A warm day in fall, month of september, Maine, USA. I decide to take a long walk along the coast, from Rockport harbor to the Camden harbor. I think it was my 3rd week in Maine. Going past the Union Hall, I stumble upon CMCA (Center of Maine Contemporary Art). I am fetish for art; no way could i hold back. The girl at the front desk gave perfect ambiance to the beautiful gallery :) Hi there!
Two sections past, it was hard to believe what I was looking at. A huge 8' by 6' pencil sketch. The detail was stupendous. Extraordinary.
On my way out, I stopped to ask the girl 'who is the artist of 'class of 54?''
'He lives close by, 40 miles from here, Damariscotta. John Whalley is his name'.
'Is there a way to contact him?'
'He has just published a book. It's on the book shelf by the corner, should contain his contact details.'
John comes to Rockport every tuesday to teach art. We meet in early october over lunch at Maine Media College(MMC) dining tent. An artist of his fame needn't bother but he brought along with him his work to show it to me. An artists first identity is his humility. It was an instant friendship.
He approved of my idea to do a short documentary on his work. What followed shortly was a warm welcome into his home and studio. It was an unforgettable visual treat. This documentary has a 8 min time limit, yet manages to hold some of the magic I experienced.
John Whalley's website
