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ART SPIRIT NEWS June 14th, 2024

Posted on 6/14/2024 10:54:58 AM by Michael E. Vermette - 1 Comment

Calm In our Storms

On Wednesday, June 5th I got all 7 of my substrates stamped by the Maine Art Gallery for the"Paint It! Wiscasset" Plein air event, being the first to arrive before 9:00 am. I arrived so early because my intention was to paint in New Harbor before taking the ferry to Monhegan Island, which is a part of Lincoln County. This year the Maine Art Gallery allowed their juried artists to paint one painting in Wiscasset and the others anywhere in Lincoln. My plan was to start in New Harbor, then paint as many studies en plein air on Monhegan Island as I could. Then I would return on Friday June 7th in the afternoon with the plan to paint in Wiscasset all day Saturday on June 8th, which the last day of the outdoor painting event. Even though there was a terrific amount of detailed planning to do, the stormy weather was present nearly the whole time I spent over on the island. It even followed me back on Saturday with a violent thunder storm that cut my painting experience shorter than expected.

But Monhegan was transforming for me. Whether you want to call it faith or simply a stubborn focus, I refused to give in to the frustration of being out of control, and went out to each site anyway, no matter what it was doing atmospherically. And in nearly all the locations, the day cleared up enough for me to capture the beauty, of what I would normally not have seen if I gave into the need for conditions to be perfect. I was not only able to paint en plein air without getting rained on, but I had one opportunity after another to paint the high waves and surf in the rich fog colors I love to paint so much.

My take away was this. That through all my planning and working out of schedules, supplies, and wet paint transport to framing logistics, I could be steady in my storm. In fact, my otter storm experience that I couldn't control, always revealed my inner junk, curiously that exact place where my problems occured when things go wrong and are unexpected. My task was to paint at New Harbor, Monhegan Island and Wiscasset. I needed to show up and believe that my Creator would take care of the details that were out of my control. By Saturday I had painted all 7 paintings despite the challenges and found a way to have a fruitful week.

So when it hits the fan, when the storm hits, I want to be like the ferryboat captains I've seen so many times who are able to stay calm when problems arise and know that everything will work out for the good. That image of calm in the midst of the difficulty will be a lesson that remains in me for a long time. It will always translate in my art as confidently making right lines, forms, colors, textures, and spacial relationships in my paintings, even though I may have gone through a perfect Storm.

Happy Fathers Day to you Fathers out there who may need a little encouragement to remain calm and enjoy your day!

Shows Scheduled For The Fall

Things are beginning to take shape for my Fall calendar. At the Gleason Fine Art Gallery in Boothbay Harbor I will have a featured one-person show of Monhegan paintings. The painting above, "High Surf At Lobster Point, Monhegan" is a new impasto oil painting, number 3, in a series of 10 paintings that I hope to feature. These larger oils are what I am spending most of my summer hours in the studio on. Many of them are painted from smaller oil studies that I have painted in the past and at locations that I am very fond of. From June 5th to June 7th I recently took a short trip to Monhegan Island to paint more en plein air studies and go to most of these locations to get another look, and it has already proven to be a valuable help to inform these larger works. More on this show as it progresses in the following newsletter.