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digital digits

On Halloween, I thought for a costume, I would shave and pull my hair back - was planning on putting on a suit too - not my normal look - if there is such a thing. In any event, it is getting to be time to put the beard back - not into the daily shaving routine and my partner likes the less scratchy beard.

So the above is a laptop snapshot - I used it for a model for the finger-painted digital art below

This digital painting - not the way I normally work, was painted using a photo model. Digital art like digital painting could mean a lot of different things. My work starts from a blank page but the field is wide open - it is new and wide reaching in possibilities.

I know many people who might have taken the photo and altered and painted on it in photoshop and quite likely come up with something quite cool. I am in favor of all creativity - but I simply used the image as a model to challenge my abilities to render an image using my fingers as a mouse to paint with - a new challenge for me - and I think a pretty good likeness. But of course I’ve seen myself.

See Also

• Figures Art Gallery - last years innovative gallery - figures
• Digital Finger Painting - article I was emailed today - not at all what I mean by the term - but these are new terms, new technology, and everyone has to coin his own terms at this point

fresh ideas - part of original art concept - time tells

Morning Light - digital painting - original prints - Dan Beck 2005

Did my quick image roulette thing and found this work of original representation and original art.

The slabs of concrete looking things are to represent the unsightly mall in between my view and the mountains. I frequently, like a many artist, have selective vision … and here again I did as well - choosing this representation.

At the time, I liked it conceptually - thought it kind of fun - but never did more - an indicator in itself.

Love the clouds and sky - the mountains are cool - but it never made it into my real favorites - nevertheless, it is original on many levels and documents the creative process and my own progression as an artist.

Original Prints have been made available for this digital painting and all others in the Figures Art Gallery.

See Also

• Figures Art Gallery - view other works of similar time period and similar themes available for purchase
• Selective Vision: The Brain’s Spin Machine Starts Early: Sciam Observations - liked this article because it is so much about the link between perception and understanding
• Photography Composition Articles: The Magic Of Selective Vision - Photo Composition - liked this article as well for its more conventional look at selective vision - but I of course take exception to photography being more difficult than art - better not to go there if one can help it

same figures differently

Air Hoe 1 - digital painting 4 original art prints - Dan Beck 2007

This was the first of three Air Hoe images which used the same figure. I changed my template to accommodate my new printing dimensions better. I have done some upgrades to my painting computer and have improved color in print outs where I didn’t think it was possible, but must print now with larger margins - so I am rethinking how I will offer these digital paintings as art prints.

I accidentally created this figure in the old sized template - so I copied and pasted into three different paintings that were on the new sized template. This is not the way I normally work - but that is part of the fun of it.

Digital opens up lots of new possibilities - some of course good - some less. Setting limits, and creating and changing the rules as I good is also part of the fun.

This particular piece, like the second was influenced by an exhibit at SFMOMA which I saw a few days prior to this painting.

Despite that, it is my twist.

See Also

• Figures Art Gallery - for lack of a better link to website - check some other images from 2005/6 which figure in
• SFMOMA - always worth a look - wonderful museum - even the gift shop was surprisingly fun
• Digital Possibilities - I liked this phrase and googled it - the most interesting and pertinent result I found in the time I allotted myself to look - not exactly the same thinking but worth a gander at the changing landscape

always affected by experience

Air Hoe 2 - digital painting - Dan Beck 2007

If you look at the posting from a few days ago - you will see that the air hoe figure is basically the same. This was the second of three Air Hoe pieces - all using the same figure and each coming from a different direction or place.

The weekend prior to doing these pieces, I had the opportunity to visit the SFMOMA - and saw a show of American artists and how they related with Picasso and also the de Young Museum. As with most things I take in - I do it best when not trying.

In any event, it was obvious from my first two pieces in this threesome of digital paintings that I was influenced by what I had seen. This is not my typical style of painting.

I think perhaps the power of the third piece is that I went more with what I have been working on. I like the above work a lot, but it is not a direction that I will probably be going into - it is more of an unconscious reaction.

See Also

• Figures Art Gallery - other works from Outhouse Studios which shed light on current piece
• Charles Sheeler - google results - note images - there was work of his at SFMOMA and an exhibit at the de Young - he worked from black and white photos he had taken and added his own color.