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A Transitional Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you had as great a holiday weekend as I did with my family. As we turn our attention away from the troubles and disunity of the world, I trust this was and will be a special time of togetherness and peace with each and every member of your family. 

Lately, I have been contemplating how thankful I am in this time of my life of transition. As most of you may know already, I will be retiring from Public school art education this June 2022. It has become very clear to me that the next season of my life will involve surrendering to the reality of becoming a full time professional artist. This transition begins for me by being thankful for being an artist/ teacher over the last 35 years. I am thankful for all of the the encouragement I have retrieved from the relationships I have made through the skills of my hands and instruction shared with you all. Indeed, it has been a lifelong dream of mine to paint, wrestle, and contemplate my art from the moment that I wake up, until I lay my head down, keeping hours set forth by my art discipline. My desire is to put my full attention toward making paintings that co-create with the art spirit. I am excited to evolve as an artist, allowing my ideas to be surrendered through the letting go of ego, to gain the inspiration of excellence in my humble artistic process.

I have sold a lot of paintings over the years, supported many causes, and through it all I love the visual voice I hear that beckons me to go deeper and higher. I love experiencing that sense of rightness that opens my eyes to the truth of what I am actually seeing and what could be made possible. It is what makes artwork valuable to me and It directs me to make changes that need to be made, while it generously gives the inspiration and courage to repaint, reconstruct and follow the painting's problem to its most excellent conclusion; sometimes with feverish focus and productivity. 

I believe that goodness actually runs after us through the work of our own hands. It is that presence that makes us question who we are after all. If as artists, we are creatures of where we live or the rituals we celebrate year after year as the seasons come around. Maybe we are our hopes and desires within the structure and design of our art. Maybe we choose to be pursued by our art as creatives. Or are we are shaped by accident and not in full control of making our art of our own design. Perhaps, most of all, we are what we accept. What we allow to be important, that makes us who we are as painters, what we embrace about each other and ourselves. There is nothing better that is more hopeful. 

So where in the end do we belong as artists? In the eyes of another, where we see ourselves reflected? Or are we found arm and arm, with those whose faces echo ours, whose blood we share? Or is it the heart of the family we have created, where we feel safest and best known, but never really alone? Perhaps we belong where love and our art can flourish, because we give it room to grow roots and the space to thrive. 

The Spirit blows seeds in upon the wind and they will inhabit where they will. And as creative seeds, we all belong somewhere. If we are not nurtured as we should be as an artist, we must make a choice to find a place to go that is a safe harbor, where the storms are kept at bay. 

The artistic process that seeks goodness and beauty, is astonishing and totally amazing, when you open yourself up to it. Especially, when the years yearn on, as a Friend, living in close relationship, even through the most darkest nights of suffering. But I know there has been purpose through it all, and sometimes it's simply belonging to each other and how that is enough. What truly matters is not the struggle to be artistic, but where we find our peace, even though we may never fully know the why.

That level of painting in the Spirit, I desire deeply now, and it is the one thing that I am so profoundly thankful for. I'm sure my future will involve my time and being able to set aside quality space to develop my art, for it is this reason that I do not look forward to a life of comfort and leisure, the contempt found in familiarity. But I seek a new adventure perhaps found in a newly discovered technique or a change in scenery and how that can render the mundane bright and the accustomed even novel. Sometimes we need to see through fresh eyes, and there is joy in it. 

The following paintings posted in this newsletter and made available on eBay's auction, are paintings of mine that are recent and past works painted over ten to twenty years ago. I have been going through my many art files and portfolios, amazed at just how much work I have accumulated. Some of the works were demonstrations and others are finished pieces that just haven't had their debut in the the public eye, let alone signed by my hand. And somehow, as I pull these out of my past and release them, the hope is that they will mingle with my present pieces and connect with some of you in some special way. So celebrate with me and have fun viewing them, there are even more paintings to come of my past to observe this special Holiday season.  

Once again everyone, Happy Thanksgiving!

Michael E. Vermette

Main Dock in Winter, Monhegan Island, Maine

Michael continues with his Holiday Painting Auction-Style Sale with this beautiful impasto (Thick) wintery oil painting on a Gypsum(Traditional chalk gessoed) birch wood cradled panel of the Main Dock, on Monhegan Island, Maine. He painted this study as a demonstration in his Impasto Oil Painting class in Bangor, Maine. The image was captured in February when Michael visited the island and painted en plein air. It depicts the Main Wharf in the harsh wintery months just after the first snow on Monhegan Island in February. There is evidence of truck tracks and a wall of lobster traps, but little else in this stoic seascape. 
 

Michael says," I grew up along the sea, and like my grandfather Crouse who was a Lobsterman out of Rockland, Monhegan is my favorite island. But in the winter months it can be even more beautiful, particularly if you are fortunate enough to capture your images just after the first snow storm. There is a quiet beauty here that goes along with the stoic stillness, as the whole island feels as if it has turned to black and white."

Wiscasset Marina, Wiscasset, Maine

Michael includes in his Holiday Painting Auction-Style Sale, a beautiful impasto (Thick) oil painting on a Gypsum(Traditional chalk gessoed) birch wood cradled panel of the Wiscasset Marina in Wiscasset, Maine. He painted this study as a part of the Wiscasset Plein Air festival and sale back in July, 2021.It features an array of small boats tied up to the marina docks with the surrounding Wiscasset, Sheepscot River landscape. The pylons are very high due to the unusually low King tide that occurred that day, that cause coastal flooding under the full moon.

Michael says," I grew up in Wiscasset and at these very docks always fishing off the public dock and drawing boats. I was 14 years old when our family moved to Brunswick, Maine. My art teacher at the Wiscasset Elementary School was metal sculptor Raymond Shadis who was recognized in the National Environmental Hall of Fame in 2010 as a leading environmental and antinuclear activist. He was the first one who taught me how to draw a boat using a figure eight shape."

King Surf at Lobster Cove, Monhegan Island, Maine

Michael continues his Holiday Painting Auction-Style Sale with a beautiful full sheet watercolor of a King High Tide at Lobster Cove on Monhegan Island, Maine. A king tide is an unusually high tide that produces wonderful wave action as in this painting. It is painted on 140 lb Hot Press paper and has a very appealing textural quality in the grain of the washes that make up the composition. It was painted back in 1988 and has been stored in Michael's flat files for years. It is now available for sale with a rare glimpse of one of Michael's earlier works. 

Michael says," There are no layered washes in this watercolor at all. The composition is pieced perfectly together with sections that are carefully floated in to fit together to create a final image. I used plenty of water and paint and allowed each section to dry before the next shape was placed next to it. It is a perfect example of how I use to paint before being influenced by the watercolor painter James Fitzgerald."

Mosquito Cove, Martinsville, Maine

Michael continues his Holiday Painting Auction-Style Sale with a beautiful full sheet luminist watercolor of Mosquito Cove, in Martinsville, Maine. This watercolor is in excellent condition and painted on 140 lb Hot Press paper, and a 22 x 30 inch full sheet. Michael only used pure pigments when painting this watercolor of the Holbein brand. A king tide is an unusually high tide that produces wonderful wave action as in this painting. It is very appealing with unique textural quality in the washes that make up the composition of shapes pieced together with no overlapping and no layering. It was painted back in 1988 and has been stored in Michael's flat files for years. It is now available for sale with a rare glimpse of one of Michael's earlier works.

Michael says," This beautiful scene is always on view when traveling through Martinsville to Port Clyde, Maine. I have admired this scene for years, and then I finally chose to paint the cove. The colors are always stunning here, particularly at low tide when the salt marsh stream flows towards the sea. Because of the unusually high angle of incidence, I was able to capture the high sky clouds in the foreground, dotted by the colorfully exposed rocks."

"Storm at Basin Ponds, (Katahdin), Baxter State Park, Maine"

Michael Continues with his Holiday Painting Auction-Style Sale with a beautiful impasto (Thick) Oil painting on a Gypsum(Traditional chalk gessoed) birch wood cradled panel of Basin Ponds, Baxter State Park, Maine. This painting is made alla Prima (in one setting) but as a demonstration in Michael's Impasto Oil painting class through Bangor Adult and Community Education. It was painted from a watercolor that was painted en plein air at Basin Ponds. Michael chose Basin Ponds because he wanted to demonstrate impasto brush techniques.

Michael says," I once asked my native American friend, what was the best place to view Katahdin? and his response was, "On it!" This painting was painted from a watercolor I painted on Katahdin at Basin Ponds. A storm came in as seen to the right of the painting, and I quickly got out my poncho and covered my painting and all my gear, so that all that was sticking out was my head. Then it down poured heavy for about 15 minute moving through the ponds. After it had passed, I set my easel up again and completed the painting. The experience was so fresh in my mind that I had no problem including the oncoming clouds in my painting. I love the movement and the brush strokes in this painting. I think they capture the event very well."

Michael begins his Holiday Painting Auction-Style Sale with a beautiful impasto (Thick) Oil painting on a Gypsum(Traditional chalk gessoed) birch wood cradled panel of Small Falls in Rangeley, Maine. This painting is not only made alla Prima (in one setting) but as a demonstration in Michael's Impasto Oil painting class through Bangor Adult and Community Education. It was painted a few months ago when demonstrating the use of "whites" in an oil painting. Michael chose Small Falls due to the brilliant whites of the falls sandwiched between the exquisite colored rock gorge of the area. 

Michael says," This painting was an interactive demonstration that allowed students to participate in the making of the painting, and then Michael spent time turning it into a completed painting. The class was focused on the use of "Whites" as a color in an impasto Oil painting. I hope to use the proceeds of this sale to make a large tube of black oil wax medium for each of my students to have over the holidays."

Pemaquid Point Surf, Bristol, Maine

Michael continues with his Holiday Painting Auction-Style Sale with a bright summer watercolor of the Surf at Pemaquid Pint in Maine. The rocky coast is simular to the rock striations of Cape Elizabeth, a formation in color and appearance of petrified wood stone.This rocky point not only has a working lighthouse, but the rocky coast offers endless compositional opportunities. Michael painted this watercolor en plein air last summer of 2021 as a signature member of the New England Watercolor Society's "Brushes With Nature" Program, joining many on the day capturing the beautiful seascape vista on June 23rd in Bristol, Maine

Michael says," I wanted to be alone with my subject. There were so many exploring the unique rock formations. I found the largest rock ledge I could, and set my easel up under its shadowy overhang. The wall of rock completely shaded my painting and so I included it as a stabilizing composite in my painting. I also like how it balances the power of the incoming surf that explodes to the right of the painting. Most of all I enjoy painting on this rare handmade watercolor paper made by Whatman, that responds well to colors captured on the day"

Pemaquid Point Fog Bell, Bristol, Maine

Michael continues with his stunning Holiday watercolor Painting in Auction-Style/Sale, with a brilliant illuminated seascape of The Fog Bell at Pemaquid Point in Bristol, Maine. Located on the south side of the tower, near the lighthouse, is a small brick house built in 1897 for the hand-operated fog bell.This was replaced the following year by a new fog bell with duplicate shipman oil-burning steam engines to ring it. Then there was yet another change the following year when the shipman fog-signal engines were replaced by a Stevens striking machine, for which the wooden tower was built to house the weights. The light-keeper, at the onset of fog or poor visibility, would wind up the Stevensmachine, the weights traveling to the top of the tower, and then for the next eight hours, the bell would strike at regular intervals, the weights slowly descending, much as in a cuckoo clock. This is the bell depicted in this watercolor painting. It was painted on the highest quality vintage handmade watercolor paper made by Whatman in 1936.

Michael says," I wanted to contrast the historic fog bell and tower with the deep blue of the ocean in June, along with the island roses which were in full bloom when I painted this watercolor en plein air. This has the right amount of Maine coastal elements including the dark ocean, brightly lit historical building and fog bell, off-shore islands and Peninsula, and the coastal rock and indication of surf. This painting was a joy to create."

Trenton Sandbar at Low Tide, Maine

Michael continues with his Holiday Painting Auction-Style Sale with a intriguing full sheet watercolor of the Trenton Sandbar ta Union River Bay, between Trenton and Thompson's Island in Maine. Prior to the construction of the Trenton Bridge across the Mount Desert Narrows, a ferry operated by the Thompson family, who owned Thompson's Island and the land of the Narrows, ferried visitors. Pictured here in this watercolor is the peninsula in the distance where you can see cottage set back along the water. The huge sandbar stands for what seems miles and under the bridge as you travel on your way to Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Isle. 

 
Michael says," This sandbar is a striking image that thrills hundreds of thousands of travelers with spectacular views of its sand bar at low tide, before crossing the Trenton Bridge and entering Mount Desert Island. This rock scattered sand bar is best viewed when the tide is at its lowest, revealing the bare bones of the bay. It is as craggy-shaped as the coast of Maine. I wanted to depict this sandbar in its most raw state adding different familiar shapes such a gull reflecting in the water and far off cottages as a reference in size, and to give a sense of extreme perspective."

Camden Peapod, Camden Harbor, Maine

Michael continues his Holiday Painting Auction-Style Sale with a striking full sheet watercolor of a specialized dory in Camden Harbor, Maine, called a "Peapod". The Matinicus Double-ender is a 15' x 4'10" dory that is made of cedar and oak used primary for lobstering by the Young family by the 1900's for fishing the coastal rocks and ledges. Merrill Young moved to Camden where he ran a boat shop, keeping a small shop on Matinicus Island as well, where he could build double-enders there and in Camden. Double-enders or "Peapods" named after their shape, are rugged so that fisherman can stand up and push on oars to row. This icon harkens back to the end of a century of tradition when lobstering was done by hand rather than by motorized boat, as commonly seen today. Back then, a lobsterman hauled an average of 50 wooden traps and rowed to all their locations on the open seas.

Michael says," This Peopod I painted in Camden Harbor was the most beautiful and sensible dory I had ever seen. There it was, dry docked on one of the wharfs as a beached Killer Whale, and all I could do is admire the the lines and the craftsmanship of this magnificent wooden boat. The lines of the Peapod are a stunning work of art in itself!"

White Phalaenopsis Orchids

Michael continues with his Holiday Painting Auction-Style/Sale, with white Phalaenopsis Orchids, symbols of love, luxary and elegance. These soft flowers grow naturally in shaded areas requiring only three ice cubes per week to sustain them. This sleek and modern flower painting will beautifully complement a dull corner in a room year round.

 
Michael says," I painted these white Phalaenopsis Orchids at the University of Maine at Orono Greenhouse where I once taught a watercolor floral course. These beautiful flowers add a delicate beauty to any environment and against a dark background they really present themselves well and liven a dark cornered area in a room."

"Monhegan Island Sunflowers, Maine"

Michael continues to surprise with this stunning painting of Monhegan Island Sunflowers in this Auction-Style Holiday Sale. Michael painted this watercolor as a part of his Monhegan Island residency in 1999. These sunflowers were located near the Barnacle shop to the right of the Maine wharf. You can see the island of Manna in the background as well as a bee and monarch butterflies actively interacting with the bright sunflowers against the strong blue sky.

Michael says," I did my residency with Anne Hubert in 1999, whom at the time, knew the most about how James Fitzgerald painted, an inspirational painter to me who died in 1972. I intentionally portrayed a composition of five sunflowers to signify the number for grace. I was also pleasantly attracted to the bright blue sky in August and how the sea was already taking on a deeper shade of blue. There were Monarchs all over the island, but I witnessed the most on these sunflowers fanning their wings, symbiotically with the busy honey bees."

Blue Dutch Wedgwood Flowers

Michael continues with his Holiday Painting Auction-Style/Sale, with these Blue Dutch Wedgwood hybrid flowers that were grown from bulbs at the University of Maine at Orono greenhouses in Maine. They were planted in the spring and were grown as annuals. These graceful and elegant flowers bloom atop grass-like foilage and are easy tp grow. They are often used as cut flowers because of their beauty. 

Michael says," I painted these Blue Dutch Iris Wedgwood flowers at the University of Maine at Orono Greenhouse classroom where I once taught a watercolor floral course. This particular painting was painted as a demonstration to my students. These Irises deliver that brilliant blue that so often is sought after as a color in the garden, and are equally a wonderous challenge to paint."

Holiday Island of White Roses

Michael continues with his Holiday Painting Auction-Style/Sale, with Holiday Island of White Roses that were grown at the University of Maine at Orono greenhouses in Maine. They were planted in the spring and were grown as annuals. Listed as a shrub rose because we feel it fits here better than the Floribunda class, since it has a 'Robin Hood'T a hybrid Musk as a parent and its growth habit is like that of a shrub rose,hese graceful and elegant flowers bloom atop grass-like foilage and are easy tp grow. They are often used as cut flowers because of their beauty. 

Michael says," I painted these Holiday Island of White Roses, at the University of Maine at Orono Greenhouse classroom, where I once taught a watercolor floral course. This particular painting was painted as a demonstration to my students. These large semi-double 3 inch blooms of pure white in absolute abandon on a strong-growing bush with shiny mid-green foliage made an amazing arrangement of robust flowers."

This coffee table style art book will make a wonderful Christmas gift for anyone who is adventurous in your family. There are over 50 colored reproductions in the book of paintings made by Michael E. Vermette of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway and photos by professional photographer Troy Sands of Michael painting en plein air at Lock Dam Cabin and at different locations on the waterway. This is a rare opportunity to travel along with the artist as he chronicles in his journal his experiences as the inaugural Allagash Wilderness Waterway Visiting Artist in August of 2020. Happy Holidays!