Michael E. Vermette
Fine Art

"Norton's Ledge, Monhegan Island, Maine"

Norton's Ledge, Monhegan Island, Maine by Michael E. Vermette, Watercolor, 191/2inches x 25inches x 400gramsweight
Watercolor - 19 1/2 inches x 25 inches x 400 grams weight - Available
$600.00 USD

Representation

Michael E. Vermette Fine Art
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207-827-7573

Artist Comments

 

"Norton's Ledge, Monhegan Island, Maine" 

Michael E. Vermette captured this image as a part of his 5-week Carina House, Monhegan Artist-in-residence program. Norton's Ledge is located between Christmas Cove  and Burnt Head on Monhegan Island in Maine. Michael painted this watercolor en plain air at the very beginning of his artist residency on Monhegan Island in 1999. This is a fresh rendering of a portrait of this off shore ledge rock, with gentile surf rolling in at mid tide.  

 Michael says, "I wanted to emphasize the off shore rock ledge itself as a portrait." It has amazing color and is larger than other off shore rocks, such as Washer Woman. Because the handmade Twinrocker watercolor paper is so white it yielded beautifully rich colors that I actually saw in the rock."

 This is an watercolor painting made on location on a calm sunny day and rendered in Michael's pure and bold range of transparent washes. Michael wet the back of the page before painting in order to draw the color into the page and create a brighter statement of wash. He uses a descriptive stroke that describes lines of power, motion, and shape in describing the character of Norton's Ledge, yet he paints with a subtlety that captures even the lightest veils of light upon the faceted iron rust on granite. He painted this study on a handmade Twinrocker heavy weight watercolor paper. He uses only pure Holbein watercolor and Daniel Smith mineral watercolor pigments to achieve the color and the textural grain that is most prized by watercolor painters who have painted on this amazing paper, specially designed and sized for the watercolor medium. He also wets the back of the paper to create even more of a richer statement of color in his washes.

 Michael also says, "I am intrigued with the timelessness in change in my paintings. They show a love of color and light with emphasis on the expressive painterly mark and form, which evoke a recognizable feeling, a nostalgic memory, or even emotional qualities such as the smell of salt and balsam in the morning ocean air."  

Carl Little writes in Volume 30 of The Island Journal, " Michael Vermette, who emulates the vision of one of Monhegan island's great painters of the past, James Fitzgerald (1899-1971), adds impasto oomph to iconic views" 

 Michael E. Vermette double majored in Painting and Printmaking at the Maine College of Art, receiving his B.F.A Painting degree in 1980. He received his Certification in K-12 Art Education in 1986 through the University of Maine at Orono. A full-time artist and part-time art educator, Michael has been painting in oil, watercolor, and pastel for over fifty years and has won numerous awards for his work, including the Marilyn Sabin, Lauran Coleman and the Beverly Awards at the 12th,13th and 14th Biennial North American Open Shows of the New England Watercolor Society where he has been awarded signature membership. Most recently, Has been been awarded the honor of being the 1st Allagash Wilderness waterway artist-in-residency for the summer of 2020 where he expects to paint another 50 small studies. Michael is also the 2018 first place winner of the Castine Plein Air Festival, and a 2015-2017 winner as well. He won Best of Show in the Kennebunk River Club Art Exhibit and Sale for his watercolor, "Sea Dog". Michael leads several oil and watercolor plein air painting workshops in Maine and New Hampshire throughout the year. He is a Monhegan Artists' Residency Fellow and the 2011 Baxter State Park Artist-in-Residence in Maine. He was also an Artist-in-Residence at Acadia National Park twice in 1999 and 2006. His watercolors, oils, and pastels are in private collections throughout the country and internationally. In Maine, his works have been shown at various galleries and is currently represented by the Frame and Art Gallery in Yarmouth, The Lupine Gallery on Monhegan Island, and the Gleason Fine Art Gallery in Boothbay Harbor, all located in Maine. Because of the very high quality of the painting the starting price is set at 1/4 of the painting's worth. Because of this high quality and the confidence with quality custom shipping, I do not allow money back returns at this time.

 

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