Richard Armstrong, Director of the Guggenheim NYC
Where No One Has Gone Before by Michael Newberry
Transcending Traitors by Michael Newberry
Student Works During Quarantine
Very proud of my students, these works were done independently of me. They took what they had been learning and applied it on their own, self-motivated, and, in my mind, very successfully. Sonia painted the two girls from masterworks from the Prado, but they are free transcriptions. We've been working with color theory and forming the structure of the face. Sonia's recent lessons with me was to freely copy some classic sculpture heads to learn form. The roundness in her children's faces is superb. And they look like children, one of the most difficult things to do in art.
Update on Evolution Through Art
The early artist would have been shifting valuable efforts away from life-sustaining work towards the abstract pursuit of art. All animals engage in life-sustaining action, but it would appear as if the artist was rejecting this. Visual art, then as now, has no utilitarian purpose, none whatsoever. Art could not mend things, carve arrows, and build fires. It was not a tool. It did not give warmth, shelter, food, or security. In practical terms it was useless. Diverting resources for such an senseless art adventure would be perceived as a psychosis, the artist having a partial or total break with reality.
The Newberry Idyllwild Studio
New pics of my studio in Idyllwild. Happy to find the balance between order and chaos for my mountain high sanctuary. This week I opened up everything instead of trying to control the natural light or privacy. Interestingly enough the two 85 watt special lights that shine 5,500 k, as bright as overcast daylight, enabled great conditions to paint by
The Echo Series, Pastel Figurative Drawings by Michael Newberry
My take on the ancient tradition of overlaying figurative drawings, from Chauvet Caves to Duchamp.
Did Thutmose Sculpt the Mask of Tutankhamen?
I was struck by the similarities of this sculpture of Tutankhamen's grandfather, Amenhotep III and the famous Gold Mask of Tutankhamen. But I am wondering if the portrait study is not Amenhotep III but a life study of Tutankhamen?
Model in the Studio, wip
Update on the work in progress of my life-sized nude, and about the composition.
Michael Newberry 