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Souvenir:

A Conversation with Don Demers, Artist

By Sonja O’ Donnell
Phot s courtesy of the artist, Don Demers

Some 20 years ago, Don Demers started painting en plein air. Already a
master of contemporary maritime art, the painter sought new subjects and
challenges, in the process igniting a passion for landscape and an expansion
of his already impressive catalog. Artist Don Demers, painting at Sand Beach in Acadia National Park.

“I was just damn lucky that what I was interested in – illustration and maritime art – just as I was coming of age had a resurgence, due
to the bicentennial, which drew a huge audience. As soon as I got any good at it at all, I started selling my paintings,” said Don. In
1988, he had his first one-man show and sold out.

“I still remember the check for the whole show!” he said.

Don rode a fulfilling wave, the dream of a child, one of five boys, who piled into the family station wagon to migrate in summertime
from a farm town in Massachusetts to coastal Maine for two-week vacations. There, the boy fell in love with the smell of saltwater
and the view of boats sailing. An excursion to Rockland and the Farnsworth Museum with his mother and aunt when he was about 10
years old introduced him to the work and world of Andrew Wyeth.

“That and Winslow Homer were the first triggers for me as a kid,” Don recalls.

A Breeze on the Sheepscott, 10” x12”, oil on linen.

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