Newberry, Texas Grass, pastel

Gray, Pale Light Yellow, and Dusty Blue

Newberry, Texas Grass, 2020, pastel, 13x18" — Newberry, Texas Grass, 2020, pastel, 13×18″

It seems to me that art is a holy trinity of thought, perception, and emotion. The emotional factor is the most mysterious. Most of the time emotions are reactions to things, like a friend’s smile, annoyance with a bad driver, or the calm feeling of vacation at the beach. It seems to be different in making art … the artist can hold the emotion they want for the painting. To wish an emotional state for the artwork. Doing this my letting the emotion wash over them in a steady stream, and then use that feeling as a barometer of the paintings progress. In this case the emotion was calmness, peacefulness spiced by dry arid openness. I believe colors and their combinations bring up emotions, not objectively but a type of synesthesia. It is very satisfying, and kind of magical when others feel similar things from looking at an artwork.

Michael Newberry, Idyllwild, 10/5/2020