SHELDON FINE ART
Arnold Desmarais
Arnold Desmarais is interested in narratives that tell stories of a coastal environment with subtlety and understanding that only comes from a lifetime by the sea. Fond childhood memories of many idyllic summers on Block Island provided a treasure-trove of images for artistic seascapes,which whisper of gentler times. Although he put himself through school by holding one-man watercolor shows in Maine and New Hampshire, he now works exclusively in oil from his studio and home on Cape Cod, where he has resided with his wife, Patti, and son, Grant, since 1992.
His formal training began at the Rhode Island School of Design, where he attained his early exposure to art. Desmarais then attended Bryant College, where he acquired his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. It was his career in the fashion industry, however, that gave him the opportunities to hone his skills and to work with the "royalty of design” abroad. His global itinerary enabled him to view and learn from the masters in museums and galleries from Russia to the Orient.
Experiences with color and light in the fashion industry are skillfully interpreted in his compelling compositions, which evoke emotions of familiarity and serenity. In many of his seascapes, one can feel the power of the ocean. In addition to his painting, Desmarais gives back to the art community by teaching. He has taught workshops at the Inn at Sandwich in Sandwich, Massachusetts and teaches weekly at the Cape Cod Art Association. He also sponsors an annual plein-air trip to Europe.
