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Photograph by Bridget Besaw

THE PLEIN AIR CONNECTION NEWSLETTER MAY 4th, 2013

Once again, as we did in Waterville Maine a few weeks back, the Plein Air Connection connect group entered two paintings each into the Bangor Art Society's Open Juried Show at the Bangor Public Library. And once again both of our paintings were accepted into the show from each painter present in the group! It continued to be part of the topic of our discussion throughout the meeting.  The opening for the Bangor Art Society Open Show is on Wednesday May 8th with a reception and awards announced  between 6 to 8 PM on the third floor of the Bangor Public Library. We welcome you all to attend and please spread the word. 

After dropping off our paintings by 11 am we all met at the Holy Grounds Coffee Shop at 1404 Broadway at Abundant Life Church shortly after. We met for about 2 1/2 hours as we discussed week 9: Discovering a Sense of resiliency of Julia Cameron's book "Walking In This World." Before we discussed the book we became fascinated by Kay Carter's watercolor sketch book, her new plein air French Resistance full size paint box and listening to her fascinating mission trip at El Salvador. It was very interesting to hear her account of the high quality of artwork present in the art classes she hosted, calling the quality "Raw" beauty in the innate ability to tell their stories through their paintings. Welcome back Kay, and thanks for sharing!

The discussion was very timely this week for many of us as we began to dismantle the myth of artists as superheros. We considered that no artist is ever immune to negative emotions and that the key to surviving such emotions is accepting them as a necessary, known and expected part of creating art. This week we took a look at the "Dark Night of The Soul" that comes to all of us and how we are able to move through it. The artists who were in attendance were Marsha Townsend, Anne Spencer, Becky White, Kay Carter, a new artist Donna Marsh and myself. We began by discussing worry and how no artist is ever immune to experiencing apprehension or nervous emotions before making a work of art or taking on a new project. We viewed panic as an escalating sense of terror that tends to immobilize us with the bright light of sudden change involving our art, and how worry is really an anxious and unfocused quality that makes us poke into all corners for trouble.

But fear we felt was different, fear we determined, is a lot more reality based making us feel lonely and isolated. We agreed that worry is the imagination's negative stepsister and that all of these worrisome symptoms actually mean that we are on the brink of a large creative breakthrough. We talked about how the most terrified people are some of the greatest and most talented artists. We explored how we sometimes disqualify ourselves from trying to make art by saying "Since it's so terrifying for me, I must not be suppose to do it." But nothing could be farther from the truth. The myth that "Real Artists" are somehow beyond fear is what we are sold on by the media to believe. Julia Cameron says it this way, "Isn't it a matter of your worries being the pilot fish that accompanies our great talent?" 

This brought us to fear and how it is an emotion that requires action not assurance. Talking with a close friend this week, she told me that the  United States Marines have a saying that goes something like this, " When you're facing fear, it's like looking into the eye of the Tiger." She continued to explain that they not only look into the eye of the tiger but advance toward it.   What is implied in this statement is that we are always going to have fear in our lives, but how we face it makes all the difference in our walk in this world.  We agreed that there is always some grounding action we can take to advance our art careers in response to our fears. We further acknowledged That fear signals to us that a good thing is about to be produced if we take a grounded action. We discussed how fear to move ahead can seem like "the bogeyman" who keeps us from entering into the gates of our dreams. In actuality fear is a messenger that gives us the way and direction to move forward and through in our art. 

Then we talked about artistic restlessness and how it means you are "on the march" creatively, yet not always knowing where to go. Artistic restlessness was felt by many of us in the group and we shared how it is a positive change that is in the air that requires coöperation with our Creator. We all agreed that if our creative restlessness leads us into positive change, we should enter the dance being led by our Creator one step at a time? We should move toward the change and allow it to unfold.

We talked about insecurity, particularly today as we entered our paintings into this state-wide open juried show. When we brought our paintings in to compete and compare our work with other artists there was an insecurity that was present that made us feel isolated even unkind to others. We concluded that instead of comparing and competing we should striving to emulate and empathize with other artists in a supportive way. We particularly felt this way when we tend to wrongly treat other artists skills with hostility and our own lesser skills with dismay. We agreed that with all levels of creative endeavor, the Great Creator is present and partnering with us. We talked about how sometimes our egos can get in the way from experiencing creative and powerful miracles through our hands in how we handle our artwork and the work of others. We came to realize that positive self-esteem as an active process choice not only counting our blessings but celebrating the accomplishments of others. This is what leads us to the place where we do not need to compare ourselves to anyone and positions us for award-winning opportunities in our own artistic life. 

This led to a great discussion on Self Pity and how it is so much more about emotional negative stories of the odds stacked against us rather than facts that tend to yield the solution and cheer us on. Self pity tends to focus our attention on how we are perceived rather than on what we are perceiving in our art. We talked about how self-pity has the absolute ability to not only bring our art production to a halt, but cause us to become ill. The solution to this trapping is to talk with someone who is a "Believing Mirror" to you and who can make you look at the facts, not the drama of your pity party. Someone who is supportive of you as an artist and can reflect back to you the genuine concern to help you through this deadly desert. Our artistic flaws can actually prove to be our strengths when we are encouraged to spring into action with the attitude, "What Can I Change?" Even a small step out of self-pity can make all the difference in getting us back into a healthy art production and life.

We finished our discussion talking about doubt and how it is really a signal that we are doing something right. If we are ever going to be an artist of depth, we need to cultivate a healthy level of spiritual sensitivity that is filled with faith. We all agreed that yielding to doubt is like yielding to a saboteur that leads us to lie about our creativity, kill our artistic dreams, and eventually and utterly destroy our art. Why? Because  of the phrase that we are tempted to revisit, "What's The Use?"

The dark night of the soul cames to all artists. When it comes to you, just know that it is simply a tricky part of your artistic trail that you are ment to go through. It's an active choice to move forward that is filled with the faith that because of your forward momentum, You'll see things better in the morning.

We ended this week's discussion with a quote that we all loved that was in the book by Jean Anouilh who says, " Beauty is one of the rare things that do not lead to doubt of God." 

This week lets consider what we are afraid of and make a decision to move ahead with our art and our artistic careers. Lets take a grounding step with the belief that we are about to experience a breakthrough in our lives. Lets be like David who stood before Goliath, who must have wondered if his sling and five stones were actually going to work this time, and take the same step toward the giant as he did, putting aside these negative emotions. Lets do three things to be that bold. Lets 1) ask what signal my fear is sending me? 2) What name can I call this messenger in the form of fear that is trying to define me? and 3) what grounded action can I take to respond to this fear? You'll be able to say that you not only stared into the eyes of the tiger but you run through him this week! 

Everyone knows that May is such a busy month for all of us. There is just so much going on. So the following is a projected schedule of what we have decided that we would do in the next few weeks. First of all, now that the weather is a lot better, we no longer want to meet for discussions every other week at the Holy Grounds Coffee Show. The group has opted to try painting every Saturday and include some Wednesdays as well. We will continue to talk about the remaining week 10 to 12 of Julia Cameron's book "Walking In This World" but on location over our lunches together. So with that this is what we have so far.

Next Saturday May 11 we will meet in the parking lot of Abundant Life Church, 1404 Broadway, in Bangor, Maine to paint nearby on the Kenduskeag Stream. We will paint at long as we can. It might be our last time until the end of July to paint without a lot of the black flies and mosquitos.

Saturday May 18th I will be dropping off paintings at noon at the North Light Gallery in Millinocket. I hope to steal away to paint a small study of the mountain. If people want to meet up with me at the gallery after 1:00 PM they are welcome to and we will see what views are available to us in or around Baxter State Park. 

Saturday May 25th I am scheduled to teach a plein air workshop in Jackson, New Hampshire. But the group has decided to meet at the Abundant Life Church parking lot to paint at Bog landscape at the Orono Boardwalk in the city forest in Bangor, Maine. They will meet at 9 am, so bring a lunch and money for a restaurant after.

Upcoming Exhibit Opportunities and notifications: 

Wednesday, May 8th is the Bangor Open Juried Show 2013 opening reception and awards on the third floor of the Bangor Public Library.

Friday May 10th we will know about which artists will be participating in the Castine Plein Air Festival.

June 14-16th, 2013 Moose Masterpieces 2013 Moose Lottery Festival Art Show Art Drop off at Moosehead Historical Society Carriage House,

  Pitham Ave. call 695-2909 All 2D and 3D mediums and styles welcome, theme must be around moose.

Tuesday May 28 is our last Bangor Art Society meeting, and I will be doing a presentation on Robert Henri's "The Race" showing many small studies of Monhegan Island by this great artist-teacher, his friends and students. You won't want to miss this presentation particularly if you are going to be painting on Monhegan Island this Summer or Fall.

I wish you all a very productive week,

Michael E. Vermette

Coordinator of The Plein Air Connection

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