Blog

Call for Artists: Paint for Preservation 2020

My painting that I painted for the Paint for Preservation 2019 Cape Elizabeth Land Trust "Zeb Cove Point" is being used to advertise this year's
CELT submissions for "Paint for Preservation", the 13th annual juried wet paint auction on Sunday, June 28, 2020. Interested artists should visit their website for the entry form and instructions for submissions.
The DEADLINE is: March 13th, 2020.

Thanks to all of the business sponsors, without whose support this would not be possible. To see how your business can reach this audience, email [email protected]. I have applied and hope to be one of the artists who are chosen to paint at Cape Elizabeth this year.

To see Board President Elizabeth Goodspeed and Vice President David Briman interviewed recently in a short video on the value of accreditation for land trusts click on the following link:CELT Land Trust accredidationhttps://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1837525176382070

CELT has been an accredited land trust through LTA since 2015, and recently applied for a five-year renewal. Click the link above to see more!

The Last Dance: What Are We Living For?

The Last Dance is a mini-series that focuses on the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls. In this 2020 American sports documentary a film crew had an all-access pass to the Bulls during the National Basketball Association season. In Michael Jordan's Hall of Fame speech he stated, that basketball was what he lived for. I remember his performance was simply magical to watch and gave me a new appreciation for the game. It brings to mind the question, "What are we living for?" Perhaps In this season as we strive to define what will be our new normal in this Pandemic the question could just as easily be asked, "How has covid-19 kept you from being who you are?"

Early on, that question came to me so powerfully, that I decided as an artist and art educator that I would not let the restrictions I was facing change who I am, what I live for and what I do. I still follow all the CDC guidelines, I am not talking here about being unsafe. I am talking about reinventing a way to be who I have always been or want to aspire to be. As an artist I have applied for a residency, viewed professional videos, planned a plein air workshop, and designed a painting challenge for myself on Monhegan Island. I did this even though I may not ever be awarded the privilege to carry these plans out in the or faced of either postponement or cancellations. One thing I am sure of in this pandemic, I will continue to paint in my studio and produce en plein air just as our amazing olympians are continuing to find creative new ways to keep in shape for their postponed life-time event in 202One.

In my art educational capacity I have made 25 Youtube videos to date as a familiar platform for my Indian Island elementary and middle school Students and anyone else who would like to view my end of the year art sculpture projects and lessons. I have raised money to pay for art supplies and donated into the fund out of my own pocket so that art packets could be made and sent to each of my students complete with distant learning lesson plans. I have never made a youtube video in my life, but I learned how with my limited equipment, my cell phone and what film experience I have. If anyone would like to see anyone of these videos you can just google: ME Art Spirit Studio Videos. They are not professional quality by far, but they are a way to inspire and reach my students in this time of isolation.

I can tell you that in these last 4 weeks, I have never been more busy in all my career as an artist or art educator. I have developed an insatiable desire to produce more paintings than ever and I have recently not only ordered more art supplies but a new GoPro-8 camera with accessories to make better YouTube videos of my future on location painting adventures. An idea that I have had but never had the time to start. And time seems to be all that we have now.

So you see, this pandemic that came upon us so quickly, causing us to freeze, fear and even giving us an impulse to run; actually stirred in me a will to fight back. It gave me a resolve that I will not just take a wait and see approach, hoping things will go back to normal. I decided to use this time to develop and hone my skills as a professional artist and art educator despite the changes and precautions we will now be required to put into place. In these times I an curtain that the honor in every modern artist today is found in their own perceived value. Particularly what we believe our precieved value story will be. For me I want my story to be about more than money, time, protest, comfort and more about a life lived in the art spirit of the beauty of God's  spectacular identity, particularly one that is found in nature. I know that beauty has the power to save our world, and as artists we have a particular role to play in this. Maybe its time for our last dance; or maybe its time for us to reenact and redefine who we are as creatives and arise to another level. A time, maybe, to accomplish what it is we have always said we will one day aspire to. Either way, it will sure beat waiting around to see if this will all blow over. God forbid that we come out of this looking in the past and the way things were for our new normal.

I will end with one last thought in the form of a question. If there wasn't a pandemic, where would you be today, what would you be doing and what would you be pursuing? I am convinced we are meant to find a new way to reach these goals even through all of the circumstances and restrictions we are faced with. As creative people, now is not the time for us to freeze, hide or unleash anger. Now is the time to find a way to be the artist we were meant to be. After all, now more than ever, the world needs the beauty that will come forth from our hands that will define our society's very identity.

We truly are in this together,

Michael E. Vermette