Houlton native discovers passion for painting

Houlton Pioneer Times photo/Joseph Cyr
FIRST SHOW — Gary Cole of Washburn has achieved a childhood dream of becoming an artist. Cole will have his first public showing of watercolor paintings Saturday in Houlton from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Cole’s Shoe Store.
By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
HOULTON — Gary Cole, a native of Houlton, is proof positive that it is never too late in life to try something new.
    On Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., Cole will share his watercolor paintings in a sidewalk art show in Houlton at his brothers’ business, Cole’s Shoe Store, located on Kendall Street. It will be the first public showing of his work — a late-in-life new career, in conjunction with his 50th class reunion in Houlton.
    A resident of Washburn, Cole will have prints from 25 original watercolor paintings that he has completed over the past three years on display at the shoe store. The works include historic scenes, flowers, birds, and Maine and Florida landscapes.
    “From earliest childhood I have always loved art,” he said. “I fondly remember an assignment in 1958 to choose a future career and prepare a career booklet in Mrs. Churchill’s class. We students regularly received Current Events and Weekly Reader magazines in class, however my one consuming interest was the wonderful art section in Christian Science Monitor, which Mrs. Churchill kept in her classroom.”
    Cole is the second of five sons of Melburn and Evelyn Cole, born in Houlton in 1944. He graduated from Houlton High School in 1962 and Ricker College in 1966. His parents ran Cole’s Shoe Store for many years before their sons took it over.
    “I’m the only one who didn’t make a career of the shoe business,” he said.
    Growing up, Cole said he did not have the luxury of taking art classes as a youth.
    “Sadly, at no time during my public school career in Houlton was I ever offered an art class,” he said. “The only art training I received was a one week drawing class presented by Mrs. Rogerson through Madeline Crawford’s summer recreation program at the Gentle Memorial Building. During my four years at Ricker I took the two art classes offered: art history and studio art taught by professor Philip Osgartharpe.”
    Cole said he considered pursuing a professional career in art, but was discouraged by family and friends from doing because of the financial insecurity it offered.
PASTORAL SCENE — This image of a farmer harvesting potatoes is one of many by Gary Cole to be on display Saturday.
    After marriage, Cole moved to Washburn and entered into a 40-year career teaching middle school social studies, language arts, drama and art in Woodland and Presque Isle. He and his wife Louise (Thayer) have four sons and four grandchildren.
    “I began a very busy career in education,” he said. “I completed several master’s level art education classes and integrated art history into my social studies classes, but I almost completely set aside my own personal involvement in art.”
    He retired in 2006 from teaching and has spent winter months in Cocoa Beach, Fla. It was during his time in Florida that he decided to revist his childhood passion.
    “Three years ago, I took up watercolor painting for the first time, and have spent most of my time in Florida painting,” he said. “The past three years have enabled me to experience a true personal renaissance in my art and I have begun an almost unbelievable second late-in-life career as a watercolor artist.”
    Cole said he received watercolor painting materials and encouragement from his four sons, and began painting on his own, supplemented by instruction books and magazines.
    “It was my first introduction to water color and I loved it,” he said. “I have used my own photographs as inspiration for nearly all of my paintings. I seek out subjects that involve the beauty of nature and nostalgia for things past. From the beginning I made it a habit of painting every day so that I could improve my technique. I still cannot believe the tremendous pleasure I have found pushing pigmented puddles of water around a sheet of paper with a brush.”
    His paintings are created from photographs he has taken over the years and include many scenes from Aroostook County. His favorite painting, thus far, depicts a woman at Kings Landing Historical Settlement near Woodstock, New Brunswick. It takes about a week for him to create a piece.
    Cole said he was also surprised to discover that the time spent in his father’s shoe shop paid dividends.
    “I realized that my greatest skill in painting developed from my adolescent years working with my father in the shoe repair business,” he said. “Throughout the 1960s and 70s it was customary for ladies to have their satin and linen shoes dyed to match their gowns and dresses. It became my job at the shoe store to mix the dye. I developed great skill in mixing exact colors.”
    During his second winter of painting in Florida, Cole joined a group of other painters for instruction at the Brigantine Art Gallery in Cocoa Beach, and last winter he was asked to join a group of professional watercolor painters. The Brigantine Art Gallery in Cocoa Beach, Fla is currently representing his work.