Vose Galleries. Don Demers. Wandering the Coast

Transcription

1 Vose Galleries Don Demers Wandering the Coast

2 Shimmer at the Bend, Essex River, Essex, MA, oil on mounted linen, 20 x 30 inches, 2013 Front cover: (detail) Sheepscot Morning (p.3) Catalogue design by Elizabeth Vose Frey 2013 Copyright Vose Galleries, LLC. All rights reserved. Printing by Puritan Capital, Hollis, NH Photography by George Barker

3 DoN Demers: Wandering the Coast November 16 December 28, 2013 v o s e N A DIVISION OF VOSE GALLERIES E W A M E R I C A N R E A L I S M contemporary

4 Introduction by marcia L. Vose Although many artists paint the sea, only the elite few have gone to such lengths as Don to establish an almost instinctual sense of his subject. It is for this reason that we are so pleased to present twenty-five new works by one of our nation s elite seascape and marine artists. Wandering the Coast features paintings from fourteen locations in New england, ranging from the mudflats of essex, massachusetts, to the glorious breaking surf in Acadia National Park on mt. Desert Island, maine. each canvas further evidences Don s mastery at portraying the pattern of sunlight and shadow on his subject matter, invoking, besides the visual, the other senses of sound, scent and even touch. Don s work certainly does evince a timeless quality, reminiscent of the great marine painters of the 19th century Lane, Bricher, richards and his warm chiaroscuro calls to mind the early American impressionists. In fact, in 2013, Don s work was featured, along with his predecessors Frederick edwin Church ( ), Albert Bierstadt ( ), Thomas moran ( ) and sanford Gifford ( ), in a major large format book, Art of the National Parks. The 430-page tome features sixty-nine artists, both contemporary and historical, and is written by the well-known art historians Jean stern and susan Hallsten mcgarry. The book has been acclaimed as an indispensable compendium of artists who are at the forefront of twenty-firstcentury American landscape and wildlife art. In addition to his inclusion in Art of the National Parks, Don has been recognized countless times by organizations across the United states for his abilities in marine and seascape works (see a listing on page 16). Citing just one venue, the venerable mystic maritime Gallery at the non-profit mystic seaport in Connecticut, has awarded him the Thomas Hoyne Award (three), the rudolph J. schaefer maritime Heritage Award, the John stobart Foundation Award, the Yachting Award (two), the Patron s Choice Award, and fifteen Awards of excellence, a record number. With his abundance of recognition, it is almost certain that Don will be celebrated by future art historians, and he will take his rightful place among the great painters of his era. I live for visual experiences when I m suspended on the edge between terra firma and the ocean. It can be literal or metaphorical, but it always entails something timeless... Don Demers Quoted in stern, mcgarry and Dunn, Art of the National Parks: Historic Connections, Contemporary Interpretations Late Season Drift Oil on mounted linen 18 x 28 inches,

5 Sheepscot Morning, oil on mounted linen, 24 x 30 inches,

6 Quiet Friendship, Essex, MA Oil on mounted linen, 12 x 18 inches, 2013 Green and Grey: Harbor House, Monhegan Island, ME Oil on mounted linen, 9 x 12 inches, Along the Docks, Pigeon Cove, Rockport, MA Oil on mounted linen 12 x 16 inches, 2013

7 The Old Essex, oil on mounted linen, 18 x 26 inches, 2013 Brushstrokes are a painter s words, and they become evidence of our thoughts. I don t simply want to recreate a scene. I want to create a new entity. Don Demers 5

8 Moon by the Marsh, Duxbury, MA Oil on mounted linen 11 x 14 inches, Light on the Rapids, Stanislaus River, CA Oil on mounted linen, 10 x 12 inches, 2011 Cadillac Vista, Morning, Acadia National Park, MDI, ME Oil on mounted linen, 9 x 12 inches, 2012

9 Deep in the Marsh, Stony Brook, NY, oil on linen, 24 x 36 inches,

10 Chatham Effect Oil on mounted linen 8 x 15 inches, Coastal Overcast, Nantucket, MA Oil on mounted linen, 8 x 10 inches, 2012 Lighthouse Silhouette, Woods Hole, MA Oil on mounted linen, 9 x 12 inches, 2012

11 Crossing the Sound, Nantucket, MA, oil on mounted linen, 24 x 36 inches,

12 Gambrel and Pines, Ocean Point, East Boothbay, ME Oil on mounted linen, 8 x 10 inches, 2013 Warm Rocks, Ocean Point, East Boothbay, ME Oil on mounted linen, 10 x 12 inches, Glare across Gloucester, MA, oil on mounted linen, 8 x 16 inches, 2013

13 Monhegan Icon, oil on mounted linen, 18 x 24 inches,

14 Remnants, Lobster Cove, Monhegan, ME Oil on mounted linen 9 x 12 inches 12 Waning Fog, Ocean Point, East Boothbay, ME Oil on mounted linen, 10 x 12 inches, 2013 Buzzards Bay Breeze Oil on mounted linen, 10 x 12 inches, 2013

15 Breaking Surf, Breaking Light, Acadia National Park, MDI, ME, oil on linen, 18 x 26 inches,

16 Skies over Ipswich Oil on mounted linen 18 x 24 inches, Dusk on the Reef Oil on mounted linen, 12 x 18 inches, 2012 Bass Rocks, Gloucester, MA Oil on mounted linen, 16 x 24 inches, 2013

17 Marine Layer, oil on linen, 20 x 36 inches, 2013 Painting is a dialogue between the external landscape and my internal landscape. I want my paintings to be more than visual. Through my individual interpretation, I hope to express the nature of the subject matter as well as what it means to me. Don Demers 15

18 16 Exhibitions American society of marine Artists, 1985, 1989, 1992, 1997, 2001, , , (15th National exhibition, traveled to eight museums) Autry National Center, Los Angeles, CA, Masters of the American West, 2013 California Art Club, Contemporary Artists Paint Yosemite and the Eastern Sierras, 2001 Crystal Cove Gala Invitational, Laguna Beach, CA, Cummer museum of Art & Flowers, Jacksonville, FL, 1997 Guild of Boston Artists, Boston, ma, Haggin museum Invitational, stockton, CA, 2001 Haggin museum, American Legacy: Our National Parks, On Location with the Plein-Air Painters of America, (traveled to several venues throughout the United states) J. russell Jinishian, Fairfield, CT, (solo and group) John Pence Gallery, san Francisco, CA, 2000, 2002 (with Joseph mcgurl and William Davis) Kensington-stobart Gallery, Naples, FL, 2003 Laguna Beach Plein-Air Painters Invitational, Leigh Yawkey Woodson museum, Celebrating Summer, Plein-Air Painters of America, Wausau, WI, 2013 mjw Fine Art, Balboa, CA, 2003 mystic maritime Gallery Invitational, mystic, CT, 1979, 1981, mystic maritime Gallery International, mystic, CT, 1983, mystic maritime Gallery, mystic, CT, 1988 (solo) Plein-Air Painters of America, 2002 (guest artist), , 2008 robert Wilson, Nantucket, ma, 1995 (solo), 1996 settlers West Gallery, Tucson, AZ, Great American West Exhibition, society of Illustrators, 1987, 1989 st. Botolph Club, Boston, ma, Marine Art Exhibition, 2002 Tree s Place, orleans, ma, 1998, , (group shows) Vose Galleries, Boston, ma, Realism Now, 2004, 2010 (solo), 2013 (solo) Awards society of Illustrators, 1987, 1989 mystic maritime Gallery: The Thomas Hoyne Award (three), The rudolph J. schaefer maritime Heritage Award, The John stobart Foundation Award, The Yachting Award (two), The Patron s Choice Award, Awards of excellence (fifteen-record number) Guild of Boston Artists, Award of merit Artists magazine, First Place, Landscape Laguna Beach Plein Air Painters, Landscape Awards, 2001, 2002, 2006 (silver) Crystal Cove Gala Invitational, 2006, 3rd Place Literature Don Demers painting on sand Beach, Acadia National Park Photo by Kathleen Dunphy Clark, edie. "on the Wings of the Wind: The Passionate maritime Paintings of Donald Demers." Yankee (sept. 1993) "eye on the Coast: Donald Demers." Maine: Boats and Harbors (July 1996) Yeomans, Kate m. "out of the Blue: marine Art of Don Demers." Offshore (Nov. 1996) Doherty, m. stephen. "Donald Demers Demonstrates Three Approaches to Landscape Painting." American Artist (Feb. 1999) Doherty, m. stephen. "making the Landscape Your own: Donald W. Demers." American Artist (June 1999) stavig, Vicki. "Capturing the Grandeur of Yosemite." Art of the West (oct/nov. 2001) "Don Demers: Painting the Visual Language." Plein Air Magazine (march 2005) Wolf, rachel. "The New American Luminists: Light on Land and sea-william r. Davis, Donald Demers, and Joseph mcgurl." Fine Art Connoisseur (April 2006) Demers, Donald. "The Importance of W. J. Aylward." Introduction. Ships and How to Draw Them, by W. J. Aylward. mystic, CT: Flat Hammock, mcgarry, susan. "Acadia: Don Demers," American Legacy: Our National Parks: On Location with the Plein-Air Painters of America. stockton, CA: Haggin museum, stern, Jean, mcgarry, susan and Terry Dunn. Art of the National Parks: Historic Connections, Contemporary Interpretations. Albuquerque: Univ. of Nm Press, pp

19 Over the Undertow, oil on mounted linen, 24 x 36 inches, 2013

20 V o s e EST 1841 Fine American Art for Six Generations G a l l e r i e s llc 238 Newbury Street. Boston. MA. Telephone Toll Free info@vosegalleries.com.