Issue link: https://artandculture.epubxp.com/i/885315
30 art&culture; ason Newsted comes outside to greet his guest smiling and barefoot. Inside the 1950s-era home, music is playing softly—Sigur Rós at the moment— and the space is bright with sunshine. There's no AC cranking, despite the 90-degree mid-June afternoon, just a gentle breeze coming in through the screen door. There's an old tube TV, VCR, and stacks of VHS tapes in one corner. And then there's art. Lots and lots of art. A quick scan of the wide-open studio results in an unex- pected discovery: On one side, there's a remarkably bubble- gum flavor going on. Everything's pink, and yellow, and either pastel or neon. And perched in this cheerful environ- ment are a couple of beaming, plush Care Bears showing off the cupcakes and rainbows on their tummies. So, wait... This guy was in Metallica? "Oh, that's my wife's side," Newsted offers, sensing the con- fusion in the air. "My side is over here." Newsted, and his wife, fellow artist Nicole, live in Jupiter for part of the year, and this is the space where they make their art. There are paintings and drawings everywhere, finished and unfinished, in stacks, on easels, on walls; cans of paint spilling onto tables and floors.... It's very clear that art is always happening here. "I probably did 20 pictures already since Sunday afternoon," he says. (It's Tues- day.) "Nick showed up three months ago, and here we are." Nick is Art Miami founder Nick Korniloff. The two met back in February and hit it off, so one night Newsted invited his new friend to his home to hang out and play music. Inside the jam room, Korniloff saw some of Newsted's artwork hanging on the walls and pretty much said, "You're going to Art New York, and you have six weeks to prepare." At the time, New- sted hadn't been painting much—those pieces were from years ago. Instead, he'd been focusing on playing music he enjoys with different musicians he knows, mostly for charities like Little Kids Rock (littlekidsrock.org) and the Perry J. Cohen Foundation (pjcf.org). Still, he accepted the challenge. He arrived at Art New York with zero expectations. "A com- mon thread with any artist who's a real artist is self-doubt," says Newsted. "It's always there. I didn't think I'd sell anything. I mean, there was a Basquiat across the hall 15 feet away!" But people did buy his pieces. Some of the quickest sellers were THIS PAGE (FROM LEFT): BILL EVANS (2006), ACRYLIC AND MIXED MEDIA ON CANVAS; NEWSTED. OPPOSITE PAGE (FROM TOP): THE PROJECTS (2006), ACRYLIC AND MIXED MEDIA ON CAN- VAS; DOUBLE-NECK (2017), GRAPHITE AND COLORED PENCIL ON BLACK PAPER. J I ALWAYS WANT THERE TO BE WONDERMENT IN WHAT I DO. WITH PAINTING, I DON'T EVER HAVE A PLAN; THE SUBJECT CHOOSES ITSELF." "