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THE PLEIN AIR CONNECTION NEWSLETTER August 10, 2013
Plein Air Watercolor Painting at Katahdin Lake with the Maine Youth Wilderness Students in Baxter State Park.


"Sketch of Katahdin Lake from Hartley/Fitzgerald Beach" a watercolor 11 x 15 inches by Michael E. Vermette

  Friday August 9th was one of the soggiest days of the wet summer we have had this year. I arrived at the Roaring Brook campground in Baxter State Park at 4 PM with a down pour that never really let up all day. There I was with all of my gear to spend the night at the bunk house to get an early start into Katahdin Lake Wilderness Camps with the students on Saturday morning. Barbara Bently of the Friends of Baxter had made reservations for Bangor Daily News reporter Aislinn Sarnacki and I to stay so that we would get an early start with the Maine Youth Wilderness Leadership Program students of 2013. Aislinn is the Outdoors Bangor Daily News writer and photographer who is popular for her 1-minute hike u-tube style videos that virtually take people all over Maine on popular hikes in one minute of edited footage. Her most recent article was 1-minute Hike:Katahdin describing the Helon Taylor, Knife Edge, Abol trails and their challenges. I was just coming from an exhibit opening that my work was included in at the University of New England Art Gallery in Westbrook, Maine. The exhibit is called "A Mountain Rises: The Art Of Katahdin." I met many of my fellow painters there whom over the years painted Katahdin Lake as I did and were also a part of the Maine State Preservation Campaign to save Katahdin Lake, Governor Percival Proctor Baxter's "Crown Jewel" and add it to Baxter State Park. So it was with a sense of honor that I was chosen to work with these future youth wilderness leaders and the group leaders to give them a visual experience that they wouldn't soon forget. 

The bunk house is an experience that I only had once before. The bunks are very hard and you need a roll out matt to put under your sleeping bag or you'll toss and turn and not sleep all night long. There is literally no privacy with men and women sleeping only feet away from you that you don't know. And even though everyone is making an extra effort to get along with everyone else, you're never really quite aware of the bunk house edict. I counted eight of us in the bunk house and knew no one. But I quickly met Aislinn who came in a little later than I and another older couple from Canada who were cooking supper when I arrived. Everyone cooks for themselves and takes care of their wares and trash without a sink. It's a hike in and hike out system. There is a wood stove, but it is never used except for emergencies. I had eaten before coming at Millinocket and brought cereal and fruit for morning to eat. We all settled down to wait for the rain to let up but it never did. I was told by the park ranger when I signed in that the students and their camp guides were in lean-to no. 8,9, and 10, but I decided it was best not to meet up with them during this down pour that persisted until the late evening hours. Aislinn and I decided to meet up with them first thing in the morning. So I settled down in my bunk to dry out and read from my nook book. As the bunk house settled into a quiet calm of many reading and playing solitaire, I realized that the bunk house gas lamps were very dim for the amount of people reading books. So I took out my electric Coleman lantern, placed it on the picnic table, turned it on and illuminated the open living space. Many came over to the table to read now that the light was better. At one point the rain was really coming down and you could cut the oppression with a knife in the bunk house even though everyone was guarding a positive attitude. Then I simply turned to the french couple and announced, "Don't worry, the sun is going to come out tomorrow and we will all get sunburns!" It seemed to break the ice because the whole bunk house roared with laughter. But that is what it did. Late that evening at around 11 PM the rain stopped. My bed was right up against two windows so I was able to see a very bright star shining through the clouds that were separating. I couldn't believe what I was believing for and thanked God that only did the atmosphere change in the bunk house  but it was quickly changing outside.  I couldn't get much sleep that night, I never do on the first night anywhere, flipping back and forth like a fish on the deck. In the dark of the bunk house lying in your sleeping bag there is a lot of thoughts that come as your mind winds down. There were fire flies blinking inside the bunk house and they seemed to be attracted to the glowing elements on my watch. The outhouse was about 100 feet from the bunk house and I walked out down the road with my headlamp to verify the sky shifting and clearing. This was a great sign that I thanked God again for it.

The next morning there was a beautiful pinkish glow from the sunrise. I talked with a brother and sister who had high hopes in climbing Katahdin with a specific goal of crossing the knife-edge. They asked me if I thought they would be able to make it due to the high winds and I told them that I thought they could today. It was 5 am in the morning and they were getting an early start having breakfast outdoors on the picnic table out of courtesy of not wanting to wake the others. The wind was really blowing hard through the trees and the clouds were sprinting by. So it was easy to wonder if it were possible to climb. Aislinn and I eat breakfast, rolled up our sleeping bags and set out to find the Maine Student Wilderness Leadership campers and their group leaders. I knew from the ranger the night before when I checked in that they were staying at lean-to #10 so we simply hiked out in that direction. We saw a dow cross the road and Aislinn immediately tried to film it but it quickly disappeared into the thick woods. It came directly between lean-to #9 and #10 so we walked toward it to discover group leader John Devine one of the outdoor program leaders at Camp Chewonki in Wiscasset, Maine. He was preparing to cook for the students who had not arose from their lean-tos  which were on each side of the camp leaders lean-to, 5 boys to the left and 5 girls on the right. Soon after we made our introductions the other group leader Annika Alexander-Ozinskas came into camp with the largest white cooler that I have ever seen. Annika is the Director of support at Camp Chewonki in Wiscasset, Maine where I grew up and went to elementary school in the 70's. Both of them while talking to us, made an amazing egg stir fry with options for vegetarians and what they called "carnivores" including sausages.  They offered us some but we both had eaten earlier. We watched this amazing group of kids after a terrible downpour the night before, joked with each other, introduced themselves to us politely and waited for everyone to get their food before saying together, "Peace and Chow!" as the signal to chow down. And chow down they did. John said that they never waisted one crumb of food and how this group gathered as much compost in a week than most of us do in a day. I witness one student drop a small piece of egg on the ground only to pick it up and pop it in his mouth like nothing. When they all pitched in that morning to clean up they were a well oiled machine. After our introductions Aislinn and I decided to meet the group at Avalanche Field where the trailhead of Katahdin Lake began.

The group arrived at Avalanche Field at 8:30 am. They all gathered around and did what they called "Reps". An excercise game involving push-ups and jumps in a follow-the-leader activity as each student and their leaders stood in a circle and participated before each hike. Then I started with my plein air painting challenge for the day. I spared them the lengthy biography speech of who I was and went right to telling them about the Katahdin Lake Campaign in 2006  that I participated in. I shared with them the role of art being used to motivate people to raise millions of dollars to save Katahdin Lake from clear cutting and add it to Baxter State Park as it's "Crown Jewel." I explained how 16 artists auctioned off their paintings or painting services at Portland Museum Of Art to raise $27,000.00 in one night for the cause and how I was one of them. I shared with them what it was like and the concept of how "Beauty Can Save The World". I also gave them a card that had my brief bio on it with a oil painting of Monhegan Island on the cover. One of the students said to me that she goes to the Gleason Gallery often in Boothbay, Maine  and thinks it is a very nice gallery. I told her that the painting featured on the cover of the card is of an oil painting of a tide pool on Monhegan Island and is in that gallery presently.

My challenge for them was to put themselves in my experience. I asked them to pretend that they were the artists who were being asked to go into Katahdin Lake and paint at least two paintings that would go up for sale to raise money for preservation. They were now plein air painters who were to go in and paint two watercolors 11 x 15 inch each. They would be plein air painting in two different ways. The first way would be what is called a "Quick Draw". A quick draw is a watercolor that is made rapidly without any pencil drawing first and within 15 minutes. The second plein air painting would be a two-hour painting study where they could utilize many different techniques and pre-draw with a pencil. I assured them that I would demonstrate both methods of plein air painting and that the first quick draw process , using only a brush, would happen first and before lunch. Then I passed out the art kits that included a palette with paints, brush, pencil, sharpie, sharpener, sponge, board and 2 sheets of 140 lb Gemini watercolor paper that was given to me by international watercolor artist Tom Lynch when I took a workshop with him a year ago. I had been saving the paper for such an opportunity as this. 

Then aislinn introduced herself and shared her journalistic background with the Bangor Daily News. She explained how she wanted to include the group and their activities today in her 1-minute video journal hike into Katahdin Lake. She would allow the students to take turns filming and involved us all in the film which would come out shortly through the Bangor Daily News. She continued to show simple stabilizing techniques on how to film with the camera and explain her whole process including her journal techniques which was very interesting to the students. In fact we both found the kids to be like sponges soaking up everything we taught them. They were a teacher's dream in this most beautiful Maine wilderness!

We began the hike by getting filmed in front of the Katahdin Lake Trail sign were you sign in. Our action was to raise our hands into the air with a group shout.  Then off and down the trail we would go with our full packs of art supplies, knowing we would be taking it slow since we were expected to stop several times on the way in to be filmed. It was a good plan because the hike in was very wet and muddy and the half log trails were greasy so we had to take it slow anyway. Watching camp leaders walk right through the watery mud puddles with their waterproof LL Bean boots made me decide to get a pair for the next year. This time I brought in a walking stick and it saved me more than once. We filmed at all the bridges, some key picturesque swamps and thick forest area before reaching camp. We also stopped at every sign including the one that pointed to the Martin Pond Beach trail and the Katahdin Lake Wilderness Camp trail. We took the Katahdin Lake Wilderness Camp trail and throughout the hike Aislinn could be seen with her camera filming in front of us and behind us to gain all types of interesting angles. 


"Katahdin at Katahdin Lake" A Quick Draw Watercolor Sketch 11 x 15 inches by Michael E. Vermette

  We arrived at the Katahdin Lake Wilderness Camps at 11:30 am which was just enough time to do the quick draw before breaking for lunch. We meet Holly Hamilton the camp guide and went over our plans with her for the day. We then immediately proceeded down to the beach with a spectacular view of the Katahdin. All of the students gasped with delight when they saw for the first time what they were about to paint, so I really had an easy time teaching them. They watched me set up my easel, paper and paints which was a lesson in itself. Then I asked one of the students to time me giving me a heads-up of how much time was left per five-minute intervals. Then I quickly painted a quick sketch of the mountain in watercolor and in 15 minutes. Earlier I handed out a lesson guide sheet of how to paint mountains by Tom Lynch. I showed them how to paint the top of the mountain as he did using cooler blue colors at the top while using warmer colors as you paint toward the mountain's base. I also asked them to concentrate on value, the lightness and darkness of a color, and not try to capture the right color. I encouraged them to paint the mountain first then the lake and sky last. I also asked them to try to cover the whole sheet of paper in the 15 minute quick draw painting.  I also instructed them to not use pencil to pre-draw with because the whole point of the excercise was to draw with the brush to make a very spontaneous painted sketch filled with interesting marks. I stopped after 15 minutes and they were all excited to take on the challenge.


MYWLP Students painting a plein air quick draw at the south beach of Katahdin Lake in front of the Katahdin Lake Wilderness Camps. 

This time I timed them. They cracked open their painting kits and set up for painting. After everyone was ready to start I gave the "go" and they all proceeded to paint starting with the mountain's ridges.  As I timed them I walked around reminding them of how much time they had left and what they should include in their study. I also watched for any student getting stuck in one area encouraging them too fill the whole page.


MYWLP student starting with painting in watercolor the ridge of Katahdin's Great Basin.


After time was up I asked them to stop and they ended their quick draw. They pulled the maskin tape and took their paintings off their boards, put away their art kits and went to the main lodge for a short show-and-tell on the porch. There was a lot of excitement and the students were definitely more alive and charged by the painting event then when they began. It was as if a light turned on in them surprising themselves on how well they all did in just 15 minutes! They loved viewing each other's work. One said, "this was fun, I haven't painted in years!" Then after commenting on the works with positive comments made by all, Holly Hamilton and her helper Rachel came out and informed us that lunch was ready. We brought our paintings in out of the wind and helped ourselves to an incredible spread prepared for us of meats, cheeses , peanut butter, homemade jelly, chips, Anadama bread and much much more... It was incredible and so too was the respect of all waiting for the last to get their food before once again gathering and saying, "Peace and Chow!" and proceeding to quietly eat without so much as a word spoken for at least 15 minutes. Everything was perfect, the food was fresh and delicious and the timing was great. 
After we all finished our lunch, Holly came out and gave the students a historical perspective of the Katahdin Lake Wilderness Camps. She fielded questions by the students such as how food was brought into the camps, how many people could stay at the camp at any given time, and what will happen after the 17 year lease is up. It was a very informative overview of the importance of the camp and the how the owner, Baxter State Park and Holly run this business together. 

Then I spoke on how the Katahdin Lake Wilderness Camps allowed the artists of art history to come here into this wilderness and paint their great paintings of one of the best views of Katahdin. We then went back down to the beach only to find that the wind had really picked up. There were white caps and waves that could swamp a canoe with the wind coming out of the north-west. This made navigating the waters a little tricky. So we opted to hike to the east end of the camps and went down to another beach often refered to as the Hartley/Fitzgerald beach. There I began to speak to them about a two-hour plein air excercise that I would do with them. I explained that within two hours the light would totally change in the landscape and after that we could be chasing a new painting idea. So it was important that we stay within that 2-hour block.  I would begin by drawing with a pencil, pre-planning where the washes would go. Then they would draw the same view at different points on the beach with pencil. When they finished, they came back and I showed them how to put down the first washes. Then they went back to do it themselves  at their chosen location.  They did this a few times until they reached the final stage of the painting.


MYWLP students at Hartley/Fizgerald Beach facing east painting their 2-hour painting study.

When they completed their under painting they returned and I showed them many watercolor painting techniques on how to finish  by adding details. They then completed their paintings and I was very pleased to find that each were so very different from each other, taking on their own personal character. We also finished within the two-hour limit. I asked them to sign their work with the sharpie fine point marker and to choose which painting that they wanted me to photograph out of the two they painted for this newsletter. Some chose the first one and others the second. But all of them seemed proud of their accomplishments. 


MYWLP students at Hartley/Fizgerald Beach facing west painting their 2-hour painting study.

Then we spoke about journaling our experiences to the students, took group photos and headed back out on the trail by 4:30 PM. The students were allowed to keep their paint kits and I gave my two painting demonstrations to camp leaders Annika and John.  The trail back was much quicker because Aislinn changed the lens on her camera to capture birds and small cut-a-ways to fill the video. There were very few hold ups on the trail. We arrived back at Avalanche Field at 6:00 am and met once last time to say our good buys in a unified circle. 
This was truly for me an incredible experience to be a part of and seemed fun for everyone involved. The next day the students would be going home all over the state after a long week of working with each other and building life-long friendships. The following are photos of their paintings and the paintings of their group leaders who also participated.  I took the photos  at the Katahdin Lake Wilderness Camps.

If you would like to see the I-minute hike put together by Aislinn please watch for it the following weeks at the following link: http://bangordailynews.com/video/1-minute-hike-katahdin-lake-trail-in-baxter-state-park/?ref=search Enjoy!



"Katahdin Lake" a watercolor 11 x 15 inches by Addie Drinkwater


"Katahdin at Katahdin Lake" a watercolor 11 x 15 inches by Beverly Guay


"Katahdin From Katahdin Lake" a watercolor 11 x 15 inches by Emma Houston


"Katahdin from Katahdin Lake" a watercolor 11 x 15 inches by Emmett de Maynadier


"Katahdin From Katahdin Lake" a watercolor 11 x 15 by Ivy Enock


"Katahdin from Katahdin Lake" a watercolor 11 x 15 inches by Katelin Moody


"Katahdin From Katahdin Lake" a watercolor 11 x 15 inches by Nathan Skvorak


"Katahdin from Katahdin Lake" a watercolor 11 x 15 inches by Paul Phillips


"Katahdin from Katahdin Lake" a watercolor 11 x 15 inches by Stuart Cole


"Katahdin from Katahdin Lake" a watercolor 11 x 15 inches by William Green


"Katahdin from Katahdin Lake" a watercolor 11 x 15 inches by  group leader John Devine 


"Katahdin from Katahdin Lake" a watercolor 11 x 15 inches by group leader Anna Hunt

This Saturday I and some of the plein air connection group will be participating in the Waldoboro "Paint The Town" wet paint auction sponsored by the Tidemark Gallery. I hope to see you on location or at the live auction which will be at the Cider Mill Farm this year. For more information go to their link: http://www.tidemarkgallery.com/#!news/cyuu.

If you enjoyed reading this newsletter, please feel free to leave a comment and share it with others. If you would like to join my newsletter please sign up by going to www.michaelevermette.com.

Have a very creative and inspired week,

Michael E. Vermette
Coordinator of The Plein Air Connection
Guest Artist for the MYWLP at Katahdin Lake 2013