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"Height Of Land At Sunset, Scenic Byway, Rangeley, Maine"

" I painted this Impasto oil painting just as the sun was setting at the Height Of Land on ME-17, part of the Rangeley Lakes Scenic Byway. The road had been closed weeks before for new passing and construction, but on this day I got special permission to paint at the overlook. I was the only one there besides the workers who were finishing up for the day.The Sunsets here are spectacular. This 512-acre parcelI was set aside by the Rangeley Heritage Land Trust to ensure spectacular views like these remain unspoiled. The height of land is included in the Artist's Trail, borders the the Maine Bureau of Public Lands, The Appalachian Trail, and over looks Mooselookmeguntic Lake and the Bemis Stream. Painted in plein air at the Scenic Byway Overlook in Rangeley, Maine, this location is a must see destination and the wild flowers are an unexpected treat.

I used a descriptive bush stroke that describes form and lines of depth, perspective, and expressive color that create a sense of depth and distance. I paint in an impasto style using multiple sized palette knives and a Black Oil Wax medium that the Italian masters used and that I make myself. I add it to the mixture of the pure handmade Williamsburg oil paint I use to make it as thick and smooth as peanut butter, increasing its viscosity and improving the color to a brighter velvety sheen. This painting is also painted on a highly prized Gypsum Gessoed (Alabaster stone-coated gesso) over solid kiln dried basswood panel, which I also prepare myself. This painting is high quality all the way down to the dark brown Lacquer plein air frame that compliments the work like a jewel on any wall. Because of the high quality found in my work I do not accept returns at this time. Careful attention will be given to deliver the highest standard in shipping the oil painting and packaging. I stand by my work and shipping. Serious collectors and individuals who have a connection to my work are encouraged to bid on my work and bid often. The very best to you in this auction & sale.

I am intrigued with the timelessness in change in my landscape paintings. I believes that visual rightness is captured in his paintings when active humanity engages with the force of nature to become a metaphor for an even deeper truth. My paintings 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 emotional qualities such as the smell of balsam in the air in the morning forest. In my oils I like to embolden color by putting into practice traditional methods of the masters to cause the pigment to be brighter, richer, and more semi-translucent. Careful watchfulness, attention to understated detail, purity of light, and the uniqueness of the atmosphere are characteristics of his personality."

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?