ASMA Between The Shining Seas Exhibit-Minnesota

 

ASMA Journal Between The Shining Seas, article written by Michele Pope Melina

The American Society of Marine Artists held the Between The Shining Seas Exhibit at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Winona Minnesota during Sept.7- Nov. 13, 2010. The show was previously exhibited at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum beginning June 26, 2010. There were 50 juried paintings and sculptures in the show. In the words of Mike Killelea "there is in the great Heartland of America a thriving maritime world, fresh water oceans swelling between the shining seas that shoulder our nation. It's a world that nurtures and moves the fruit of this bountiful land, and connects it to those far beyond our most distant horizons".  The importance of our rivers and lakes in our culture can't go without notice and celebration through art. Our reception was held on Sept. 11 at the beautiful museum on the banks of the Mississippi. 

 

 It was a memorable evening with everyone enjoying the addition of the Between The Shining Seas Exhibit among the historical paintings that graced the museums walls.

During the opening ceremony I was honored to read the statement from our President, Ian Marshall, welcoming all to the exhibit and to become familiar with the high standards of our organization towards marine art.

Angler's Gold, Michele Pope Melina, 16"x16", Oil on Canvas, Between the Shining Seas Exhibit

"August Moon, Two Harbors" - Oil on stretched Canvas - 12" x 24" © Michele Pope Melina

The scene of this painting is along the Minnesota North Shore of Lake Superior.  The idea for this painting was from a trip that I took to northern Minnesota about 3 years ago. Lake Superior has many moods and the weather can change so rapidly. At that time the sky was heavily overcast where you could hardly see the horizon. The color of the water blended into the sky, it was infinite and peaceful, like a blank canvas. One evening as I was watching a full moon rising in mid August, there was a storm brewing to the NW and the gentle warm breezes were pushing wispy clouds in and around the moon. I had decided that this would create a good marriage to the lake scene. The location of that beach at Two Harbors would be positioned correctly to view the rising moon, therefore, I added the sky as I remembered it to create mood and drama similar to the works of the master marine painter Alfred T Bricher.