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What Are You Doing Here?

It's been seven years since I first heard God say to me, "What are you doing here?" I was in a place where I struggled with fear and defeat because I was too focused on what I didn't have rather than on what I had for resources. But God was about to expand my narrow minded theology by showing me just how good and amazing He could be in my life if only I would be willing to have an intimate relationship with Him instead of a religious one, especially as His artist.

In the summer of 2012 I was teaching a watercolor and oil painting workshop on Mohegan Island and painted 14 beautiful studies much like the small oil above, "Sunset on Black Head From Squeaker Cove." It is difficult to switch from oil to watercolor demonstrations because what eventually happens you naturally gravitate to one over the other. And that was the case for me. I very excited to do these 8 x 10 inch studies within a two-hour painting block at different times all over the island. I would rise up early in the morning for sunrise, do a watercolor demonstration in the middle of the day, then back to the oil studies for a sunset or a moonscape.

I was renting a cottage for the workshop because I wanted to stay longer than the students. On my last day before I would return on the afternoon boat, I had painted 13 studies and was looking to paint one more before going home. So I packed up all my gear and my watercolor supplies in my Eric Lowe half rucksack bag and put it with my luggage out on the lawn of the cottage. I arranged for a trucker to pick-up my gear and bring it to the dock so that I could paint the oil study. I truly became obsessed with these small oil studies and painted them right up to the time I boarded the Laura-B ferryboat.

Because I got up early for the sunrise that morning I was tired by afternoon and started to dose on the boat ride back to Port Clyde. Things were going so smooth for me, and I was anxious to see my family. But things weren't quite as they appeared. Something didn't feel right, but I didn't quite know what it was. As the boat unloaded all it's gear I claimed mine, loaded my car and proceeded to make my long drive home. It wasn't until I reached my home that I unpacked my gear and discovered that my Watercolor ruck sack was missing. In fact I never remembered even picking up my watercolor pack off the loading dock. Now, this green Eric Lowe pack held over a thousand dollars worth of paints, brushes and an easel that was just irreplaceable to me. So you can imagine my panic.

That same day I called the Monhegan Boat line, to see if they had found my pack left on the loading dock. But they informed me that they didn't have a single parcel left on the dock that day. They even called the trucker on Mohegan Island who told them that she did bring it to the dock. Things were looking very perplexing to say the least and it was looking more like I might never see my watercolor equipment again. This left me with a sick feeling when I considered that in just a few days I was scheduled to paint at the "Paint For Preservation" wet paint art auction that was sponsored by the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust at Two Lights State Park.

The auction is a juried event and I had been accepted as one of their artists months before I went to Mohegan Island. The images that I entered in my application were all watercolors and the Jurors at the time were Marty and Dennis Gleason from the Gleason Fine Art Gallery in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Because I entered watercolors as my preferred medium of choice to make a painting for auction on the day, I was totally panicked as to what to do.

I remember asking everyone I came into contact with to pray that my watercolor equipment would be found in time, where I only had a few days before I would have to go and paint at Two Lights State Park at Cape Elizabeth. But nothing came up. I even considered calling the Cape Elizabeth Land trust and canceling. But before I reached that point someone did pray for me and not only that, they received a word from God for me. The message was simple and direct, the very words, "What are you doing here?" and then it continued," I am already here where the sky meets the ocean, where are you?"

Immediately upon hearing this I thought of the context in the bible of 1 Kings 19:9 where God asked Elijah, "What are you doing here?" He was running so scare he had hide in a cave because Jezebel was seeking his life.Then God spoke in a gentile still voice instructing him to go and do the work he was destined to do. It was clear that I was to go and paint the painting that would define my career using what I could gather together in my studio.

So I reached for the only canvas I had left. It was a a large stretched course linen 38 x 48 inches that I painted a rust colored patina on. I also collected all the spare oil paint and painting supplies I could muster up. I used a larger easel than what I used to paint the small studies on Monhegan with and increased the size of everything. Then off I went the next day with my wife staying at a hotel in South Portland, Maine. Early the next morning I was the first to arrive at the Two Lights State Park gate which was closed. I waited another hour before the ranger would let me in. But none of that mattered now, because I knew something amazing was about to be painted through me.

I painted a beautiful impasto thick oil painted with large palette knives. I used a whole jar of black oil wax medium as I set up right near the surf. The painting almost painted itself as I held onto the canvas with my left hand and painting with the other. Although the wind made it a perfect battle a was determined to capture it as I turned my face into it like flint. Even after the painting was finished I only had minutes to get it to the entry tent, looking I'm sure like the wild man of Borneo. I was exhausted and just wanted to freshen up and change into my dress clothes, it felt like I was wrestling with God himself.

Just then, my wife informed me that the Mohegan Boat line had called just moments after I finished entering the painting. They said that they found my Eric Lowe watercolor pack. It seemed that a Boy Scout troop picked it up accidentally and added it to their gear on the Balmy Days ferry boat to Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Everything was intact and I could pick it up anytime.

Then later that afternoon at the auction, I sat with my wife a little afraid but also excited. I just did't know what they would think of me submitting an oil when they all expected me to submit a watercolor on the day. I remember that Kaja Veilleux was the auctioneer for the event and it was the first time I ever got to chance to see this charismatic auctioneer in action. The painting sold as one of the highest selling paintings in the auction which brought tears to my wife's eyes and amazed me.

After, many of the artists congratulated me and were very generous with their praise even though they were much more accomplished than I. The couple who won the bid on my painting came to the auction in a small two-seater sports car and a convertible at that. So I volunteered to follow them with my car to deliver my the large painting to their house.

The house in Cape Elizabeth was more of a mansion with rolling fields cascading down to the ocean shore with lush gardens and workers in them. The man saw that I was struck by the beauty of this place and he said to me, "Do you think your work will look good in a place like this?" I smiled and answered, "I think so!"

Weeks later, encouraged about the turn of events, I decided to ask Marty and Dennis Gleason who juried me into the auction in the first place, if they would be interested in showing my work and representing me at their reputable gallery. I talked with Dennis Gleason first, who said, "I would love to carry your work, my wife and I have been admiring your oils for some time now." Notice he didn't say watercolors, he said oils and that left me awestruck. It seems they had just dropped an artist from their gallery and were looking for an oil painter to fill their roster.

I am very thankful that I have been in that Gallery for seven years now and it has been one of the best gallery experiences that I have ever had in my career. Who knew, but God!

Everyone of us find ourselves in that place at one time or another where we just don't know what to do. That place where we wonder, "How did I get Here?" and out of fear and hopelessness we hear ourselves saying, "Now what do I do?"

But what I have learned is that there are four things that I can do to turn a potential disaster into an amazing success. First, I realize that I have to lay my own agenda down and meet God where he is. He was waiting for me to paint with Him at Two Lights Stae Park in Cape Elizabeth where the sky meets the water. I gave up my perspective on how I thought things should happen, my plan and all of my fears that came with it, and became willing to meet God were He was. Namely He had already gone on before me to make a way for me where there was no way. And it was clear that I had better get there on time and be ready to paint with whatever I had; because something amazing was about to happen through me and I didn't want to miss out on that opportunity.

Secondly, I traded my emotions of self defeat and hopelessness for hope and the chance for intimacy with God. All I needed to do was show up on time with what I had and to be willing to share that experience with others. Many people came out to see me paint that day, I must have been a perfect spectacle. But I didn't care. I simply was as humble and generous as I could be with their questions and allowed myself to be caught up in that perfect creative battle.

Thirdly, I was willing to go on an adventure for the love of investigation and wonder. Just like with the small oil paintings that I was obsessed with on Mohegan Island, It was God's plan that I continue with that rhythm and obsession at Cape Elizabeth, only much larger. The sheer size of this canvas was the architectural problem in the wind that left me in a place of total exhaushion by the end of the day. And even though a smarter man would have brought rope to tye down his easel, I just held onto the painting and easel with the grip of my left hand as the wind tried to blow it away like a sail as I forged on with my right painting hand.

Lastly, and perhaps the most important, is that God had a perfect plan for me that I wasn't fully aware of in the beginning. I was coming from a place where I was in a painting rhythm, stirred up to paint 14 small oil studies that I just finished painting on Mohegan Island. There couldn't have been a better preparation for what God wanted me to do next, but I almost missed the greater vision of applying that experience on a larger canvas at Cape Elizabeth because of my fear and panic. I now know God has all kinds of plans like that for painters like me. Today my theology has expanded and I am convinced that if we don't have that intimate relationship with Him, I will risk my divine artistic opportunity by being too obsessed and close-minded to reach the greater things. A dead end makes you ask,"How did I ever get in this place?" The experience of Joy and freedom comes when you partner with God to do great things.

Looking back today I realize that every one of those paintings sold years ago. But I will never forget the experience of surrendering myself to the Spirit on that day and the days that led up to it. And this year I am planning on going to Mohegan Island to do it again. But this time with a painting group of friends and not as an instructor.

I will end by leaving you with the two questions that I was asked by God in my story, with a hope that you too might experience prosperity. 1) "What are you doing here?" and 2) "Are you doing it?"

May you find yourself caught up in artistic investigation and adventure this week and throughout the year,

Michael E. Vermette

Impasto Oil Painting Class

My impasto oil painting class is now in it's third week. It is a new class that I designed and I am very excited to see the results from the students. The small oil, ""Sunset on Black Head from Squeaker Cove Mohegan Island ME" was the very first demonstration in the first class which was February 28th, from 6PM to 8:30 pm at Bangor High School. I passed out a lot of handouts that covered the gypsum gesso ground formula for preparing wood panels and demystifying the Italian style of impasto and the use of Black Oil Wax medium as far as it's history, how it is different than Black Oil and the benefits to modern painter's today. We also set aside a two-hour block of painting time to paint in the weeks to come and I demonstrated the use of Black Oil Wax medium and painting on a (birch) wood gypsum (Alabaster stone coated) gessoed cradled board.

The second week of March 7th, I covered the importance in painting in impasto, the impasto technique as far as what it really means, and the effects the impasto method creates. This class also had a two-sided handout that focused on utilizing your whites in an impasto painting. I talked about how white reduces brightness even though it makes colors lighter and also how it removes its vibrancy.I also talked about the difference between generated white and pigment white and many of its characteristics, including the three different types of whites.

I demonstrated the various different colored whites known as tints in the oil painting above called, "Sunset Surf At Washer Woman, Mohegan Island, ME". This week's lesson was to do an impasto painting with the understanding and use of multiple colored whites playing an important role in the composition of the painting.

THE LESSON NEXT WEEK: For the next March 14th class, I have asked students to bring in a photo or reproduction that is interesting but with low key color( as opposed to very bright colors). We will be doing a painting lesson using the Anders Zorn painting palette and emphasizing value in our compositions.

There is still room in the class if people would like to join. We will have 8 more classes and in each we will learn a different concept and have a different lesson that we will begin in class and finish at home. For those who have been absent or who were not able to start the class these last two weeks, I have extra handouts so that you can catch up or do at a later time.

All of the painting demonstrations that I do are for sale on eBay Auction. If you are interested in purchasing one of the small Mohegan Series seascapes simply click on the the button to go to the site. They all have starting bids at a discounted student price.

I am also selling Black Oil Wax Medium in a large Tube for those students who would like to own their own for $50.00 per tube. Otherwise, please feel free to experiment with mine in class free of charge.