaces are not the same. It causes an added stress to the eyes making it more difficult to read color and value tones.

In this painting I included my 4 basic  colors of Zinc White, Yellow Ochre, Lamp Black/Ivory Black and Cadmium Red along with a generous amount of Black Oil wax medium. This batch is my winter mixture. It is thinner and does not gel up like the summer batches that are thicker and resists melting in the hot sun.  Then I added smaller amounts of Ultramarine Blue, Qinacrodone Magenta, Cadmium yellow medium and Viridian Green because I just started seeing so much shimmering color in the rock on this bright day. After I set my colors out on my clean palette, I remembered after painting this subject 4 times before, that the light and cast shadows dramatically change the appearance of the head in the course of two hours. So I quickly laid in the underpainting so that I would have toned color to build upon. I used a technique of puzzle-piecing and building surfaces upon surfaces that the black oil wax medium affords me. All great paintings are created less out of a sense of growing shapes that are mixed into each other and more of building an effect upon existing passages of color. Most of what I built upon other colors were the shadow shapes upon the under-painted colors in the sunlight. The islands in the far distance were beautifully violet-blue with accents of browns and green halation accents that created a glow in the distance and acted as a tension color to set off the field of warm ochre color in the headland. So much of Acadia rock formations are completely complementary in shape but also color with water and islands that surround them. It is no wonder that Acadia National Park is often said to be amongst America's Most Beautiful Islands. 

In this painting, I went with a slightly afternoon lighting and chose to gradate the sky to a darker and brighter blue upon the top of the cliff. The sky near the horizon was a beautiful warm teal and much lighter in value. The water was rough with whitecaps and a rich green sea water with violet-green reflections danced just below the headland's base which became a perfect opposite of the pinkish orange rock above. This made the lighter blue accents glow with light. I also included a dark ocean current shape to emphasize the cold waters of winter as having  the same strength as the timeless glacial rock. You can't expect wispy values to represent water against such a powerful rock. It would be like  a skinny, spindly, and anemic fighter going up against a hulking muscular athlete. The battle would be over before it started because they don't seem to belong in the same ring together. It is always better to match the water's values with the strength of the coastal rock with at least a strong reflection if not deep valued water. This adds to the drama of the match between the very different and dynamic nature of water vs rock. 

"Hurricane Surf at Great Head" a watercolor 20 x 26 inches painted in 1999 by Michael E. Vermette. 

One of my goals is to come out here when there is a storm and waves as high as ten feet or more as with hurricane Gurt in 1999.  I painted a watercolor of Great Head in plein air the week that hurricane hit the Acadia shore. The waves were so huge that day and dangerously powerful that you felt like you could never take your eyes off the sea. It was the same day two tourist were swept out to sea to their deaths at Schoodic Point; backs to the waves, trying to get a picture of themselves against that drama. There is no doubt that you have to be careful with the sea and never take your eyes off it. And rogue waves like this one you really can't see coming. They simply rise higher and higher until they envelop you and carry you out to sea. 

I started painting this study at 11:30 am and finished around 2:00 PM. I had to stop because the painting had completely changed and I needed to get back. I knew I had a significant ledge to climb out of, so I just assessed the terrain and slowly worked my way up with pack on my back and wet paint carrier over my shoulder. I had my Sorrels boots on, my snowsuit and ski pants underneath. Moving was not easy with all those layers, but it felt good to be actually hiking again. Once I finally arrived atop the ridge where the trail ran I found it a lot easier going and back-tracked on the broken foot path up the head land where I originally hike out from.

Laughter and Fun on the Great Head Road on the way to Great Head. Karry Maldanado on the left,

Michael E. Vermette in the center and Alison Dibble to the right. photo taken by Kay Carter whom

also went on the paint-out. 

I was mindful the whole time that if I fell or injured myself, it would be hours before anyone would be able to come to my rescue. So, just as it was important to keep a respectful attitude toward this wild places that I paint like this one, I also know that I am never completely alone. The spirit is with me guiding me back and through to paint another day. This painting was a very satisfying and motivating experience. Great Head trail was a great paint-out that I shared with my Plein Air Connection Friends, Kay Carter, Karry Maldanado, and Alison Dibble. Although we all go our separate ways to paint throughout the day, we always rejoin the group after and discuss our paintings over a cup of hot tea, laughter and the enjoyment of each other's company in mutual respect. And that to me is as satisfying as the painting process itself.

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THE PLEIN AIR CONNECTION NEWSLETTER March 7th, 2014


"Great Head In  Early March" an oil on gypsum panel 12 x 16 inches by Michael E. Vermette.

On Tuesday morning on March 4th at 7 am, I stood in my doorway and called Kay Carter, one of our Plein Air Connect group painters to see if she thought it would be a good idea to try to paint at Great Head at Acadia National Park or cancel. The weather reports did not look good with temperatures predicted to rise only in the teens. I could tell that neither one of us wanted to cancel although it would not have taken too much coaxing. Besides, we had just came back from painting on Monhegan Island and felt we could paint anywhere after surviving those conditions. So needless to say we both decided to give it a try. We met up with Karry Maldanado at the parking lot in front of the old Aubachon Hardware store by 8:00 am and stopped at the Dunkin Donuts parking lot in Ellsworth to meet up with Alison Dibble and Peter Yesis and his family. In fact the more we purposed to go, the better the conditions got that day with the temperatures eventually rising to 27 degrees. We were off by 9:00 am and drove on Route 3 through Bar Harbor veering right at the Fork In The Road restaurant down through Ellsworth, taking a short-cut that continued on Route 3 toward Bar Harbor. We drove through downtown Bar Harbor passing the Abbe Museum on the right and took a right out of Bar Harbor. We then took a left onto Schooner Head Road passing snowy Champlain Mountain (about 1058 ft elevation on our right). We traveled 2.5 miles where there was an intersection for Schooner Head Overlook on our left, The cut-off to the Park Loop road to our right and straight ahead our destination, the road to Great Head parking area. It was closed and unplowed, but there was enough room for us to park the truck.  Peter went with his family to Sand Beach parking lot and we didn't meet up with him for the rest of the day. The four of us discussed going to Sand Beach instead, because the road was closed and we  weren't sure that the extra distance to hike with our gear was doable. But really we had our heart set on Great Head and so we wouldn't be denied.


Great Head Road was closed but had a well-worn path for travelers.

So we parked the truck and the four of us made up our minds to suit up into our snowsuits and packs, hiking another 0.43 mile on Schooner Head Road to the trailhead in the Great Head parking area. We were very pleased to find the going excellent due to others who had been their before us breaking trail. Although icy and slippery we never really sunk down into the snow above our soles. It was a moderate hike and a huge contrast to sinking footfalls on Monhegan Island. When we reached the Great Head trail Parking lot we were in high spirits. Sometimes the trail turned rocky with sections completely flooded in ice flow so that you had to hike around them off trail. This made it challenging for me even though we didn't need snowshoes. A smarter man would have brought ice grippers even though the elevation didn't change much. The trail forms a 1.4-mile loop, with a cutoff trail for people looking for a shorter hike. Kay Carter, Alison and Karry all decided to paint at the cove to the left just off the Great Head Trail with a great view of Schooner Head and the back side of Great Head.


"Along The Trail To Great Head", an oil on panel 9 x 12 inches by Kay Carter. courtesy of Kay Carter Fine Art.

I decided to hike on my own to the summit via the loop trail that rewarded me with stunning views of Frenchman Bay and nearby islands in the distance. The highest point of Great Head, this cliff actually seems to tilt defiantly towards the ocean rising 145 feet above sea level. The summit is marked with a cedar post sign near the ruins of the 1900s tea house. The tea house, once known as Satterlee’s Tea House or Satterlee’s Tower, is now a pile of rubble and was mostly covered in snow.


The summit at Great Head, marked with a trail marker, has a great view of Frenchman's Bay and surrounding islands.

"Squeaker Cove in February, Monhegan Island" an oil on gypsum panel 12 x 16 inches by Michael E. Vermette

After painting a spectacular sunrise at Gull Rock's Ravine that morning, I returned to my apartment at the Shining Sails by 10 am and rested in the living room chair for a 20-minute power nap. It was easy to do with the gas fireplace present and tired muscles from hefting a pack for mile-long treks in the snow. I had a bite to eat with Troy Sands, a professional photographer friend of mine, who worked with me throughout the day. Rather than capture multiple images we decided to narrow our focus and set our sites on capturing the beautifully colored Squeaker Cove.

Some of the places that I hike to, that happen to be my favorite sites, can be dangerous. So I'm glad to have the company of another artist. There is always a cost that is exacted upon the artist to acquire such amazing views.  So it is true with capturing pictures of Squeaker Cove. We took the Cathedral Woods Trail to get to the Cove. In the woods the snow was not so deep, only a few inches. The trees were so dense it held much of the snow in their thick branches that would occasionally fall like snowballs through the forest and hit the floor with a muffled thump. Beams of light would break through as the day became brighter giving it a mystical quality. So most of our hiking to our site was deceptively easy until we got out to the coast and the deep snow returned.

The current and surf can be so strong at this time of year that it is pointless to swim back to shore if you happen to get swept out by a rogue wave. The cove is notorious for its ship wreaks such as the Saint Christopher painted by the modern expressionist Joseph De Martini. There were other wreaks at other places on the island such as at Lobster Point with the D.T. Sheridan tug boat out of Portland, Maine and the wreck of the Creesta and other pleasure craft. Monhegan has had its share of ship wreaks. Although not by any dangerous reefs. Islands such as this one are notorious for their fogs and stormy seas that have cast many ships upon its rocky shore.

  Squeaker Cove has this feeling of dangerous beauty about it. There is essentially every rock color on the island represented in this cove of black mica, felspar, green granite and reddish iron ore, all shimmering and ever-changing in the bright sun light of the day.  The waves are trapped into this cove causing a forceful reversing tide that dances endlessly to and fro like a waltz. The waves lap and reach up the rock then back down to the sea as new ones crash ashore displaying a marvellous forceful spray. Painters can spend so much time trying to capture this dramatic dance of waves, foam and surf that little time is actually left rendering the rocky coast that hems it in. These are deep waters at this side of the island and in the winter months the sea is even more marvelously darkened. 

Michael E. Vermette painting at Squeaker Cove in February, photographed by Troy Sands.

I viewed this site as a unique challenge of solidity vs movement, dark vs light and warm vs cool colors. The cliffs are huge and the hulking slabs and round rocks converge down into the cove. Some of them so large you can use them as platforms to paint upon. But most of them too pitched in angle to make it possible. For this painting I was fortunate to find a place to set up on a huge flat rock with an even larger rock at my back. When I painted this same subject in the Fall there was two young girls who sat above me at this same place and so I was inspired to explore the view for myself. The sun was high in the sky and melting the snow on the warm rocks, many of them too wet to sit upon. I worked my way over carefully until I reached my site. Up above the cove, where I had just come from, there were many huge crevasses filled in and leveled with wind-drifted snow appearing deceptively safe when in fact with one false step, one  could take you down above your knee before you ever found rock to secure yourself. This is what the locals warn you about and how many unaware artists can break a leg or twist an ankle. So needless to say, the hike in was slow and treacherous going. So I found this view about a half hour after arriving there.

When I feel the exhilaration of views like these I am baffled at how a painter could come here to only paint in the safety of the village. Although I agree that there are plenty of beautiful compositions in the village, it seems a little like paying a $100.00 ticket to get into Disneyland and to only sit at the first park bench one come to. Then then after a time, leave. To never go on any rides, adventures, or explore what the park has to offer, and to say I've been to Disneyland would be a little ridiculous. But people do this with Monhegan Island all the time. Some painters have never even seen the headlands; never mind ever getting close enough to experience its amazing beauty for themselves. For me, I want to experience all the island has to offer and paint its unique beauty that has enough subjects to last three life times.

Close up of Michael E. Vermette painting at Squeaker Cove in February, photo by Troy Sands.

In this painting I wanted to create a dark stormy ocean that was also deceptively bright with a very soft horizon line. the mighty surf battering away at the rocks reached heights of over 14 feet with seas at 8 to 10 that day, The tops of the waves were hard-edged as with the rocks always blending in and graded in value as they would curl at the bottom and build the closer they reached to the coastline. It was absolutely mesmerizing to watch and study from direct observation, a difficulty that most artists would want to avoid but a unique challenge with all that movement against solid stillness. But incredibly, even these flat rock shapes changed in color as the light moved across the seascape in a two-hour span, giving you multiple color choices. For this seascape was alive with color!

I use palette knife to create the sharpness of the edges of these rocks and soften edges using colored lines and sometimes my finger. The impasto appearance works well representing rocks and hard edges of the waves. Besides, you can make no finer a line than with the edge of a palette knife. James Fitzgerald, one of my favorite artists, applied paint with homemade palette knives he made himself, using thin veneer. I've held these tools in my hand and found them to be excellent. In the end the tool is never framed with the painting, just the paint and the substrate. But for me using palette knives create an honesty in the clarity of color and shapes rendered.

Although there was about 18 inches of snow on the coast, I didn't decide to paint great masses of snow. I wanted to include only a hint of snow to increase the range of value and color in the painting as an accent. I also used unusual colors in the shadows that were juxtaposed complements to the color of the predominant compliment. This is to amp up the reflected light in the shadow and to liven up those dead shadow areas that tend to be too plain.

I would highly recommend painting here in the winter. This place and subject made me feel more alive and energized than when I arrived there. The power of the subject almost paints itself. It has an incredible hold on me  and so I keep coming back to it like a favorite haunt no matter what the season. And isn't that what true painting is all about.

The snow-filled Coast above Squeaker Cove in February, photo taken by Michael E. Vermette.

THE PLEIN AIR CONNECTION NEWSLETTER March 1st, 2014


"Winter Surf at Washer Women, Monhegan Island" an oil on solid oak gypsum panel 8 x 10 inches by Michael E. Vermette

We began our discussion of the Letter of Criticism of Robert Henri's book, "The Art Spirit" on page 159, by discussing how paintings are ruined in the process of their making by the critical comments and judgements of others. Sometimes we value the judgements of juries and the advice about marketing much more than they are worth. The real attainment in painting is of a state of being as an artist, a high functioning, an extra ordinary moment of revealed possibilities of greater existence. It is a "state of being" where we make clearest discoveries in our technical research and personal vision. It is our main goal as artists is to be ready in a heightened expectation that will evoke flight into this higher state of being. In all great painting, living in this timeless creative zone is the thing that inspires living. The object is never to simply make art to sell or win awards, but to live in this creative state to gain the greater life of the moment and to have an effect on the spirit, mind and body which is lasting. If we are to be considered a painter, than a pure freedom must exist at the time of our painting. Robert Henri puts it best this way:

Things being as they are, the life of an artist is a battle wherein great economy must be exercised. The kind of economy which will result in moments of the purest freedom in spite of the world's exactions. - Robert Henri, The Art Spirit p.162.

If we have the sense of our images in our state of creating, we will always have the will and desire for creating it. If we paint with the idea to sell or please the Judges we lose our desire for creating, We must be willing to paint like a "fiend' as Henri describes it, when the idea of a painting possesses us. We must use that ability over and over again until it develops into an important truth. It isn't so much as a process of holding on to truths by way of compositional formulas, hints or tricks, but a matter of saying something that is an important truth as if discovering a revelation. It is harder to be simple than it is to be complex. We long for that day when we see a dark purple on the dark  February waters on Monhegan Island and dare to paint it with that freedom totally unashamed of its originality, even though that decision may not be the popular or acceptable style of the day. 

We discussed how there truly needs to come a time in plein air painting process when we must come to the point where we have what we want to know from the landscape. Where the subject is no longer needed and you turn your back from the subject to focus on the painting. Since all great artwork that is worth while has to be memory work, it is also true that if you don't do this the work will never get below the surface. How sad it is when an artist's vision is clouded by the judgements and comments of another. How awful it is to not recognize the miracle on the canvas , panel or page when it happens because someone else has shamed you out of seeing it. There is no greater adventure than to be present to the painting while exclaiming the wonders of your own time. We need to give ourselves plenty of paint room on our canvases without a worry about originality, and set ourselves as free as we can so that originality will happen for us. It is so important to watch your work closely and make sure that it is your voice that comes from within that speaks through your art work and not the voice of an outside educated person. 

We all agreed that there is weakness in a person when they pretend to know more than you know or in stating less than you know. This is why we should never be ashamed to share our work or even keep our bad stuff. Not only did we do it but it is our history that is worth studying. We should study our technique that must be solid, positive, flexible and not fall into a formula. It must support our ideas and adapt to new inventions that express that idea and no other, thus narrowing our focus. It must be valuable to you and worth the effort of expression because it comes from your understanding of life and the thing you greatly desire to say.  The group thought that the following statement by Robert Henri summed up everything we shared today in the group discussion. And since we couldn't have said it better we will quote Robert Henri from page 177-172:

I think you can have a wonderful time. It is really a wonderful time I am wishing you. Art is after all, only a trace - like a footprint which shows one has walked bravely and in great happiness. Those who live in full play of their faculties become master economists, they understand the relative value of things. Freedom can only be obtained through an understanding of basic order. Basic order is underlying all life. it is not to be found in the institutions men have made. Those who have lived and grown at least to some degree in the spirit of freedom are our creative artists. They have a wonderful time. They keep the world going. They must leave their trace in some way, paint, stone, machinery, whatever. The importance of what they do is greater than anyone estimates at the time. In fact in a commercial world there are thousands of lives wasted doing things not worth doing. Human spirit is sacrificed. More and more things are produced without a will in the creation, and are consumed or "used" without a will in the consumption or the using. These things are dead. They pass, masquerading as important while they are before us, but they pass utterly. There is nothing so important as art in the world, nothing so constructive, so life sustaining. I would like you to go to your work with a consciousness that it is more important than any other thing you might do. It may have no great commercial value, but it has an inestimable and lasting life value. People are often so affected by outside opinion that they go to their most important work half-hearted or half ashamed.
"What's the use of it if you are not making money out of it?" is a too common question. To what distinction an artist's labors are raised the moment he does happen to make money out of them! Very false values. I say this and I know as well as any the difficulties of making sufficient money and the necessity of making it in order to live and go on.
Go to your work because it is the most important living to you. Make great things - as great as you are. Work always as if you were a master, expect from yourself a masterpiece.
It's a wrong idea that a master is a finished person. Masters are very faulty, they haven't learned everything and they know it. Finished persons are very common - people who are closed up, quite satisfied that there is little or nothing more to learn. A small boy can be a master. I have met masters now and again, some in studios, others anywhere, working on a railroad, running a boat, playing a game, selling things. Masters of such as they had. They are wonderful people to meet. Have you never felt yourself "in the presence" when with a carpenter or a gardener? When they are the right kind they do not say "  I an only a carpenter or a gardener, therefore not much can be expected from me." They say or they seem to say, "I am a Carpenter!" "I am a Gardener!" These are masters, what more could anyone be!
I like your work and have only to ask you to go on your own interesting way with all the courage you can muster.

-Robert Henri, The Art Spirit P177-172.

The next Plein Air discussion meeting will be at Colby College on March 22nd. Many of us are coming down to enter our artwork into the Maine Open Juried Art Show in Waterville at the Waterville Public Library between 9:30 - 11 am on 77 Elm street. There is a jurying process that takes about three hours. So we will have our meeting at Colby College's Museum of Art to view the Lunder Collection. We hope to get a room for our discussion of The Letter of Criticism on page 180 to The Letter of Criticism on page 200 of Robert Henri's book, "The Art Spirit." We will also tour the exhibit as a group and view a Robert Henri Portrait that is on display there amongst other beautiful works. Then we will go to lunch on campus after which we will go back to the library to see if our works were accepted into the show. We hope to meet up with many of our southern fellow artists who live in that region. It should be lots of fun!

We will also meet next Tuesday March 4th at the old Aubauchon's parking lot at 8:30 to car-pool to Mount Desert Island for our weekly paint-out. We plan on painting Great Head which is basically located between Schooner Head and Sand Beach. There will be a bit of a hike involved. So please bring appropriate clothing and foot wear and a lunch. The high temperatures are predicted to be 19 degrees.  We will be stopping to meet artists at Dunkin Donuts in Ellsworth by 9:00 am and after the paint-out we will go to a restaurant and share a meal together and a supportive critique. We hope all who might be able to make it can come to this adventure.

May you muster up your courage this week and be the master you know you can be,

Michael E. Vermette
Coordinator of the Plein Air Connection


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