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THE PLEIN AIR CONNECTION NEWSLETTER March 21st, 2014




"Snowy Katahdin entrance from Little Abol Stream Bridge" an oil on gypsum board by Michael E. Vermette

As much as we would like to say it's actually Spring and feel the changing seasons in the air, March seems to be living up to its reputation of going out like a lion. The snow banks of Millinocket would be higher than ours just an hour south of us. But last Tuesday was to be a glorious moment of bright sun and excellent clarity. The Pein Air Connection group meet at the new Dysarts Deli at West Old Town just off I-95 North. The painters who attended were Kay Carter, Teddi-Jann Covell, Karry Maldanado, Becky Whight and myself. Our destination was to paint at the entrance into Baxter Sate Park near Abol Stream Bridge. The plan was to make two pit stops on the way; one in East Millinocket and the other at the Abol Store on the Golden Road. The temperature started out being 10 to 12 degrees but warmed up throughout the day and also as we traveled North into the high 20's. The sun shone bright and the sky was very similar to our last year's paint-out, without a single cloud in the sky. The sun and the wind was at our backs most of the day and our spirit's were high to capture the mountain's beauty that we could only get short glimp's of on the Golden Road. We parked at the lower parking lot near the Baxter State Park entrance and met a park ranger with his snow mobile and trailer loaded up with plywood and supplies; no doubt for a
repair at Chimney Pond.


Setting up at Little Abol Stream Bridge. From right to left: Becky Whight, Michael E. Vermette, Kay Carter. The photo was taken by Teddi-Jann Covell. 

Every time we return to a place sometimes a year later, we all try to intuitively seek out a new site in the landscape that will bring fresh ideas and new inspirations. It's interesting that most of us, with the exception of Karry Maldanado and Teddy-Jann Covell who were painting there for their first time, decided to painted near the same location as last year. Teddi-Jann Covell chose to paint just off little Abol Bridge near the entrance to the park while Karry painted further back on the trail. We painted just below Teddy-Jann and hiked down with packs and wet paint carriers into the off-trail banks of 12 to 14 inches of snow. Once down on the marsh we had a completely unobstructed view of the mountain. Very few places can take your breath away, and hold enough sustainable painting ideas year after year as this place does. It holds a mystical presence with its main stream meandering through the marshlands from Katahdin and directly towards the viewer. 


We would use our boots to sweep the  snow side to the side to clear off enough space to set up our easels and stand for an extended period of time. We began painting by 10:30 am and by noon we had a quick snack so that we could keep our energy up. We then continued to paint until 3:00 PM  before we started to pack up to go home one by one. We meet a couple on the trail, Mike Peterson and his wife who were snowshoeing inside Baxter State Park. Just before they came we sent Karry Maldanado down the trail and she saw a deer strolling on the path toward her. It was driven onto her by the Petersons who also saw it. Thanks and Welcome to our newsletter Mr and Mrs. Peterson and all of our new subscribers! We are happy that you have joined us.

This is what Michael Peterson wrote:

My wife and I met you yesterday in Baxter State Park. From what we saw on the easel from up above, your painting was spectacular.    - Michael Peterson's Statement

Our painting subject started out to be front lit with the sun high in the sky and to our backs as we faced east. This placed an emphasis on the shapes that made up the pattern of the painting. Katahdin has very unique faceted shapes that are interesting to focus on rather than tone, for example, to create weight. We all paid close attention to value but each painting had a character to it because of the front lighting effect that brought out the surface texture of the patterns of the landscape.  But as the day progressed and the sun moved low in the sky the shadows became longer and the mountain became less about rhythmic patterns and more about dramatic solidity. Katahdin was simply moving into a different look like a model sporting a new wardrobe. As tempting as it was to chase after the changing look, we painted mostly from memory as we reminded each other of the principal Robert Henri spoke of on page 171 of his book, " The Art Spirit."

 " Even with a model before you in quiet light of a studio there must come a time when you have what you want to know from the model, when the model had better be sitting behind you than before you, and unless such a time as this does come, it is not likely the work will get beyond the surface." -Robert Henri 



"Katahdin Winter" an oil on board by Becky Whight.

I think the same thing can be said about painting a landscape from direct observation. There has to be a moment within the first two hours of plein air painting, that you decide what it is you want to say about the painting. Since the light of the painting changes every two hours, we should as painters not surrender our painting ability to mere coping right down to the very last second of the day or session. In fact what constitutes a finished painting is the clarity to execute in paint what beauty you want to capture from the landscape. It is a matter of going beyond the surface of the painting and getting to the truthful design of the work that is deeper.  What we refer to as the "finished work" can not always be assumed as a finished experience, particularly if we have painted it once before. I actually found a much softer light pattern this year than when I did last year when I painted at this exact spot. Without the willingness to explore a new set of experiences in a previously painted site, (because I've painted it once before, and think there can be no new painting ideas), the means and effect of the painting can become a dutiful exercise in means. A painting that rides the surface, instead of digging deeper into the truth of it.


Kay Carter Painting At Little Abol Bridge, her oil painting to the right. Check out Kay's blog.

All great plein air painting explores below the surface of technique and clever design rules and reaches for the unexpected beauty that is at first hidden to the artist. That is why with every painting there is a problem that the artist must solve. There can be no greater happiness than to uncover the beauty found in the deceptively simple. To discover the hidden secrets of solving a compositional problem just under the surface, that then begs to be painted with clarity. 

After we completed our paintings we brought them into the River Driver's restaurant located near Twin Ponds Camps on Millinocket Lake. We order our meal by 4 pm and then went into a very constructive and supportive discussion of our work, each going one at a time. This positive time of talking about each of our works continues to develop our powers to express in words what we feel is working in our paintings. The emphasis is always on this and never on meaningless negative criticisms that leads you nowhere. It is one of the things I love about this group. The very same principles that I base my hermeneutic beliefs on, that easily gets me deeper into my painting subjects, is the same principals that has made this group so strong. Here are a few things that I appreciate about our group.

1) The ability of our group to be inclusionary instead of exclusionary toward ways of painting en plein air. No one will ever waste the time telling painters in our group that "plein air paintings are always small in size never large, that palette knife paintings never sell or that plein air paintings must never be completed in the studio." Those are exclusive remarks that only serve the few and keep narrowing the scope that leads to not being able to relate to the greater world of art. It is important to avoid being too important to the exclusion of others that in the end keeps you completely out of touch with the art world of our time. The art world is ever-changing with new and exciting ways of working. We must be careful that we don't dismiss these new innovations for traditional complacency. 

2) Looking after one another by desiring to grow as a cohesive group and not painting on our own. The whole idea of painting independently on location and than meeting at the end of the day to talk about our work and share a meal together, speaks of our genuine care we have for each other. This contrasts with the idea that you can only grow as a painter by having a highly respected mentor be the only one to comment on your work because you're afraid you might get contaminated or intimidated with bad criticism. Again its exclusivity and none-inclusive. Mentors can be helpful, but they can also be out of touch with you personally as an artist. Being afraid of what anyone will say about your work is more counter-productive to your success in your art as a career than anything else. After all, wouldn't you rather get a constructive comment from a fellow artist who has struggled with you through the day, than a painter who has absolutely no connection to what you are going through or what you are painting because he or she lives in another state?

3) Giving each painter in the group the time to develop the deeper meaning of their paintings on site. This is in contrast to putting a time limit on when a painting should be finished. Although Plein Air painting festivals do this for a daily wet paint auction, it is important that a weekly painting group respects the time it takes to make a connection with the landscape. In is not unusual at all that our group will wait for an individual artist to finish. All great artists give the time and space needed for their fellow painters to create and celebrated what they have discovered, making the sharing a mutual benefit. It is the best way to develop your own abilities as a painter. How we celebrate another's achievements positions us to receive the same merits for our own works. The shared meals and painting discussions afterwards has become for us just as exciting as painting on site. It completes us as and validates our purpose for painting. 

The Trip To Waterville this Saturday March 22nd 2014.


We are very excited to meet up with our fellow painters down south at the Maine Open Juried Show. Just a reminder for those who will be car-pooling from Bangor, we will be leaving from the Dysarts in Hampden between 8:30 am  and 8:45 am. Please don't be late. We will not  wait for you if you are late because of the time limit on the intake process for the show at the Waterville Library. For those who will meet us after for the book discussion at the Colby College Art Museum in Waterville, please meet us at the front information desk by 10:30 am. We have a room reserved for us in the Museum for this discussion. We will spend time discussing the section of "Letter of Criticism" on page 180 to "Letter of Criticism" on page 200 of The Art Spirit book written by Robert Henri. We will also explore the museum and the new Lunder collection. Then we will go to the food court and have lunch before returning to the Waterville Library and checking in to see if our paintings made it into the Open Juried Show 2014.



"Katahdin At Little Abol Bridge" two oils 8 x 10 inches by Karry Maldanado

Have a thrilling weekend filled with many imaginative ideas,

Michael E. Vermette
Coordinator of the Plein Air Connection

Please feel free to share this newsletter with anyone else whom you might consider would benefit. To sign up for the newsletter, go to my web site at www.michaelevermette.com.