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THE PlEIN AIR CONNECTION October 7th, 2014

"Katahdin at Chimney Pond" a watercolor 19 x 25 inches by Michael E. Vermette.

The Plein Air Connection had its first meeting on September 20th at the Peace and Justice Center of Eastern Maine at 120 Park Street in Bangor. There were five of us who attended and were present. Our main focus was on setting dates for meetings and featured paint-outs for October. We also decided upon a new book to read that will be our topic of our new upcoming book discussions. We decided to paint every other week and meet on the off week for a book discussion as before.

For more information and dates for paint-outs and discussions Click Here.

The Book we have chosen to read is: ART AND FEAR, The Perils and Rewards of Artmaking by authors David Bayles and Ted Orland.

Discussions will be lively and followed by a delecious soup make by Kay Carter and Becky Whight who will provide the bread for a luncheon after. Please bring your books or e-books on the discussion days and be prepared to discuss the introduction and chapters 1 & 2 by the first book discussion on Saturday November 1st between 10 am and noon.

The Painting Retreat on Ambajesus Lake in Millinocket, Maine.

The Plein Air Connect group will be having a painting retreat on Ambajejus Lake in Millinocket, Maine this weekend october 10th to October 12th. Our plan is to go into Baxter State Park each day and paint views of Katahdin in the fall foliage. The house we are staying at is full up. But if you would like to paint with us on any of these days please call me, Michael E. Vermette, leave a message before Friday October 10th and I will be happy to get back to you to help inform you of where we might be painting. 

As for those who are staying overnight at the painter's retreat house please call my wife Elaine at 207.827-7573 to coördinate food. All of us will be on our own for breakfast and lunch, but we will share a meal together at night. On Friday October 10th you are invited to paint in Baxter State Park at different times of the day. Then we will meet at the River Driver's restaurant at 7 PM where we have reservations. Please bring your wet oil paintings into the restaurant in a flat cardboard box or paint box or portfolio if they are watercolors or pastels. We will have a short group critique and discuss possible painting locations for the next few days. After, we will go over together to the painter's retreat house on Ambajejus Lake, which is a short distance from the restaurant, so that we can all settle in for the night. 

To learn more about the river Driver's Restaurant and how to get there in Millinocket, Maine Click Here.

The Benefit of Plein Air Festivals and Wet Paint Auctions: A Look Back at My Wet Paint Adventures and What I Learned. By Michael E. Vermette

Michael E. Vermette painting en plein air at Boathouse Cove in Cape Elizabeth, Maine

Paint For Preservation: Cape Elizabeth, Maine

July was the busiest schedule for those plein air artists who participated in wet paint auctions and festivals as I did. Beginning at Cape Elizabeth, Maine; the painters selected to "paint for preservation" at the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust had their best year ever! Kajiah Velex from Thomas Place Galleries and Auction House auctioned off paintings that reached into the 5,000.00 range to a sold out crowd. I also sold my painting to a very happy patron who won it in auction for more than last year's painting sold for. I remember that Cape Elizabeth for me was a second chance opportunity to paint Boathouse Cove and the unusual rock formations that reminded me of the petrified wood striations that I found in California as a boy. It's not petrified wood, more a shale rock, but just as interesting how the lines lead the eye into the sea. There was a middle-aged fisherman who came to cast his line from the head of the point and I included him in my painting composition to the left. I also included the tanker on the horizon because it resembled another off shore island in the distance and when you can repeat a shape it makes the painting more homogeneous. To continue reading Click Here.

May you all have a colorful and productive art-filled week,

Michael E. Vermette

Coordinator of the Plein Air Connection