June « 2007 « Outhouse Studios Weblog

Archive for June, 2007

Nature of Possibility

Monday, June 11th, 2007

approaching the vast task at hand

Field Phlat – digital painting / art prints – Dan Beck 2006

The fields seem like they go on forever. Imagine the feeling of having to pick all those fields – imagine a world which seems to intertwine with your body itself.

Imagine both the magnitude of harvesting out of necessity and both the importance and smallness felt all at the same time.

Though my world is nothing like the strawberry pickers, I identify with this figure. His world is vast, beautiful and seemingly endless. His task is not ever fulfilled by himself but he must nevertheless start the process.

He is in pause – from beauty, from vastness, from being overwhelmed, by just the humbling nature of where to begin.

It is in our nature to work the impossible…

Beyond Measurement

Saturday, June 9th, 2007

not hours, but understanding and experience

Color Crossings – digital painting – original prints – Dan Beck 2007

I don’t usually think about how long it takes to create a piece, but I started this digital painting this morning and am printing as I write and just finished uploading the images to website.

It took six hours to paint this – I don’t know exactly where that stands. It would be little for most oil painters – a lot for many, but certainly not all watercolorists; and probably about right for me.

As a rule, I generally complete a piece in two sittings – I like having two perspectives on a piece. But today, I felt comfortable and confident as I rolled the hills and rowed the crop fields.

This original painting has a depth and a material warmth that feels good to me and it is also a bit over the top with the mountains and sky in the background.

Original Distinctions

Friday, June 8th, 2007

archetypal, fresh, world of its own – intentional multiple prints

Salinas Valley 1 – digital painting – original prints – Dan Beck 2003

Much of my current writing focus is about the distinctions of original art. Though this is not all that recent of a piece, I felt and still feel that I hit an original note or interpretation when I created this digital painting.

I had never treated the row crops in such a fashion and had never treated the undulating crisscrossing fields in such a fashion. It is geometric, openly computeristic, but playful, childlike and strong.

It is its own world – but it also conjures up the Salinas Valley. There is nowhere else I have been which has this feeling. It is special because it does that – but perhaps too fantastical to those who have not been here.

Nevertheless, it was original at the time – remains original as the archetype – and each of its art prints is original.

For a long time, it was also the first image one would see on the Outhouse Studios website and therefore remains in the above header banner.

Nature Mimics Itself

Thursday, June 7th, 2007

Art Reinforces Relationships

Here 2 There – digital painting / original prints – Dan Beck 2003

When I finished this digital painting a few years ago, I thought it was the cat’s meow. Textures were fairly new to me and I was pretty ecstatic about the stone quality in the mountains, the rocky dirt quality to the plowed fields and the other worldly quality of the rolling hills or fields.

Plus, there is a wave like quality to the foreground fields which I have never done in quite such an obvious manner since. I have always loved the way nature mimics itself – evidenced in O’keefe’s flowers.

I wasn’t thinking about making the hills look like waves – but they do sometimes – I just enhanced it by allowing for it to come through in the process of creating.

Multiple Intentions

Wednesday, June 6th, 2007

original new knot

Three Way Figure 3 – original digital painting -Dan Beck 2007

This is the last of three digital paintings. Each one was done while working on the others once they diverged into three. As I was doing them, I was certain I would end up liking this one more than one or two, but at this point I am less sure.

In any event, it was the first time I had ever seen any one using a small sickle and it struck me enough to do such a figure – how it developed into three I have discussed elsewhere.

What I think I am having the most fun with is the fact that not only is each digital painting original, but each art print is also original art. I like tweaking our understanding.

Nothing is completely original – in truth every print is slightly unique even – paper and ink don’t always mix the same. But like all the work I do in this medium – the art is intended to be printed in multiples and is the way it is intended to be viewed … as original prints.

Original Understanding

Tuesday, June 5th, 2007

original and same – pushing the language

Three Way Figure 2 – original digital painting -Dan Beck 2007

Don’t know if I left anyone in suspence or not – but here is the second of three digital paintings – done together with divergent paths.

When I started the piece I started with the background – and got to a point where it needed some additional color – I filled using different gradients but liked three choices and decided this time not to decide.

Putting off the decision and taking three different paths simultaneously was a fun way of working – an excercise I may or may not repeat. But it doesn’t matter – what is important is the exploration of different ways of working – different ways of keeping things fresh – and in my case different ways of creating original digital paintings and accompanying original art and original prints.

As I keep saying original art has multiple meanings – I see my art as a way to push our understanding.

Outhouse Studios Weblog

Archive for June, 2007

Nature of Possibility

approaching the vast task at hand

See Also

Beyond Measurement

not hours, but understanding and experience

See Also

Original Distinctions

archetypal, fresh, world of its own – intentional multiple prints

See Also

Nature Mimics Itself

Art Reinforces Relationships

See Also

Multiple Intentions

original new knot

See Also

Original Understanding

original and same – pushing the language

See Also

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