Last month I opening the Newberry Gallery to a wonderful reception, met up with current and long time friends.

Newberry Gallery

Before and During Opening Reception

May 9, 2009

Group, photo by Evelyne Barbier	Before the opening.	Jimmy Miyoshi and Robin Neudorfer
Judiann Barnes, Michael Newberry, Fauna Hodel, Gia Sol, and Jody Moon.	Danny Valdez (right).	Rose Simmons, Ada Sands, Fauna Hodel, and Leonard Sands.
(L -R) Robert Mechielsen, Andrew Obermeyer, Jimmy Miyoshi, and Stephen Hicks (in back).	Venus on her own.	Before the opening, chairs designed by Andrew Obermeyer.
		Flowers from a friend.

Sales were good. Here are the works exhibited:

Recent Work

May 9, 2009

	1. Trekking, 2008, oil on canvas panels, approx. 31 x 54 inches.
	2. Silhouettes, 2009, pastel on red paper, approx. 24 x 94 inches.
	3. White House, 2008, oil on canvas panel, 9 x 12 inches.
	4. Rock Cliff, 2008, oil on canvas panel, 9 x 12 inches.
	5. Mediterranean Blue, 2008, oil on canvas panel, 9 x 12 inches.
	6. Back at Nancy’s, 2008, oil on canvas panel, 9 x 12 inches. Sold
	7. Red Box, 2009, oil on canvas panel, 9 x 12 inches.
	8. Bamboo, 2008, oil on canvas panel, 9 x 12 inches.
	9. My Williamsburg Loft, 2008, oil on canvas panel, 11 x 14 inches.
	10. Day of the Fires, 2008, oil on canvas panel, 9 x 12 inches.
	11. La Jolla Shores, 2009, oil on canvas panel, 9 x 12 inches. Sold
	12. Reflections, 2008, oil on canvas panel, 9 x 12 inches. 13. Andrew’s Wall, 2009, oil on canvas panel, 9 x 12 inches.
	14. Dusk, 2009, pastel on black paper, approx. 31 x 56 inches.
	15. Pairing, 2008, oil on canvas panels, approx. 12 x 32 inches.
	16. Blue Bird, 2008, oil on canvas panel, 9 x 12 inches. Sold
	17. Gardenia, 2008, oil on canvas panel, 9 x 12 inches.
	18. Uprights, 2008/9, oil on canvas panels, approx. 12 x 51 inches.
	19. Neutra House Tree, 2009, pastel on paper, 19 x 26 inches.
	20. Gold Apartments, 2009, pastel on paper, 19 x 26 inches.
	21. Malibu Beach House, 2009, pastel on paper, 19 x 26 inches.
	22. Santa Monica Beach House, 2009, pastel on paper, 19 x 26 inches.
	23. Taverna, 2008, oil on canvas panel, 9 x 12 inches. Sold
	24. Greek Church Bell, 2008, oil on canvas panel, 9 x 12 inches.
	25. Venus, 2008, oil on linen, 48 x 48 inches.

If are interested in purchasing an art work let me know, and we can work it out. m@newberrygallery.com

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This month marks my entry into Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Newberry

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I continue to enjoy the artistic advancement of the artists on my mentor program. Here are a few of their recent works:

Sue Johnson
Anita Murphy
Chanan Mazal
Andre Beaulieu
Mary Woodul

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I am working on several projects, both major and minor. Lovers Jumping, life size, is progressing.

I will continue to tweak the monochromatic underpainting, developing more details (such as the water and the dock), more light, and when I think it looks awesome I will then begin the color overlay. Here is one of the pastel color studies for the background:

And I just started the transfer to canvas of Moving Forward, a little larger than life size, a man moving forward out of oblivion. As of today I will start to mold clothes on him in charcoal, and then begin painting in earnest. The background and his clothes will be colored in charcoal grays, blacks, and browns. His face and hands will have the brightest lights, and a subtle shifts of warm and cool, pastel-like looking colors.

Here is the pencil body study. The whole process of developing his body started with aligning the bones, moving on the muscles, flesh, light and form. Even though the finished painting will be a clothed figure,  building a figure up from the anatomy gives an incomparable sensation of rightness. Simply copying a clothed man photographed would never do.

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My art is extremely complex. I am constantly looking for new ways, new combinations to paint a plethora of thoughts and emotions. Making exploratory works is really important for me: I get to feel completely free to try new things, and I get to play at the furthest reaches of my knowledge and boundaries - like knocking at the door of unknown worlds.  Two very important qualifications are that my explorations are grounded in representational art and visual perception, without those foundations, I would be afraid that instead of being happy, free, and creative, I would simply spiral downward into cynicism or insanity.

In the last year I have been reexamining three techniques: Scumbling, glazing, and negative space.  What has come about is editing that has me feeling Goosebumps.

Here are several of the works that I recently edited:

PC, oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches
Mary's Side Wall, oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches
Little Bird, Big Fish, oil on panel, 12 x 16 inches
Self Portrait, oil on panel, 8 x 10 inches
Lathiko Rocks, oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches
Bushes, oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches
Outside, oil on panel, 12 x 16 inches
Friends, oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches
Mary's Door, oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches
Against the Wall, oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches
Sentry, oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches
Kalithea Trees, oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches
Greek Church in Rhodes, oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches
La Jolla, oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches
Rhodes Blue, oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches
Greek Path, oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches
Arrangement, oil on panel, 12 x 16 inches
Gray Day, oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches
Williamsburg Lot, oil on panel, 8 x 10 inches
Rhodes Supermarket, oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches
Mary's Backyard, oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches
Los Angeles Mountains, oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches
Picnic Island, oil on panel, 12 x 16 inches
Picnic Island Winter, oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches
Rift, oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches
Shadows, oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches
Georgia Trees, oil on panel, 12 x 16 inches
Bullring, oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches
Williamsburg Loft, oil on panel, 12 x 16 inches
Soap Factory Rhodes, oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches
Red Walls, oil on panel, 9 x 12 inches

Michael Newberry
Santa Monica, June 9th, 2009

MN@NewberryGallery.com