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Recovering An attitude of Faith and Connection in the New Year.

I want to thank all of those who have bought paintings of mine in the last few months, that otherwise might have been a very slow ending of the year without a lot of finance. As it were I sold a large painting at the Yarmouth Frame and Art Gallery, was able to get into two New England Watercolor juried shows and two paintings have just been accepted into the "instructor's show", and I will have sold 16 paintings so far through eBay art auction.

As artists we are like spiritual sharks. If we don't keep moving toward our goals we die. And the same is true if we're too stingy with our artistic selves we become anorexic. Art requires of us to take risks, particularly in business when you have been storing up paintings in your studio that need to move into the public eye. It is not a matter of "selling out" but more an opportunity to make a connection to others that you might wish to thank or reach out to. And So, in this dark chapter of our country's history, as I am thankful to all of you in all that I have been able to accomplish in these last few months, I would like to end the Holiday Sale with a huge Super Sale opportunity. As you can see in this newsletter I have included three more paintings on eBay. In the next few days right up to December 31st I will be listing 5 more which will bring the total paintings that I posted in this Holiday Sale/Auction to a count of 50 paintings listed in 50 days.

But to make it a little more available to my patrons and subscribers to this newsletter I have dropped the starting bid price and Buy it now Price of all the 34 paintings listed to 20% of their usual price in a gallery. However, I will stop listing paintings on December 31st and the Sale/Auction will end for most all the paintings by January 7th. So I hope you will all will take advantage of this closing sale. The paintings are sure to go up in price in the new year and they will not be at this starting price again.

I hope you have enjoyed looking at my work through the Holidays and it has given you a ray of hope and joy as it has been for me sharing it with you.

Happy Holidays and New Year!

Michael E. Vermette

Painting Above: "Katahdin From Church Beach, Katahdin Lake,

Baxter State Park, Maine"

Michael E. Vermette captured this image en plein air from Frederick Church's Beach on the southeastern end of Katahdin Lake in Baxter State Park, Maine. The the is the actual location that Frederick Church painted his most touching romantic landscape of a canoe paddler crossing the lake, that he gifted to his wife. In this painting Michael is using an impressive range of color tones that are translucent and pure, yet bold enough to describe the mountain's Lake environment. Painted en plein air in the summer months, Michael connects with the clarity of the water in the foreground that shows how waves change in color the shallower the water becomes and the more the sand reflects through the water. A Blustery day in late August, dark blue indicating the rough seas in the middle of the lake. This painting is a very inviting painting for the viewer with billowing clouds and that allow Katahdin's Penola peak to show through. Katahdin Lake, the Jewel of the Park, even though he wasn't able to purchase it in his life time. Now it is a part of Baxter State Park, forever to be enjoyed by both adventurers and artists alike. 
 

Michael says, "I have been caught up in sudden wind shifts before while out in a canoe alone. And on that day a small mico-burst or whirl-wind come down from the mountain as I was making my way to the north shore of the lake along the lake's western banks. The wind completely surrounded me, turned me around at 180 degrees, almost flipped my canoe over, and ultimately blowing me back to camp on the southern shore where I began minutes ago. It as if I was being guided by the spirit in that wind to paint along the southeastern shore where Frederick Church's Beach is located, three beaches down from the Katahdin Lake Wilderness Camps. The painting was an experience between a serine landscape and a wild windswept one of the in-between time of weather changing dramatically. After the painting was completed, I didn't even bother to canoe back to camp because the waves and wind were too rough. So I walked back to camp with this beauty in my portfolio.

This is an watercolor painting made on location while the weather was changing and the environment was in flux. So Michael went with the painting and decided to paint in the moment by capturing his pure and bold range of transparent and dramatic washes. Michael uses a descriptive stroke that describes lines of power, motion, and shape in describing the character of Katahdin lake's waves, yet he paints with a subtlety that captures even the lightest veils of light of the translucent waves in the foreground. The clouds are bellowing and moving over the peaks. He painted this painting on a handmade Twinrocker heavy weight watercolor paper. He uses only pure Holbein watercolor and Daniel Smith mineral watercolor pigments to achieve the color and the textural grain that is most prized by watercolor painters who have painted on this amazing paper, specially designed and sized for the watercolor medium. He also wets the back of the paper to create even more of a riche statement of color in his washes.

"Skiffs At Fish Beach, Monhegan Island, Maine"
Michael E. Vermette studied this subject for hours before developing it in the studio on Monhegan Island in Maine. He was painting from memory and his sketches, working mostly from the studio and It was a part of his routine as a resident artist in 1999 to consult with Ann Hubert, a good friend and patron who knew the famed painter James Fitzgerald and controlled his estate. He would then practice the techniques she suggested. He also used in this painting one of Ann's vintage handmade Arnold Watercolor papers from England to paint this watercolor on. His studio at the time was the "Pink" house or what was foundly known as the Carina House studio. In this watercolor he captures the restful boats on fish beach, a very busy place used by the fisherman on Monhegan Island.. 
Michael says, "I was struck by the color of this composition of sand, stacked rock, Manna island, Lobster Boats in the oceanic harbor and skiffs dragged upon the sandy Fish Beach. I love the color of the sand stained by the working fishing harbor and the fisherman who use this beach to launch their skiffs to row out to their lobster boats very early in the morning. It contrasts the dark rocks and island beyond with boats accenting, it's a beautiful thing." 
This is a watercolor painted in the studio using Michael'e transfer technique by painting from drawings made on location. It is painted Michael's pure and bold style of transparent washes. Michael uses a descriptive stroke that describes lines of power, motion, and shape in describing the character of the skiffs on Fish Beach, yet he paints with a subtlety that captures even the lightest veils of light. He painted this study on vintage handmade Arnold watercolor paper from England and was able to achieve the textural grain that is most prized by painters who have ever painted on this rare paper.
Michael also says, "I am intrigued with the timelessness in change in my paintings. They show a love of color and light with emphasis on the expressive painterly mark and form, which evoke a recognizable feeling, a nostalgic memory, or even emotional qualities such as the smell of salt and balsam in the morning ocean air." 
Carl Little writes in Volume 30 of The Island Journal, " Michael Vermette, who emulates the vision of one of Monhegan island's great painters of the past, James Fitzgerald (1899-1971), adds impasto oomph to iconic views"

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"Rogue Wave at Otter Cliff, Acadia National Park, Mount Desert Isle, Maine" 

Michael E. Vermette captured this image en plein on the first day of his Acadia National Park residency in 1999 during a hurricane called "Hugo" in Maine. He is using an impressive range of color tones that are translucent and pure, yet boldly presented as the drama played out on e wave after another. This huge rogue wave reached nearly all the way up the cliff as michael capture it from the lower rock ledges of the cliff itself. Pictured here as a powerfully dramatic headland with calm seas, this watercolor has a beautiful qualities such as a wonderful grain evident in all the wash layers and a pure understanding of color value relationships.

Michael says, "I couldn't wait to get to the coast and paint during the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo on the first day of my artist residency in Acadia National Park in the Fall. I started out at Thunder Hole like most spectators do, but soon saw the huge waves buffeting Otter Cliff and knew I needed to paint there. I got close enough to paint these dramatic waves reaching up the huge monolith, one after another. I was in a safe place on the lower rock ledge of Otter Cliff, but also close enough that the subject influenced the painting. The sun broke through in the afternoon, lighting up the top of the cliff and accenting the sky with dashes of bright blue, a sign that the storm would transition and soon end."

This is an watercolor painting made on location after Michael's Monhegan Island Residency also in 1999. Michael's pure and bold range of transparent washes are truly evident here as he uses his descriptive stroke that describes lines of power, motion, and shape in describing the very character of a rogue wave against Otter Cliff. Yet, he is able to paint with a subtlety that captures even the lightest veils of light upon the huge vertical headland defying the sea. He painted this study on a handmade Twinrocker heavy weight watercolor paper. He uses only pure Holbein watercolor and Daniel Smith mineral watercolor pigments to achieve the color and the textural grain that is most prized by watercolor painters who have painted on this amazing paper, specially designed and sized for the watercolor medium. He also wets the back of the paper to create even more of a richer statement of color in his washes.

Michael also says, "I am intrigued with the timelessness in change in my paintings. They show a love of color and light with emphasis on the expressive painterly mark and form, which evoke a recognizable feeling, a nostalgic memory, or even emotional qualities such as the smell of salt and balsam in the morning ocean air."

Carl Little writes in Volume 30 of The Island Journal, " Michael Vermette, who emulates the vision of one of Monhegan island's great painters of the past, James Fitzgerald (1899-1971), adds impasto oomph to iconic views"

Michael E. Vermette double majored in Painting and Printmaking at the Maine College of Art, receiving his B.F.A Painting degree in 1980. He received his Certification in K-12 Art Education in 1986 through the University of Maine at Orono. A full-time artist and part-time art educator, Michael has been painting in oil, watercolor, and pastel for over fifty years and has won numerous awards for his work, including the Marilyn Sabin, Lauran Coleman and the Beverly Awards at the 12th,13th and 14th Biennial North American Open Shows of the New England Watercolor Society where he has been awarded signature membership. Most recently, Has been been awarded the honor of being the 1st Allagash Wilderness waterway artist-in-residency for the summer of 2020 where he expects to paint another 50 small studies. Michael is also the 2018 first place winner of the Castine Plein Air Festival, and a 2015-2017 winner as well. He won Best of Show in the Kennebunk River Club Art Exhibit and Sale for his watercolor, "Sea Dog". Michael leads several oil and watercolor plein air painting workshops in Maine and New Hampshire throughout the year. He is a Monhegan Artists' Residency Fellow and the 2011 Baxter State Park Artist-in-Residence in Maine. He was also an Artist-in-Residence at Acadia National Park twice in 1999 and 2006. His watercolors, oils, and pastels are in private collections throughout the country and internationally. In Maine, his works have been shown at various galleries and is currently represented by the Frame and Art Gallery in Yarmouth, The Lupine Gallery on Monhegan Island, and the Gleason Fine Art Gallery in Boothbay Harbor, all located in Maine. Because of the very high quality of the painting the starting price is set at 1/4 of the painting's worth. Because of this high quality and the confidence with quality custom shipping, I do not allow money back returns at this time.