"Katahdin Brook, Baxter State Park, Maine"

"Katahdin Brook, Baxter State Park, Maine"

Michael E. Vermette captured this image of Katahdin Brook en plein air in the woods between the spillway of Katahdin Lake and Rocky Pond in Baxter State Park, Maine. Katahdin Brook located on the East side of Katahdin actually originates from Katahdin Lake and flows east to Rocky Pond where there is car-sized boulders that mimic the shape of the mountain. From Rocky Pond the stream flows out go Baxter State Park and into the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument near Barnard Mountain, then eventually into the Penobscot River. This brook is part of the original Henri David Thoreau trail to access Katahdin by taking the Katahdin Brook Trail that runs along the brook that still exists today. 

Michael says, "I have painted this brook several times, and each time the quiet and constant sound of the babling bwaters give me a feeling of sitting quietly in the pew of a church. There is something so sacred about sitting still enough to allow this brook to wash over you spiritually as you see Brookies dart upstream toward Katahdin Lake. In this painting I tried to capture the quiet peaceful feeling you get when you sit beside this brook in the late Autumn.This brook is not as popular as Katahdin Stream but it is one of my favorite places to paint in Baxter State Park."

This is an watercolor painting made on location below the spillway of the Katahdin Lake Stream and Rocky Pond in October. Michael chose to capture the ever changing light that spots the woods and brook as it makes its ways through the woods using his pure and bold range of transparent washes. Michael uses a descriptive stroke that describes lines of power, motion, and shape in describing the character of the moving brook flowing away from the viewer, yet he paints with a subtlety to capture even the lightest veils of light in describing the foam and light patches throughout the woods. He painted this painting on a handmade Twinrocker heavy weight 240 lb 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 draw the paint further into the paper to create even more of a rich 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.