Horses Heads, Venus of Willendorf, and Lion Man, 40-35,000 BC I hope everyone is doing okay in these early stages of quarantining. Heartbreaking. Around the start of it I came up with the concept to write this book on aesthetics. I am dividing my time painting, writing the book, and, it seems, washing dishes. I …
Stephen Hicks visits Peter Schipperheyn’s “Zarathustra” Sculpture
Stephen Hicks: In Melbourne, I met Peter Schipperheyn, creator of the magnificent Thus Spake Zarathustra. The monumental piece is at the McClelland Sculpture Park near Mornington. The tension running through Zarathustra’s bowed body as he reaches and affirms his decision is powerful.
Student Testimonials
"I began art lessons with Michael as a true beginning student. Michael was patient and kind, but honest, which allowed me to progress while not feeling intimidated. I was excited to learn about technique with different media, color theory and light. Michael's passion and knowledge instills positive energy in his students."
Embargo Series by Michael Newberry
The Animal Lifted Embargo Series has significantly changed my opinion about including animals in my paintings. They really help set off the scale and atmosphere of the landscapes. I am surprised that just two tiny marks, in the case of the sandpipers, can reset the landscapes dramatically.
Newberry, Seagull at Picnic Island, 2020, oil on panel, 12×16″
There is an exciting tension in placing an animal just right, it seems to set off the landscape and definitely twerks the composition, like a zigzag incorporating the direction of the light, the bird's flight path, the feeling of "lift," setting off the formal composition of the water and land masses. Delightfully fun.
Book Idea: Psychological Aesthetics and the Exciting Fight to Evolve by Michael Newberry
Beyond Obstacles, Malevolence, and Ignorance Willendorf Venus c. 28,000 BCE – 25,000 BCE Discovere 1908 near Willendorf, by Josef Szombathy, Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria I have been thinking about writing an art book filled with stories, anecdotes, speculation on prehistorical art, real life experiences, and the knowledge of what is it is like to strive …
Doggie at the Beach and an Aesthetic Musing
In the past I have rejected doing animals because humanity is at the forefront of my mind. I love my dog, Frida, and she loves me, but she doesn't even glance at my art. :(
My First Sculpture in Clay and Then Finished in Bronze
Thodoris Archontopoulos, Byzantine Archaeologist and Art Historian
I met Thodoris in the Fall of 1994 in Rhodes, Greece. Incredibly smart, both an archaeologist and an art historian with a perfectionist integrity for styles, dates, and research in art. It was a huge honor that he made a presentation and wrote the review for my 1996 show at To Dentro, in Rhodes, Greece. The review was published in the Greek newspaper the Rodiaki. The show was about the creative process for large definitive works that were then works in progress. A few years later, the same show but with the completed definitive works became an international traveling exhibition “Visions” 1998 November-Athens College, Athens, Greece; August-Ministry of Greek Culture, Rhodes, Greece; July-institute for Objectivist Studies, Summer Seminar, Boulder, Colorado.

