THE PLEIN AIR CONNECTION MEETING IS CANCELLED TOMORROW!

Do to the Bangor Art Society In-take for their members show the meeting at the Holy Grounds Coffee Shop at Grace Church 1406 Broadway, Bangor, Maine is cancelled for tomorrow Saturday, February 1st, 2014. It will be rescheduled for next Saturday, February 8th, 2014. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused for any of you, but this will give you another week to finish up on the readings in Robert Henri's book, "The Art Spirit".

 Enjoy the day and I hope to see you all next week,

Michael E. Vermette
Coordinator of the Plein Air Connection

ANOTHER SHOT AT PAINTING SCHOODIC POINT on Tuesday Januray 28th, 2014!


"High Surf at Schoodic Point" an oil on panel 12 x 16.5 by Michael E. Vermette

Hello fellow plein air painters,

 The weather has really been a challenge to us this year but tomorrow we are going to give it another shot (Tuesday, January 28th, 2014) and paint once again at Schoodic Point. We will be meeting at the Penobscot Plaze just down the street from Bangor Frameworks at the old Aubuchon Hardware parking lot at 8:30 am sharp for car pooling. if you are interested in going please bring a lunch or money for a resturaunt stop over on the way back. Also bring car pool money if you are planning on riding with someone else. The weather is going to be excellent considering we will be hitting it before the cold front moves in, with great visibility and between 18 and 20 degrees like it is today. 

Hope to paint with those who can make it, bundle up and come prepared to paint at a fantastic location,

Michael E. Vermette
Plein Air Connection Coordinator

Directions: 

Bangor Frameworks 175 Exchange St Bangor, ME 04401

	1. Head south on Exchange St towardHancock St
		0.1 mi
	2. Turn left onto Washington St
		0.1 mi
	3. Take the 1st right
		0.2 mi
	4. Continue straight onto State St
		1.1 mi
	5. Turn left onto US-1A E/Wilson St Continue to follow US-1A E
		23.2 mi
	6. Continue onto Bangor Rd
		1.3 mi
	7. Continue onto Oak St
		0.3 mi
	8. Continue onto High St
		1.0 mi
	9. Turn left onto U.S. 1
		17.2 mi
	10. Turn right toward ME-186 E/S Gouldsboro Rd
		0.1 mi
	11. Slight left onto ME-186 E/S Gouldsboro Rd Continue to follow ME-186 E
		6.4 mi
	12. Turn left onto ME-186 E/Main St
		0.5 mi
	13. Slight right onto Moore Rd
		3.8 mi
	14. Turn left onto Blueberry Hill Rd
		0.2 mi
	15. Turn left
		0.6 mi

Schoodic Head Trail Winter Harbor, ME 04693

THE PLEIN AIR CONNECTION NEWSLETTER January 20th, 2014


"Silver Sunset, Monhegan Island" an oil on linen 21.5 x 29 inches by Michael E. Vermette

Once again we had an enriching conversation and visual sharing of various reproductions from books we had brought in from our personal collections of the old masters and their drawings, referred to in Robert Henri's book, "The Art Spirit". It was a wonderful way to start out our discussion. We would read sections of the book like on page 110 when Henri writes, " In this Rembrandt drawing we see people in a tavern. Among them is an imposing client. Note the way the lines force our understanding of his pompous authority. How different each one present carries himself. In the whole composition there is unity of line and there is a unity of group, time and place, but each personage is an identity in himself. Variety within unity." We would then find the drawing in my large Rembrandt folio book to directly see what Henri was eluding to when he spoke of variety within unity. It was very helpful as we pursued images based on comments through the books the group had brought in including Manet, Degas, Hopper and even John Marin. We brought in two extra tables into the coffee shop opening the books up to color plates as we read aloud the text from The Art Spirit book, and then stopped to make comments on their work. This worked well an so we decided to continue to include into our future group discussions books with reproductions because we found it so very helpful visually. 

We then moved on to discussing the section between "A Sketch" p. 126 and "My People" p. 143. We talked about beauty being a "sense" of the things around us that only last for a moment in time and are the good-humored love of the people and things that spring forth spontaneously as a love song around us. And that, without it, painting would be relegated to a bitter activity of painful duty. Are paintings without love witless, labored, and ill at ease? We thought that Henri was referring to a love of the subject's nature not painting only loving subjects. Many paintings can be horrible, grotesque, born out of the need to get the picture out of our system. For example, I shared about a watercolor painting I did of a guide at Katahdin Lake skinning a black bear. It won a Best In Show award at a Bangor Art Society Open juried show a few years back. I found out that the judges made up their mind that they were either going to have to give the painting the top prize or reject the painting from the show altogether due to the subject matter. But I think what Henri is talking about here is the beautiful nature in my painting of how right the guide is portrayed and how at ease the character is skinning the bear in the autumn sunlight. It's as much about the character of the person portrayed as it is about the  unfortunate bear. Not a matter of skill in technical proficiency but a matter of what I took out of the "shock" of the raw nature of the event I witnessed. There was a beauty in painting the experience as if painting a crucifixion, for the bear is my wife's native clan animal of whom we both have great respect and would never hunt.

We talked about our motives for painting a picture and how it can't simply be for the purpose of winning awards or to be on someone's honor list. I recently won an "Outstanding Watercolor" award for "Tying the scallop Dredge, Southwest Harbor, Maine" from the BoldBrush December 2013 online painting competition that is sponsor by my web site host FASO (Fine Art Studio Online).  
My award package has an estimated value of $500 including A full feature in Informed Collector (that goes to 10,000 people) and my artwork featured on this website indefinitely in winner archives. And even with all these accolades I have received over the years I have decide that I will paint even if I never win another award. Henri speaks of Thomas Eakins as one of the very great men in all American art, but who died practically unknown receiving only an "honor" or two. That art is more about what Henri admits has gone on in our own country for centuries in valuable and amazing Native American art that reminds us that our expressions must be pure, not imitation or related to the more ancient art that existed beyond the Pacific.

We are in error if we think that the subject is simply the object painted in a picture. Henri advises us that when we paint a figure in the landscape we should paint the person's feet as though they were gripping the ground, paint the wagon to express its carrying power, and use color not for color and light's sake but paint them as a means of expression. And when we lead the eye to the point of interest in our compositions, let us lead the viewer to a place that is inescapable; a place where there is something so interesting and unexpected the he will not want to turn from the experience.

We found a lot of content in the section entitled: Letter 1916. Here Henri speaks to the role of the modern-day collector. That they have their part to play in the development and progress of art in our time and place.  Present day collectors  can enter into a full support of a struggling and searching artist by purchasing their works. They could enter into the same risks as the artist do by taking a chance in the judgement of works like the artists themselves do. Because in the end only the good works will survive anyway and be known; the bad art will pass; but the collector will have lived.  This is true because the collector who needs to purchase the art as much as the painter needed to paint it has a heart-felt connection with the work that they relating too.  These are the best collectors and patrons.

We discussed the idea that there is an order perceived by the artist with a creative spirit and that it comes about when one expresses oneself and thus naturally follows "organic law." This spiritual order has power to make a painter more energized than when first starting to paint. This happens to me when teaching an art class. I plan and make a concerted effort for orderly and relative artistic ideas to flow only to find that the fatigue and worry goes away and that I am in better physical and physiological condition by the end of the class than when I first began. Henri explains it this way," ...order begets order, and the healthy state of mind and body exists. Robert Henri p.133." The paradox is that there is  more than one way to find rest and recuperation. Resting by not doing anything is actually more fatiguing than being involved in the orderly creative activity. I have observed that artists who Sit on a porch on Mohegan Island in the summer for a week, sipping their wine while looking out at all the beauty, not painting and waiting for inspiration, seem actually more stressed and fatigued than those who actually get out there and begin. Why, because to study by making art is to study its order and the relative value and fundamental principles found in nature. It is more of the study of the inside of nature not the outside surface value that evokes justice, simplicity and most of all good health. This energizing power is even present when the artist investigates materials used for quality and durability. An artist may not be a chemist or scientist, but will spend many hours discussing and researching a technique that interests him. 

We moved on and talked about our artistic motive and how without it painting would be a "difficult jugglery" as Henri states. Painting must be an act of simplicity that should never look labored or made in difficulty. The finer the artist's motive, the narrower the scope, the more relevant the artist's vision really is and the more selective will be the choice of conditions and materials. That is why some of us will search seemly forever for a subject on location and bring the highest quality materials we can to paint with. We are searching for relevance in our artistic vision. Listen to how Henri describes it in one of my favorite quotes:

"Each man must take the material that he finds at hand, see that in it there are the big truths of life, the fundamental big forces, and then express in his art whatever is the cause of his pleasure. It is not so much the actual place or the immediate environment; it is personal greatness and personal freedom which demands a final right art expression. A man must be master of himself and master of his word to achieve the full realization of himself as an artist." - Robert Henri p 136 The Art Spirit

The mother of invention is as true for art as it is in science. We should be less concerned about " if what we paint is art or not" and care more about our personal statement of "what it is we find important to put into permanent expression." We are only successful  as painters if we are inventive and realize that what we do is as much a matter of the heart as the mind. Often the mind does not know what God has written on the heart. When we look beyond the surface of nature and are found immersed in the study of it's internal order, often the mind discovers what the heart's true purpose and conviction is. It becomes a valuable revelation that is more satisfying than the false discrimination of awards and prizes that generally go amiss anyway. 

We discussed how it takes wit, interest and energy to be a happy artist and plein air painter. A great activity, you must be open to be alive for the spirit to flow. We agreed that there must be courage and know that there are no easy ruts to follow to happiness. And here I will share that I was never more over the moon than when 6 artists besides myself stepped up to place their money down without refund for an adventurous opportunity to paint on Monhegan Island this February. It is a daring thing to do when you know you've paid forward for a chance to express what you might see on a winter out-to-sea island in Maine. This group of plein air painters at all levels of artistic development will take the only mail boat out of Port Clyde at 9:30 am on February 19th to actually embark on a whimsical adventure that will reveal great moments that will, I'm sure, be very rewarding.  In fact, it beats all the things wealth can provide to be able to have a chance to say in a painting language the things one believes. To be able to put into painterly form and pass them on to anyone who might care to take them up.  There is the hope of happiness; and although it is actually disturbing for some to tell the truth and act rightly, the fact remains that all the great paintings that have ever been painted are not yet all created. And I am excited to see how this Plein Air Connection group will evolve and impact their world with their paintings.

Our next Plein Air Connection group discussion is on Saturday February 1st, 2014 at the Holy Grounds Coffee Shop at Grace Church. We will discuss "My People" on p. 143 to "Letter of Criticism" p. 159 in Robert Henri's The Art Spirit book. Joann Arsenault will be making us her special Chicken Gnocchi Soup! This last meeting Kay Carter made us a terrific Corn Chowder with homemade bread. Thanks Kay it was delicious! Please feel free to bring art books with reproductions and paintings that you would like comments from the group. We will be meeting right after the Bangor Art Society intake for their group show from 11 am to  one o'clock.

The Bangor Art Society Member Show intake is at 10am on Saturday February 1st and the Opening Reception is on Tuesday February 11th at 6pm. Members can bring 2-3 pieces (we will hang 3 if there is room, but you are guaranteed 2). Open Juried Show 2014: Show intake is 10am till noon, Saturday 3rd May. Judging will be 12:30-2:30pm, please pick up pieces not juried between 2:30 and 4:30pm that day. Registration and jury details to come. Advance notice that we will now be combining acrylic and oil categories once again. Opening Reception and awards 6-7 PM Tuesday 13th May. 


Please note: all are welcome to our next Bangor art Society meeting on Tuesday, January 28th at the Creative Arts Center in Brewer. As you cross the Union Street bridge from Bangor, Schooners is on your right, the Arts Center on your left. The best way to drive into their parking lot is to take a left onto North Main Street and turn left after just a few buildings. (This is much easier and less dangerous than trying to cut in front of traffic to get in the first possible entrance immediately next to the bridge.) Like last year, we will be painting the ceramic of your choice (eg. plate, platter, mug).  The cost for the item plus its glazing and firing varies from about $10 to $20 so bring cash or checks. Last year we found it helpful to plan ahead of time a design or image to paint. It is challenge enough to paint using colors that look very different wet than when glazed and fired. Even if you don't want to paint, do come along for the meeting and inspiration.
Beyond January the Bangor Art society meetings held on the third floor of the Bangor Public library are the following dates: Feb 25th, Mar 25th, April 22nd, May 27th, Sept 23rd, Oct 28th, and Nov 25th, 2014.

I wish you all a fantastic week that artistically impacts your world,

Michael E. Vermette
Coordinator of the Plein Air Connection
Vice president of the Bangor Art Society

THE PLEIN AIR CONNECTION

Just a quick notice that the 2nd Schoodic Point Paint-out scheduled for Tuesday, January 21st is cancelled due to the Arctic Cold front that is moving in with temps dropping below 10° degrees tonight and wind chill below zero. We have rescheduled it for next Tuesday, January 28 the same time and the same meeting places. Hopefully the weather will be warmer without an Arctic cold warning.

I wish you all great painting success in your studios, 

Michael E. Vermette
Plein Air Connection Coordinator

The PLEIN AIR CONNECTION NEWSLETTER January 14th, 2014
The Schoodic Point Paint-out


"High Surf at Schoodic Point, Acadia National Park" an oil 16 x 20 inches on board by Michael E. Vermette

On Tuesday January 14th the Plein Air Connection painting group descended upon Schoodic point, Acadia National Park. It was raining a light and steady mist when we left Bangor but it soon cleared and even the sun tried to break through the clouds when we arrived. The surf was high and the waves must have been 10 feet or more as they crashed ashore one after another. The rocks were wet so the going was slow and we were the only ones there. The ones who painted in our group were Kay carter, Becky Whight and myself.  We stood and watched the wonder of these towering comers curling into churning bright white surf, as if we had all the time in the world. But we didn't. About an hour into our painting the rain picked up again. We were believing for a 4 hour window without rain but what we really recieved was about an hour. It was always a light mist that gradually got heavier the nearer we were to noon time. But we stuck it out because the color was so richly glazed and mesmerizing . Our painting palettes would quickly bead up with water drops but if you angled your painting just right it wouldn't get any rain on it at all, with the exception of the back which became totally saturated. Gypsum painted oak panels are best for this type of hearty painting because they actually absorb the rain long enough for you to get something established. Also the Black Oil Wax medium provides a glue property that when mixed with the oil paint helps the paint to stick to the surface, even if the substrate is wet! I used a ton of it in my painting because I accidentally broke a jar of it on the rocks. I was in the position to either use it or lose it. But my panel was not a gypsum panel. It was a panel given to me by my friend Cooper Dragonette, and it was a 16 x 20 inch acrylic gessoed hard board. It worked OK for applying paint because no rain actually hit the surface of the painting due to the angle I painted it at. But the back did get partially saturated and it started to warp. Becky and Kay didn't add as much, if any, black oil wax medium to their oil paint. They admitted to me that they found it difficult to control the paint from sliding off and making a mess. Frustrated, they actually finished about a half hour before I did and I might have stayed longer if my rain gear held out and I had a gypsum gessoed board. 
By afternoon it just continued to rain steady and so I quit and went back with the others in Kate's warm station wagon. On our way back we talked a lot about the black oil wax medium and its ability to not only increase color brightness but to improve adhesion even on days like these. I talked with them about my friend Ann Hubert who use to tell me that James Fitzgerald would lay a light coat of Black Oil Wax medium over is canvas the night before and add an iron oxide oil color to it to tone the canvas. The next day he would paint on that surface and he told her that there would be just the right tack to paint on it. We really don't think about paint adhesion, but it is really important as plein air painters who need one less thing to battle on location. James Fitzgerald knew this and he lived on Monhegan Island which is one of the dampest out-to-sea islands along the coast of Maine. 
So we all decided to try this again. Next Tuesday we are going to paint at Schoodic a second time. If you would like to car-pool with us we are meeting at the Penobscot Plaze at 8:30 am. We will also meet up with other painters at the Dunkin Donuts in Ellsworth at 9 am sharp. The weather is supposed to be better and still warm enough to plein air paint. This time, we all decided, we'll prepare our canvases or panels with a thin coat of Black Oil Wax medium and a pigment to tint the substrate the night before. They should be excellent surfaces to paint on no matter what the weather conditions are that we may face. Sometimes all need is just one more crack at it in better weather to see a painting idea through, even if we did come away with effective paintings. It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Robert Henri, " Things being as they are, the life of an artist is a battle wherein great economy must be exercised. The kind of economy which will result in moments of pure freedom in spite of the world's exactions. -Robert Henri



"Schoodic Point, Acadia National Park" an oil on canvas 8 x 10 inches by Becky Whight

We stopped over on our way back at Chases Restaurant in Winter Harbor at around 1 o'clock. None of us really wanted to show our paintings to each other, but we did. We quickly ordered our lunch and ended up had a great critique right in the restaurant even though they were scheduled to close at 2 PM. It is amazing how a painting will seem better when you have had a hot cup of tea and can get away from the battle. 


"Schoodic Rain" an oil on canvas 9 x 12 inches by Kay Carter

  Coming up on the schedule this Saturday is the continuation of "The Art Spirit" book discussion by artist and author Robert Henri. Those who are planning on attending should bring books of drawing reproductions of Rembrandt, Cezanne, Monet, Degas, and other master painters that Henri has talked about in his book. We are going to refer to these drawings reproductions as we re-read last weeks section of the drawn line.  We will then look at the drawings of these masters by cross-referencing them with what we read between p.110 and p. 114 of Robert Henri's book as an exercise. This promises to be a very interesting activity and very educational. You might also want to keep up with the readings we are doing. The next section that we ask you to read before next class is A Sketch p. 126 up to My People p. 143 in The Art Spirit book by Robert Henri. 

Here are some dates you will want to save:  

Tuesday, January 28th at the Brewer Creative Arts Center (at a wonderful ceramic shop) I will be hosting our first Bangor Art Society Meeting of 2014. Everyone who attends will be invited to paint/glaze on plates and platters, choosing their own sizes and style. More information will follow as we get closer to the date. This meeting is open to everyone but there will be a fee for the firing and glazes of the pottery provided.

The deadline for the registration for the Waterville Open Juried show 2014 is coming right up on February 21st. Registration is $30.00 but substantially higher at the door on the day of the show's in-take on March 22nd at the Waterville Library at 77 Elm street between 9:30-11:00 am. For more information on the show and to acquire an entry form click hereor go to http://www.watervillemainstreet.org/events.php.

The PLEIN AIR CONNECTION PAINTOUT, Tuesday, January 14th, 2014


"Schoodic Point Surf, Acadia National Park" Oil on board 8 x 10 inches by Michael E. Vermette

The Plein Air Connection Paint-out schedule for tomorrow is at Schoodic Point. There is rain in the forecast but it will be a light rain with occasional breaks. We are believing for at least a two to four-hour break in the weather to capture spectacular surf. If you would like to car pool from Bangor we are meeting at the Penobscot Plaza near bangor Frameworks on exchange street, Bangor, ME at 8:30 am sharp. We will also stop at the Dunkin Donuts in Ellsworth at 9:00 am to meet up with any of you hearty souls who would like to join us. Dress warm and for the wet weather. The surf is powerful and rocks slippery this time of year so be prepared. Please bring a lunch and be aware that we might stop on the way back at a restaurant for a bit to eat and a group critique.

Hope to see some of you there,

Michael E. Vermette
Coordinator of the Plein Air Connection

Directions: 

Bangor Frameworks 175 Exchange St Bangor, ME 04401

	1. Head south on Exchange St towardHancock St
		0.1 mi
	2. Turn left onto Washington St
		0.1 mi
	3. Take the 1st right
		0.2 mi
	4. Continue straight onto State St
		1.1 mi
	5. Turn left onto US-1A E/Wilson St Continue to follow US-1A E
		23.2 mi
	6. Continue onto Bangor Rd
		1.3 mi
	7. Continue onto Oak St
		0.3 mi
	8. Continue onto High St
		1.0 mi
	9. Turn left onto U.S. 1
		17.2 mi
	10. Turn right toward ME-186 E/S Gouldsboro Rd
		0.1 mi
	11. Slight left onto ME-186 E/S Gouldsboro Rd Continue to follow ME-186 E
		6.4 mi
	12. Turn left onto ME-186 E/Main St
		0.5 mi
	13. Slight right onto Moore Rd
		3.8 mi
	14. Turn left onto Blueberry Hill Rd
		0.2 mi
	15. Turn left
		0.6 mi

Schoodic Head Trail Winter Harbor, ME 04693

The PLEIN AIR CONNECTION NEWSLETTER January 4th, 2014


"The First Snow on Monhegan Island" an oil 8 x 10 inches by Michael E. Vermette

I was delighted that we really had such a rich discussion last Saturday at our Plein Air Connect discussion meeting. We really started off the new year on the right foot. Kay Carter and Ann Spencer were there with me as we shared our views and discussed theLetter of Criticism from page 96 to A Sketch on page 126 of Robert Henri's book The Art Spirit. We found this particular letter loaded with content and entertained the idea of what it must have been like to be a student and receive a letter of criticism like this one from Robert Henri himself. In fact we agreed with Henri's summation of what a student should be in his own words and I quote:

Every movement, every evidence of search is worthy of the consideration of the student. The student must look things squarely in the face, know them for what they are worth to him. Join no creed, but respect all for the truth that is in them. The battle of human evolution is going on. There must be investigations in all directions. Do not be afraid of new prophets or prophets that may be false. Go in and find out. The future is in your hands. - Robert Henri p. 106 The Art Spirit.

The group is beginning to engage in the deep discussions that Robert Henri's student did when he taught them. incredibly, as I have said before, they would work all day, attended his night classes, discussed what he said after class into the late evening and sleep on park benches in New York City, only to do it all over again the next day. Henri was a powerfully inspiring painter and his students were willing to pay the price to have his ideas boil and seeth out of them artistically as they influence their world around them. His students would discuss ideas like how all satisfying things have good organization. That, form is related to each other in a painting and that there is a dominant movement among the passages and shapes that reach a supreme conclusion. Today we would call that a focal point or point of interest. In music we would call it a crescendo referred to it as balance, rhythm, cumulation, opposition or loudest conclusion. It is also found in our work. For example, If we introduce an agent, an in-part, be it a shape, color, line, texture, ect., the part must enter into the order of the rest of the parts established on the page or canvas. It must take on in its very character a right amount of balance with the other parts in the painting. If the part is a figure with other figures in the composition, than it must take its place in degree of prominence with the other figures as a color, form or line-note to establish and advance that unified composition. 

This kind of thinking excites me and it excited the group on this day. Especially when you consider Henri's description of the student's sketch and how it could be a "finished" work with no more detail added to it and even less details than it usually has presently. The painted sketch or study could be carried much further as a larger statement of complexity, kept just as simple and direct representing the initial and essential on-site painting experience. A painting developed as what Henri calls a "finished" piece  is not a matter of mere detailing or polishing of an image, but finished by the way it pleases you as a painter. Painting a larger canvas from an oil study, while keeping your focus on the organization of its parts, including only what you like about the painting, is a great direction for one to take in the studio. The larger the painting, the more charming and free it should be, as with the little painted sketch.  But Henri warns that this process, and we all agreed, involves more work because it is to be a more concerted effort. This requires more concentration not less focus upscaling, resizing and arranging the parts of the painting to agree and combine to make a satisfying harmony that has the same impact as the jewel-like study.   Conventionally "finishing" in a painting has meant simply enlarging it and adding more detail, polishing it, using cleaver skill. What it gains in unedited realism it lacks in freshness, spirit and life. Be an unconventional painter. The "finishing" of an artist's statement to a larger canvas should carry over the essential life-giving importance of the special treatment that the artists is excited about in the sketch or study. The danger is that the study in the end appears more fresh, alive, spontaneous and exciting than the larger piece, even though less time is actually spent on the study than the larger painting. No matter how skilled you are in technique, how much detail you include, it will never come close to a spontaneous study or sketch unless you use it as an opportunity to round out the painting experience, complete the sections with the same scale of interesting brush or palette knife treatment, and rely on intense interest in memory of the painting's subject. Otherwise it simply can become a boring representation like a bad sequel of a great movie.  

We agreed that painting is not just a mere pleasurable pastime, but to obtained beauty is to work for it. It is something to enter into, get enjoyment from, be inspired by, of course. But it is more satisfying in the process when the artist is fully aware of the new innovative order of its construction used. For example, we agreed that we shouldn't consider ourselves a low-key or high-key painter. We should use the key that the painting idea calls for. 

When the motives of artists are profound, when they are at their work as a result of deep consideration, when they believe in the importance of what they are doing, their work creates a stir in the world. - Robert Henri  p.103 The Art Spirit

Very few artists believe their work has the potential to stir the world. But that is exactly what a great work of art will do. It will not only entertain the viewer, but cause excitement, cause the public to see something worth while that it is accustomed to only hear. It can be unexpected, witty and even disturb the peace, but it should never be dull due to our own dullness and predictability as a painter. We all agreed that when a drawing or painting is tiresome it may be because the motive of the artist is not worth the effort. Only we as artists can judge that in ourselves. Only we can purpose ourselves to paint works that do not look like pictures that are merely copied without understanding in appearance. Only the artist can discipline themselves to draw a thing that is obtained by exploring all around the object to comprehend a unity by which the parts can be treated as informed components of the whole. My favorite quote in this section is as follows:

Intellect should be used as a tool.
The technique learned without a purpose is a formula which when used, knocks the life out of any ideas. - Robert Henri p. 133 The Art Spirit.


We agreed with Henri that a life-long student/artist should keep their old work because of the fact that it was done by them, holds virtues as well as faults in it that can be studied. We talked about spending time with our work, putting it where we can see it often because no one can learn more from their art than the person who made it. Artists who are too busy to take the time to study their work never really accomplish much for their efforts. In developing a great idea for a painting the artist must consider that they may have to develop more than one drawing or painting and that being serious does not mean sticking to one piece of paper or canvas. 

So in this new year of making resolutions and making commitments, let us consider being truer to ourselves as painters. Lets be aware that there is a Creator who not only wants to co-create through us, but that there are deeply satisfying arrangements and organizations to be discovered and made on paper and canvas that await us.  Lets spend just a little more time looking deeper into the things we have already studied and sketched, to consider with fresh eyes what it is we want to say visually; and bring our works into a more rounded conclusion.

In our next connect discussion we have decided to do something very different. We will be asking everyone who comes to the next meeting on January 18th to bring books or reproduction drawings of such great artists as Rembrandt, Renoir, Homer and Whistler. We will then look at the drawings of these masters by cross-referencing them with what we read between p.110 and p. 114 of Robert Henri's book as an exercise. You might also want to keep up with the reading we are doing. The next section that we ask you to read before next class is A Sketch p. 126 up to My People p. 143 in The Art Spirit book by Robert Henri. 

Thank you to my wife Elaine for making a wonderfully delicious and  hearty vegetable beef soup and bringing an all natural multigrain French Parisian bread to go with it. We also offered complementary coffee and tea as our conversations continued through lunch. Next meeting Kay Carter will be surprising us with her homemade soup so you won't want to miss it!

The next paint-out for Tuesday January 7th is cancelled due to the extreme cold conditions. We will paint outdoors again the following Tuesday January 14th at Schoodic Point. Driving details, car pooling opportunities, and a map of the paint-out site will be posted next week. 

May you paint this week like the man going over the top of the hill, singing,

Michael E. Vermette
Coordinator of The Plein Air Connection

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A New Watercolor Course at Bangor High School:

The Winning Compositions of Watercolors

"Mending The Trawler Net" a watercolor 18.5 x 25 inches by Michael E. Vermette          Hello Everyone. My course was just posted on the Bangor Adult Education web site today and I wanted to notify you all as promised. This is a course that people have asked about for some time now and I am now offering it in one of the  beautifully equip art rooms of Bangor High school. I have wanted to teach this class ever since I took a workshop with the well known watercolor painter Tom Lynch and as you can see by the description, I will be focusing on how a watercolor painter creates winning compositions in a painting and the type of thinking that is behind it.  Designed to take you beyond the technical level of watercolor painting, this course will offer a lot of fun assignments that will help you to consider what it is you want to say in your painting. The Bangor Adult Education web site has listed the class as happening on Wednesdays. But actually that is a typo. It will be onMonday nights and will start on Monday, January 27th between 6 PM and 9 PM. So please tell your friends and anyone else who would like to take this course. This would be a great gift to give yourself, family or friends during this holiday season. Happy New Year to you all! I feel Its high time I taught in the adult education arena once again and time I got on with it! I'm very excited about teaching and painting with 7-14 students who would want to take their painting to another level. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions at [email protected].    All the best to you,   Michael E. Vermette   Course Title:  The Winning Compositions of Watercolors   Instructor: Michael E. Vermette, https://www.michaelevermette.com   Dates: Tuesdays, January 27th to March 18th, no class the week of February Vacation.   Times: 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM   Place: Bangor High School, Bangor, ME.   Price: $79.00   Course Description: This watercolor painting class is for those students who have achieved a basic level of technical skill in watercolor painting and want to explore compositional methods that will improve their skills as a visual communicator. These lessons are based on ten methods most often used by famous artists presently and in art history when composing a watercolor painting. The instructor will demonstrate a new compositional approach each week and challenge the painter to entertain the viewer through in-class exercises. The class will also assign out-of-class assignments so that the student can put into practice their newly acquired skills. Students will work from their drawings, photographs and direct observation. This course gives compositional insight through visual  presentations of watercolor movements and artist trends that have elevated watercolor painting to what it is today. This advanced watercolor class will give the student a solid base to build their own painting experiences upon. Group critiques will be featured each week to offer the student an opportunity to develop their powers to talk about their work in a supportive environment. This course is for anyone who desires to go to the next level in their watercolor painting while keeping a balance of play and experimentation with the medium.   About the instructor: Michael has 40 plus years experience in watercolor painting and has been a Maine certified Art Teacher for over 27 years and is a member of the Maine Art Education Association and Art in the Heart. He graduated with a BFA degree in Painting with a minor in printmaking from the Maine College of Art in 1980. Since then Michael has won numerous awards for his watercolor paintings including his most recent, the Laura Coleman Award at the 13th Biennial New England Watercolor show in 2012. He was also awarded multiple art residencies including The “Carina House” Monhegan Island Residency in 1999, two residencies at Acadia National Park in 1999 and 2006 and the Baxter State Park Resident Artist program in 2011. He is represented at the North Light Gallery in Millinocket, the Gleason Gallery in Boothbay Harbor, the Elizabeth Moss Gallery in Falmouth, and the Lupine Gallery on Monhegan Island, all four in Maine. Michael's work is also featured in David Little's new book,”Artists of Katahdin.” “Holly's Catch” a Watercolor 28 in. x 38 in. by Michael E. Vermette, The Laura Coleman Award Winner at the 13th Biennial, New England watercolor Society 2012.

Click Here for Michael's suggested Watercolor Painting Supply list on his web site.

Click Here to Register for this course through Bangor Adult Education.

THE PLEIN AIR CONNECTION NEWSLETTER January 1st, 2014



"Sunrise From Cadillac Mountain" an oil on oak panel 8 x 10 inches by Michael E. Vermette

     Happy New Year to you all and to all who have recently signed up for this Newsletter! Elaine and I have come through the ice storm OK but not without losing our power on Christmas Day. We simply moved our Christmas dinner and presents to my daughter's home in Hampden where we celebrated into the evening. We got our power back the next day and it was like receiving a special Christmas gift. I hope you all got through the holidays as well as we did and were blessed with extra kindness. 

        In this time of year it is customary to reflect on and be thankful for our successes of last year and to make new commitments towards tangible goals for the new year. Weather you are thinking of your art as something you care deeply about, seeing your career as a "Third parent and your fourth child" as Robert, the Earl of Grantham does towards Downton Abbey in the popular PBS series airing this Sunday or a deep and brand new calling from an ever-changing God; you no doubt are making a strategy for the new year. I too have had the time to meditate on plans for this year and can say that it has a lot of wonderful events and adventures in store for us.  If you are feeling as I do, it is high time we got on with it and got moving!

       This Saturday January 4th we will hold the first Plein Air Connect meeting of the new year at Grace Church Holy Grounds coffee shop, 1404 broadway in Bangor, Maine. We will continue our discussion of "Letter of Criticism:" page 96 to "Letter, 1916" on page 131 of Robert Henri's book The Art Spirit. We will meet between 10 am to noon followed by soup and bread or rolls. Coffee and tea will be provided. You are all invited!

      The following Tuesday January 7th we will be painting en plein air and every Tuesday from that day on. It is a big commitment but there is a staunch core group that would like to try this for 2014 and we welcome you to join us. We ski or snowshoe at times to some locations in the winter and other times we simply hike to our destination. We will meet and car-pool to a location and then go to a restaurant after for an early dinner and critique that will follow. These paint-outs have been very successful in the past and we hope to continue them this year as often as we can, weather permitting. We usually do not paint when the weather is below 20 degrees but we are all well equip to brave even the harshest weather. All are welcome to join us as we paint Downeast Maine and the Katahdin region this winter. we will announce the place by Monday January 6th along with driving instructions and a map if you'd like to meet us on site. Where we will actually paint will be a topic of our discussion when we meet on January 4th. You will want to bring your Winter Sorel boots, snow suit, warm gloves and hat as well as a lunch and money for car-pooling and dinner after. I'm looking forward to painting a variety of exciting sites with you!

        Starting Monday January 27th I will be teaching a watercolor painting class at Bangor High School called, "The Winning Compositions of Watercolor". We will be meeting between 6 PM and 9 PM in one of their art rooms. The class will focus on new and exciting ways to use composition to express your subject ideas in watercolor painting. It is an opportunity for me to impart the skills I have learned throughout my career from notable instructors like Tom Lynch and a 10 year study of James Fitzgerald's methods through Ann Hubert on Monhegan Island. I will have more details in the next newsletter and a link to register on-line as well as a materials list. I am really looking forward to at least 7 students who would really like to paint a watercolor each week with me and take the medium to another level beyond technical proficiency. This class will be a lot of fun. Check with Bangor Adult Education at the High School for more information.

      Lastly, I have made my reservations for the Murdock cottage on Monhegan Island for this summer July 5th to July 12th, 2014.  My fellow colleague of Maine College of Art and his wife will be joining my wife and I. We now have two rooms available for any of you Plein Air Connect group painters who would like to join us at this time. This is not a workshop opportunity. It is an opportunity for three artists to come over and paint on their own while joining us as we share expenses and cook one night during the week for each other. One room has two single beds for two who would like to room together for $514.50. Each artist in that room would pay about $257.25 for their room for the week! There is also a single bed room with one single bed for an artist that would want to room alone. That room is $514.50. If you would like more information please click here.  If you are interested please feel free to contact me at your earliest convience at[email protected]. This is the same week that many of the Bangor Art Society members are going over to Monhegan Island to paint. It is among the longest days to paint of the year and a Full moon is scheduled for Saturday the 12th, which means Friday the 11th should be as full!

      I hope you feel as inspired as I do. It is definitely time to get on with it and paint those paintings we always wanted to paint. Lets let the hope and inspiration of this new year take us to a place of amazement and wonder!

Happy New Year to you all, good health, prosperity, and Lets go for it!

Michael E. Vermette
Coördinator of the Plein Air Connection