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Michael Newberry

Michael Newberry

It Is Light That Defines Us

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Tag: female nude

Posted on November, 2021December, 2021

A Difference Between Life Drawing and a Thematic Work

Posted on March, 2018November, 2024

Chaos, The Bringer of Equilibrium

Counterpose: Chaos, the Bringer of Equilibrium, oil on linen, 36 x 42 inches, studio inventory Chaos was depressed. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't manage to cope with all of the contradictory forces within her: darkness, burning lights, forms, demons, angels, and bright colors. No single element was the answer to the meaning …

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Posted on February, 2018April, 2026

Reaching For the High Note, Venus Oil Study

Venus 3
Posted on February, 2018March, 2018

Venus of the Planets

Venus of the Planets

Joy Riding Decades ago at 2:30 a.m. on a back street in La Jolla, I was arrested driving my mom’s ’68 Firebird 400 convertible. I had our tiny mutts Nikki and Dinky as passengers. I was 12 years old. The feeling of driving was incredibly delicious. Riding home in the back of the cop car, …

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Posted on November, 2015June, 2020

Pastel on Dark Paper – Just Add Light

Pastel on Dark Paper

Newberry Art Tutorials Pure Colored Light I love working pastel on dark paper for one important reason: the pastel being lighter than the paper directly creates a pure colored light. The paper is dark brown Canson, 19 x 26". You can start with any color you like, but it is important that the tone of …

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Posted on November, 2015June, 2020

Lights and Darks in 3’s

Female Nude, Lights and Darks

Newberry Art Tutorials One big problem that artists face when developing light and shadow in a work is that they tend to have the exact same darks and lights scattered around the surface. The result is that it kills the life out of the drawing! A great way to solve that problem is to celebrate …

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Posted on November, 2015January, 2022

Integration, Part 1: Light

Newberry, Counterpose b/w demo
Posted on November, 2015January, 2022

Integration, Part 2: Color

Newberry, Counterpose contrast
Posted on November, 2015August, 2017

Jacob Collins, Sensuous Nature of Light

Jacob Collins

"I find beauty in observing and in furthering my knowledge about light, the identity of plants and trees, and even such things as the nature of the formation of rocks and land masses."

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The Space Series
The Space Series
The Space Series is an epic cycle of 24 life-size paintings — each 64×48″, oil on linen — of gods and goddesses set against nebula backgrounds. Spanning birth to old age, it embodies the theme that the shadowed self is transparent and the stuff of the universe, while it is the light that defines us. 16 of 24 completed. Entirely self-funded and uncompromised.
Michael Newberry painting on location in Australia
Michael Newberry
Michael Newberry (b. 1956) is a figurative painter, theorist, and writer who has worked full-time as an artist for five and a half decades. He has placed over one million dollars worth of work worldwide and exhibited internationally from New York and Los Angeles to Greece, Rome, Brussels, and Washington D.C. He is currently completing the Space Series, a monumental cycle of twenty-four 64x48" paintings of gods and goddesses against nebula backgrounds, entirely self-funded and uncompromised. His work stands as a direct challenge to the Era of Eradication, systematically ushering in the Age of Humanism in the arts.
The Newberry Art Files
The Newberry Art Files
The Newberry Art Files contain over 1,500 works created across more than five decades, reflecting an immersion in the continuum of 40,000 years of figurative art. This archive celebrates the passion, life, and energy of art-making. Inside, you’ll find figurative works, landscapes, and still lifes, divided by mediums: drawings (charcoal, ink, graphite), pastels, and paintings. It is my hope that you receive the breath of passion and inhale the radiance within every one of these creations.
The Dreamgate Vision
The Dreamgate Vision
The Dreamgate is a website focused on what is, to date, my most monumental project: the Space Series. It is comprised of fourteen life-size paintings of gods and goddesses set against nebula backgrounds, with twenty planned in total. It is my Sistine Chapel. But instead of a Christian ideal, it reflects my view of the primary forces of the human spirit. I believe it should be housed in its own museum. Accordingly, the site includes some concept sketches for that as well.
Figurative Major Works
Archive of My Major Figurative Paintings
This archive presents my pivotal paintings that celebrate the human spirit and demonstrate the outer reaches of my artistic knowledge. These paintings explore how meaningful thoughts and emotions are expressed through body language, inventive composition, color and light theory, symbolism, and an ineffable quality of aliveness. As a whole, they show the spirit of eudaemonia: a sense of living a fulfilled life as an end in itself. The collection spans from my earliest life-size figurative works from 1977 through to today. By immersing yourself in these works, you get to experience what it would feel like if all your hopes and dreams came true, and hopefully feel inspired to make it so.
The Wave Series
The Wave Series
The Wave Series is a collection of sixteen pastel wavescapes exploring a radically advanced color theory. By using four key elements—spatial depth, light and shadow, atmosphere, and the true colors of objects—the series transforms how form, light, and space interact. This breakthrough advances art history and deepens our visual perception. Learn more on the Wave Series page.

Social links:
Facebook Where I communicate with friends and collectors.
Substack Sharing my writing and art with other creatives.
Reddit Over 2.5 million views on my art posts.
YouTube Tutorials, talks, time-lapse, and reveals.

The Dreamgate Vision
Photo of Michael Newberry by Stephen Hicks
Amazon Author Page
Michael Newberry is the author of art books that bridge art history, philosophy, color theory, criticism, and personal memoir, offering an original, deeply informed perspective drawn from over fifty years as a figurative artist. He unpacks how great art is the technology of the soul: built from technique, psychology, thought, perception, and the artist's sense of life. His books include Evolution Through Art, Newberry Color Theory, Art: Modern, Postmodern, and Beyond (with Stephen Hicks), The Art Studio Companion, and Pandora’s Box and Other Essays. These works draw readers into the hidden language of art and let them experience it as a powerful, meaningful force in their lives.
Gérôme’s Pygmalion and Galatea: The Transformative Power of Art
In this short reflection, I explore Gérôme’s Pygmalion and Galatea—a stunning depiction of transformation and artistic creation. The painting captures the moment an artwork comes to life, embodying the timeless idea that art has the power to awaken the spirit and make the inanimate radiant.
Contact
I welcome inquiries about shepherding my work in private, public, and museum art collections.
Michael
Email: mtnewberry@gmail.com
Stephen Hicks on Michael Newberry
“My favorite living painter is an artist named Michael Newberry.” — Philosopher Stephen Hicks
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