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Waldoboro's Paint The Town August 1, 2015

The Waldoboro Paint The Town Auction was well organized by the Tidemark Gallery and the Medomak Arts Project staff who were very accommodating for painters. Some of us were able to paint a day earlier than the actual day of the event and some thought of the full Blue moon as I did. This is one of the oldest wet paint auction events in the state that provides breakfast and lunch vouchers for their artists. I chose to paint the day before and into the early hours of the morning of the Plein Air event on August 1st. I began at dusk and finished my 12 x 16 inch oil panel by 12:30 PM and got back to my hotel room with my wife by 1:30 am in the morning. All the time I painted with my headlamp illuminating my canvas well into the night, I was being watch by Caren Clark and her husband from their porch that had an excellent view of the Harbor in Friendship. They were a couple from Waldoboro who came to the auction and won with the highest bid on that painting later on the next day. In fact, this year's auction was the first time I was able to registered both paintings later on that next morning with extra time with my wife Elaine to view the Rockland Lobster Festival parade that lasted until just afternoon. After dressing up and checking out of our hotel in Rockland, we went to the lively auction to watch it unfold as both of my paintings sell. The second one that sold was a Monhegan Island painting I did earlier this summer called "Surf at Lobster Point, Mohegan Island" that was won in auction by the same person who bought my painting last year, Kathi Domaine-Savage. That was the good news. The bad news was that my paintings both sold under the reserve price in auction which showed inexperience on the auctioneer's part. But not wanting to create a fuss, I let it slide and ultimately found that this wet paint auction was fun to participate in and I fully enjoyed working with all the people who made this event run so smoothly. It was also a privilege to help support the many sponsored programs of the Medomak Arts Project and to paint for the patrons who now own my paintings. 

Wet Paint On The Weskeag, The Kelpie Gallery in Thomaston

This is only the second Wet Paint auction that the St. Georges River Land Trust sponsored through the Kelpie Gallery in Thomaston. Being my first time, I was thrilled to participate with 29 other artists who were juried into this event. We were all inspired by the beauty of the many painting sites of the Weskeag and St. Georges River watershed. The live auction took place on August 15th with Bruce Gamage and Kaja Veilleux from Thomaston Place Auction House. They had a wonderful cocktail hour for previewing the works that were nicely displayed in the newly renovated barn-style Kelpie Gallery. They also added a touch of class by including inspiring music from the sound track, "A River Runs Through it" performed by Tom Luther and Mike Whitehead. My painting was the very last to sell in auction at the reserve price. They actually did better than last year by a few thousand dollars and it seems to be growing in popularity with newer artists every year. This is a wet paint auction that I would recommend to many of my plein air painter friends who particularly love to paint excellent marsh scenes. They had a variety of styles represented even though the reserve prices on many were low. But the auction was fun and lively with plenty of paintings that sold and very few that were passed.

When I painted the Weskeag I arrived early in the morning. The tide was just coming in and reached high tide by noon. Mostly a cloudless sky, I painted on a very bright day. I remember that I had a few visitors that included a baby otter who swam up the canal and underneath the bridge I painted from. Then there was the couple who paddled from the St. Georges river with a motor on their canoe who had sailed down from Canada from their sailboat. The marsh was alive with birds who dotted the landscape with highlights against the endless green marsh color and flowers. I am so thankful to have participated in this fun live wet paint auction and hope to do it again next year with more of my painter friends. The salt marshes are beautiful this time of year and what a perfect time to bring attention to the important work of the St. Georges River Land Trust. Thank you to all who made this event such a successful and enjoyable experience for my wife and I. 

The Maine Youth Wilderness Leadership Program Students at Katahdin Lake

Perhaps the most humbling and gratifying experience I had this summer was facilitating a one-day plain air watercolor workshop with the Maine Youth Wilderness Leadership Program students at Katahdin Lake. The Friends of Baxter State Park selected 10 Maine Youth who are currently high school sophomores and juniors for a leadership program that included a 9-day wilderness experience in Baxter State Park. The 200,000 plus acre preserve become an extraordinary outdoor classroom for these participants who backpacked from one end of the Park to the other. They worked with a variety of specialists and Park staff to help them understand wilderness through science, storytelling, photography, writing, history, recreation and my specialty, art. I always thought it was so appropriate that they should end their 9-day hike at Katahdin Lake and at the Katahdin Lake Wilderness Camps. There's just so much art history at this place an you just can't go wrong with an opportunity to stand in the footprints of some of these heroes in art. So it was that I decided to focus on the three most famous artists whom I named the three prominate beaches at Katahdin Lake after on the southern shore including: Frederic Church, James Fitzgerald, and Marsden Hartley. In fact the more I thought about these painters the more I began to think about the deep spiritual convictions they had with this place that drove their art making. Frederick Church compared painting the mountain to painting the glory of God. James Fitzgerald believed that the indigenous peoples of Maine had it right and that a spirit lived atop katahdin as with the life source that lived within everything. And Marsden Hartley said, "The more I paint the mountain the closer I get to the truth of it". What were they trying to capture? Clearly the spirit of nature in their paintings. So then I thought further of how I could teach young students to having a spiritual encounter with Katahdin that would help them in times ahead when they have to make difficult decisions as leaders. Then after an inspiring dream I knew how to approach the workshop. I began with the name of my workshop as: "Finding The Secret Place." In my introduction I described how each of these artists did their best to try and keep this place a "best kept secret." Why did they do this? They knew Katahdin Lake was a special place that would allow them to experience a deep spiritual encounter through their work even to the point that the painting might take on a life of it's own. All three of these painters considered the impact of their work upon their audiences as being emotional and powerfully built in truth. And they all painted differently as they believed nature was intended to be portrayed. I described to the students that every need was met for these painters from native Penobscot guides making camp before there was a wilderness camp built by the lumber companies to how the sporting camp owners provided, meals and camps that made katahdin Lake seem like a heaven in the wilderness. For these great painters, they had found for themselves the Secret Place. I told the students and councilors that they had that freedom too just as these artists did to focus only on painting and not to worry about any of their needs and chores that they needed to attend to in the last 7 days that led up to this day. On this day they would paint and enjoy the lake and we would take care of them. They would do it in three ways that these three artists spoke about as methods to find and experience the secret place in nature at Katahdin Lake. First, they needed to be quiet and open so that they could recieve.They would do this by being still and not talking with each other while making art. This would allow them to visually open up their senses to what they were feeling, hearing and seeing. I encouraged them, that if it came from deep inside them it was always the right decision to make in art. Secondly, they would have to guard their joy. I elaborated about how two young girls just the night before got lost on the mountain and were found by search and rescue early that morning at 1:00 am at Gulf Hagus. I asked them if they thought their joy was gone by then? They all could empathize and agree. Then I asked them to make a promise to me that no matter what happened on the day, they don't let people or circumstances steal their joy. These great Katahdin painters knew that you couldn't fight nature, only work with it. Or as James Fitzgerald put it, "You can't force a painting, only wish it." They also knew first hand that once your joy is gone you can create nothing. Lastly, I told them that they need to find that place in nature of rest. They would all need to enter into a dialogue with the spirit in nature that would put them in a state of restful concentration, focus, and a timeless state that is able to take in and respond to beauty as a deep breath of fresh air. After my introduction, which I tried to keep short, this is what happened next.

Thanks to the many sponcors that donated equipment this year we were able to get all of the students and councilors off the ground and painting with the same quality materials as these masters did. The councilors and I handed out all these quality watercolor materials to the students and it was a little like receiving a gift on Christmas Day because most of the equipment was brand new. I told them that they would never know how good they were as painters if they didn't use the best materials. So completely equipped, then we hiked to the beach just down from the bluff where the Katahdin Lake Wilderness Camps are located.

When they were almost to the beach with their equipment in hand I asked them how many had actually hiked here before. All of them hadn't. Then I told them to prepare themselves for one of the most awesome beach views in Baxter State Park that caused Governor Baxter himself to call this the "Crown Jewel" of Baxter State Park. And as they approached the beach you could hear the oo's and aah's when they saw how beautiful it was and how long. They had arrived! They also found that I was all set up with my medium French Resistance painting box easel on tripod, ready to paint. After they all checked out the famous views and went out to the end of the dock to view Katahdin, I gathered them for a short demonstration. I asked one of them who had a watch to time me as I made what was called a "Quicky" (a watercolor in 15 to 20 minutes). A quicky is a rapidly painted watercolor sketch made only with a brush and no pre-drawing with a pencil. You simply begin painting. Here my goal wasn't to make young painters out of them and try to teach them a whole lot of techniques, but to get them beyond the apprehension of simply putting paint on the paper. Besides, many spontaneous things happen when you are limited and given only a short time to include what you value as essential. After time was up, I stopped and talked about how much I was able to capture in the short time I was given. 

Then it was their turn. I helped them figure out how to set up their easels and waited for everyone to tape down their paper to the boards so that they could all begin at the same time. They also got their water ready and palette held correctly in their hands as well as their three brushes. Then when everyone was ready they all began at the same time. Five minutes into the painting they started to realize that 20 minutes is a much longer time than they thought and began to settle down and make decisions that weren't so rushed. Because they weren't allowed to draw first with a pencil and use their largest to smallest brushes in progression, they experienced a flow in their work that was impressive. It was as if the brushes became an extension of their hand. At 10 minutes into the painting a huge black cloud appeared directly over their painting area that casted a dark shadow over them. First a few heavy drops fell and then more. But the students were so into what they were doing they were remarking about the effects the drops were making on their painted washes. But in reality that was short lived as the students only had enough time to flip their painting boards upside down on their easels and make a run for cover. Then came the worst torrential down pour that I ever witnessed at the lake. It sounded like a thunderous waterfall going by with drops bouncing off the surface of the water and our equipment up to 8 inches high. It was impressive and would be enough for anyone to throw in the towel. But that is not what happened. As the storm subsided the sun lit up the landscape once again and these students who only moments ago ran for cover slowly returned one by one to finish their work. It was amazing to watch as they kept their joy and continued painting an extra 10 minutes until they all finished. The paintings came out surprisingly well and I was able to find good qualities in all of their quick studies. I commented on each painting as we used an old overturned Old Town canoe as our critique table with all of the paintings displayed side-by-side. After a short critique we had each of the students dry the soaked equipment with their rags and had them pack it up for the canoe trip we would take after lunch.

When they reached the lodge of the Katahdin Lake Wilderness Camps they found a buffet that would not only feed an army but great tasting carefully prepared food with options to make-your-own sandwiches that included amazing deserts. It was a perfect reward for passing such a great test.

After lunch Holly the camp guide and I made the decision that I should continue with my program because of the weather report that came in from Chimney Pond that rain would occur by 3 PM. So we went back to doing a longer painting session. This time they could use their pencils and all of their painting supplies and would be given them at least a two to three hour block of painting time and I would visit them personally to offer suggestions. Where we were taking out canoes and kayaks the councilors divided the students according to paddling distance and skills. The ones who wanted to paddle to the farthest beach, Church's Beach, would be using the Kayaks. The three who were going to the middle beach all paddled together in one canoe to Fitzgerald's Beach. And the ones who wanted to be nearest to the camp I guided behind the large log cabin with it's own beach trail named the Hartley Beach. The councilors and I supervised their paddling closely as we paddled to the Church Beach where I set up my easel for one of them to use. Then I went back to all the beaches alone stopping to offer advice and answered questions. The time went by quickly as I paddled back and forth stopping at each beach to spend time with each artist. We started out painting at 1 pm in the afternoon and finished by 4 pm and it still hadn't rained. We had a short critique and I was pleased at the quality I saw in their work. With very little time to have a group critique I opted to have an important group photo instead just before the plane came to pick up the gear by 4:30 PM. They clearly all followed all the steps I planned out even though not all of them had time to finish. They went up to receive an awesome history of this camp by Holly Hamilton and even had time to swim before the thunder and lightning came upon the camp. I slipped away and hiked back out to my car alone after another group photo taken by Holly. I reached Avalance Field by 5 PM and it never did rain again that day.

I would like to thank Dick Blick for providing enough easels combined with mine to get every student and councilor off the ground so they can paint like the master's did. I would like to thank The Jack Richesoncompany who donated the Steven Quiller watercolor paint, palettes and fantastic Grey Matters brushes that made a huge difference in the student's ability to paint without visual distraction and the quality of the paintings created as evidenced in the end result. I would like to thank the Judson's Art Outfitters, Phantom Canyon Ranch Co. who gave us composition view finders, water spray bottles and large hake brushes to quickly block in areas in our painting. My business, The Art Spirit Studio who donated the 300 lb press watercolor paper, art boards, and miscellaneous supplies like the large plastic bags that acted as a portfolio to keep the paper dry and protected in transport. The formica boards that the students painted on, erasers, artist tape, pencils, sponges, rags, and cups for water. I would like to also thank the Katahdin Air Servicewho donated one flight to drop off the student equipment at the Katahdin Lake dock which weighed exactly 100 lbs. Also a special thank you to Holly Hamilton the business owner at the Katahdin Lake Wilderness Camps and her staff who fed us an amazing lunch and allowed us to use the canoes and kayaks to reach our painting destinations, the amazing food and great history presentation made this a fuller experience for the students. And finally I would like to give a special thank you to the Friends of Baxter who design these unique wilderness programs and their willingness to work with instructors to expand their programs to make them even better. We all have extended our hands of help to these students because we believe in giving them an experience of a lifetime. My hope for these students as they go on to become great leaders and that they will remember when decisions get tough that they can choose: 1) to be open and quiet enough to listen and observe, 2) to be at peace and to always guard their joy, 3) to be able to find their secret place in nature where they can discover for themselves that place of rest. Great Job everyone!

EASTPORT ARTS CENTER: PAINT EASTPORT DAY

The next wet paint opportunity is Saturday September 5th, 2015. I am hoping to car pool with a few of my plain air friends to Eastport and participate in this plain air event for the first time. It begins at 7 am in the morning at the Eastport Arts Center 36 Washington Street in Eastport, Maine. Works are due back by 3:00 PM and the silent auction will be held that same day between 4:30 - 5:30 PM. Hope to see you all there and I hope you all continue to have as great a summer as I did.

May you all find that timeless place of rest in your work that makes all things possible,

Michael E. Vermette,

Art Spirit writer of the Plein Air Connection