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The PLEIN AIR CONNECTION NEWSLETTER May 17th, 2014
The PLEIN AIR CONNECTION NEWSLETTER May 17th, 2014 From Left to right: Kay Carter, Becky Whight, Nora West, and Michael E. Vermette featured artists at the opening reception of the plein Air Connection's 1st show at the Peace and Justice Center, Bangor, ME. The first Plein Air Connection art show opening was a wonderful success in many ways. We would like to thank all those who came out to see the show and expressed their delight in our work. We would also like to extend an apology for those who might have come after 7 PM only to find the doors to the Peace and Justice Center locked. It seems the door locks automatically. For this reason, we would like to extend an invitation for any of you who would like to view the show to contact me at 207-827-7573 and we will work out a time for the center to be opened for a private viewing. In the meantime check out articles written about the show at Cafe de Artists and The Weekly, Bangor Daily News! Now you have the unique opportunity to view these very works in person that I have written about from our paint-out experiences on Monhegan Island, Baxter State Park and the Mount Desert Island Area. There are approximately 30 pieces on display beautifully framed, all new works and all for sale at very affordable prices. We had refreshments available and all the artists were present who were represented in the show. After it ended at 8 PM we all walked down to Panda Garden, shared a meal together and continued to celebrate our successes and plans for the future. On June 13th during Bangor's "Art Walk" we will have a special one-day sale of unframed paintings at the Peace and Justice Center from 6 PM to 9 PM. The folks at the Peace and Justice Center of Eastern Maine in Bangor, are very gracious to allow us to show at their meeting place at 96 Harlow Street, Suite 100, Bangor Maine 04401 (across the street from Peirce Park, next to the Bangor Public Library). And we are offering 40% of our sales profit to go to them in support of their causes in our beautiful State of Maine. It is very fitting that this be the place we begin our show schedules for the future because there are so many similar points of view we share. One of them is a favorite quote from the book we just finished reading together, "The Art Spirit" by Robert Henri: There is no order in the seclusion of the world's good for the minority, and the battle for this proves the complete disorganization of minds who institute it. War is impossible without institutionalism, and institutionalism is the most destructive agent to peace or beauty. When the poet, the painter, the scientist, the inventor, the laboring man, the philosopher, see the need of working together for the welfare of the race, a beautiful order will be the result and war will be as impossible as peace is today. - Robert Henri, p.145 The Art Spirit. This beautiful order described in Robert Henri's book is what our show, "Plein Air Painting A Beautiful Order Reflecting Peace" is all about. If we can have experiences in painting together as plein air painters without minority, religious, political, philosophical and even style barriers; and partner with organizations who seek peace in the same beautiful order as we discover in our paintings; than we can positively change our world. All of us painters who are displaying work at the Peace and Justice Center are also members of the Bangor Art Society with our paintings on exhibit at their Maine Open Juried Show at the Bangor Public Library. Becky Whight, and I won awards for our paintings. And in the next meeting our group will be sharing a painting that each of us made that was inspired by a book. The book we will be talking about is "The Art Spirit" by Robert Henri and each of us who have read the book will share our personal views of how this book inspired our paintings. We will each show one painting at the meeting, but If members would like to see more of our work they need only walk across the street to view our show which we will make available after the meeting for a special viewing. The Bangor Art Society meeting is scheduled for this month on Tuesday, May 27th at the third floor meeting hall in the Bangor Public Library between 6 PM to 8 PM. It will be the last meeting before we break for the summer months and reconvene for Bangor Paint-Out and Auction on August 16th at the Gracie theater at Husson College.  Elaine Vermette and becky Whight viewing paintings together at the Peace and Justice center. This summer is packed with events and goings-on. First we would like to invite all artists who live from Bangor to the South or from Baxter State Park to the North to participating in the East-West Corridor Art Show and fundraiser to help raise money to stop the East-West Transportation, Communications, and Utility Corridor; that would essentially cut Maine in half from Calais to Coburn Gore. If you would like to take part in this excellent fundraiser please refer to the details below and register by June 30th, 2014. ATTENTION ARTISTS & ART ENTHUSIASTS........ For Registration and Submission Details please click on : EAST-WEST CORRIDOR ART SHOW DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: JUNE 30th, 2014. Artists who live or create art between Bangor to the South, and Baxter Park to the North*, are invited to join a very special art show and fundraiser! Welcome Artists! You are invited to exhibit and sell your work while helping to save the places you love. If you live or have created art anywhere in the area between Calais to the East, Coburn Gore to the West, Bangor to the South, and Baxter State Park to the North (see this map), we invite you to participate in a very special art show and fundraiser in Northeast Harbor on Mount Desert Island during high tourist season, August 13-19! Opening reception will be Thursday, August 14th, at 5pm. The show will be at Sam Shaw's Main Street Art tent, just off the main drag, close to the actual harbor. Link to map. Deadline for submissions is June 30, 2014. Pieces received sooner have a better chance of being in the show. The beautiful and culturally rich area shown here is under threat due to a proposed mega-infrastructure project. Private developers want to build an East-West Transportation, Communications, and Utility Corridor that would bisect Maine from Calais to Coburn Gore. The fenced, limited access toll road for Canadian trucks would be expanded with pipelines expected to carry tar sands dilbit, fracked natural gas, bulk water, transmission lines from massive wind power farms, and anything else deemed profitable to investors. The show will feature your work, draw attention to the threatened people and landscape through art, and raise money to Stop the Corridor and protect Maine’s local economies, culture, wild places, and water by funding Defending Water for Life in Maine. Learn more about us here. You can choose the percentage of your list price that you want to donate if your work sells: 50%, 70%, or 100%.
We have already reserved the show space and will take care of advertising, hanging, opening reception, staffing the show, and shipping work that sells at the show to the purchaser. We need you to let us know what you’d like to submit, get your work to us, and arrange to get your work if it doesn't sell. The next thing that is worth making people aware of is the Monhegan Quincentenial 2014. Just about all of our plein air group will be going over to Monhegan Island to paint from July 5th to July 12th. The Qincentenial is a celebration of Monhegan Island's Five hundred year heritage including its art history. Many artists of Maine and those who live out-of-state have been invited to show their work in various Maine galleries in honor of this event. The opening of the first show that I know about is at the Thomas Moser Freeport Showroom at 149 Maine Street in Freeport, Maine. The Exhibit is called, "Monhegan Artists' Residency 25th Anniversary Exhibit" and will open with a reception on Thursday June 19th. The invitation card features the works of Sarah Knock, "Top of Rocks and What's Below" and my work of "Monhegan Lobsterman Rowing. as well as thirty-two other well know Maine painters who were former MARC resident artists within the last 25 years.  The other two places that I know about is the Archipelago Fine Art Gallery in Rockland, Maine and The Lupine Gallery on Monhegan Island, Maine. The Archipelago will be showing a watercolor and oil painting of mine and will be featuring my oil painting, "Silver Sunset, Monhegan" in the next issue of Island Institute magazine written by Carl Little. The Lupine Gallery will also be showing my painting, "Silver Sunset, Monhegan" in either the Island Inn, Trailing Yew or Monhegan house. I hope those who get over to the island this summer will be able to see it.  "Silver Sunset, Monhegan Island" an oil 21.5 x 29 inches by Michael E. Vermette. Our next Plein Air Connection paint-out will be at Acadia National Park on Tuesday May 20th. For those who would like to car-pool please meet Kay and Becky at the Dunkin Donuts in Ellsworth by 9 am. The destination will be Ocean Drive in the park. Also keep in your prayers Karry Maldanado who recently was rushed to the hospital last night. Karry has painted with the Plein Air Connection group several times over the years.  The Plein Air Connection group discussing their next paint-out at the opening reception at the Peace and Justice center. Have a great week everyone and please stop by and see our show at the Peace and Justice Center of Eastern Maine in Bangor, Michael E. Vermette Coordinator of the Plein Air Connection |
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