Monthly Studio Update - January, 2003

HAPPY NEW YEAR

AND

GREETINGS FROM

FLORIDA

The first studio update from the States, January 2003

 

 

As promised, first things first, my first act was to place a plastic pink flamingo as a guard to the entrance to my home/studio. As you walk inside the views of Coffeepot Bayou dominate the rest of the house. This is the view from my studio, more or less what I will see when I turn my head away from my painting wall.

 

 

 

This is my new studio by daylight.

 

 

Today, January 15th, I constructed an artificial wall to paint on, something like an oversized easel. This structure also blocks the unsightly and redundant air conditioner. I also set up the halogen outdoor lights, my favorite light to paint by, and I set up my music. Everyday this week packages have been arriving from Rhodes, my brushes came today! It is going to be fantastic to play music as loud as I want. I have never lived or worked in a separated house so I will really enjoy not hearing voices and noises coming from the walls!

Boy, the last month and half was one hell of a time. In truth I enjoyed the intensity of the move. One thing I did not enjoy before I left Greece was the purposeful destruction of a canvas I had worked over six years on. You might have seen some the studies for the Pond painting. I took a photo of it before I slashed it to shreds.

The ideas I was developing at the time of this painting's inception concerned the transparent nature of light and using transparency as a means of integrating the rocks, sky, and the man. Unfortunately, the painting got so transparent that everything disappeared. In my blacker and more postmodern moods I imagined that after working six years on this painting I would unveil it to audience as a totally white canvas! "Look how hard I worked, nihilism is not easy!"

But slashed it I did:

 

God it is not easy to do. Once I had the experience of throwing away an unsuccessful painting, in '81, and horrifically someone pulled it out of the trash and hung it up on the side of the East Village building I was living in. I had thrown the painting away because it didn't work and seeing out in public was one of the most embarrassing experiences I have ever had. So slashing the painting to bits pretty much takes care of that the painting will never return to haunt me!

One piece I finished a day or two before I left Greece was the portrait of Valia:

 

I also did a lot of work on Venus and Artemis. But I need to unpack them and construct their stretcher bars, which are the inner frame that the canvas wraps around. Those two paintings and Waterfall and God Releasing Stars into the Universe are all wrapped up together in this tube:

Let's see...some other news is that I have registered Naissance Holding International Company in the State of Florida and tax ID is pending. The purpose of Naissance is to be a consortium of my major works as well as works by other artists. The idea is to not prematurely sell major works but wait for a more opportune time which is bound to come about.

Note: In the move my entire Outlook Express contents were lost, if I have had any correspondence with you please send me an email at Newberry@MichaelNewberry.com so that I can restore your info into my address book. Thanks.

I think that is it for January...what a month, sheesh.