What's New

free hand tool and color gradients demonstrate controlling the uncontrollable

First Scribble - enlarged             Gradient Color filled - enlarged

In my most recent digital painting - which I will be sharing later - I became frustrated over some uncoordinated mousing.  As experienced as I am I can’t always trace a line that well to select or tint an area or just do something very precise.

After my third attempt at trying to follow the line - I just scribbled like crazy - apparently I was using the freehand tool like above and got this great wholly pattern - which I decided to utilize within the painting.

In the end, most of that look gets lost but the concept of taking something unique and uncontrolled and learning how to utilize it - that is a wonderful thing.

The above images demonstrate how the gradient color I typically paint with - ends up underneath any curve and only there.  This is a very fluid process - the results of each movement are frequently, though not always, a bit of a surprise.

See Also

• Blue Mountains
  a piece which demonstrates - overlapping color gradients quite clearly
• Gradients for Path Fills
  brief intro to some gradient possibilites using apple
• Jay Arraich’s Photoshop Elements Tips - Gradient Tool
  Photoshop options are quite similar really - the concept is much the same

experimentation with unfamiliar leads to work slightly reminiscent of Dali and aberrant to own body of work

Start-lings - digital painting / art prints - Dan Beck circa 1999

This piece will in someways always remain an aberration in my body of work. It was an early digital painting and was quite experimental.  The style I landed upon was in part because of my limited understanding of the program.

I chose stock color gradients and patterns to paint with - and an opaque color setting which is also the default. What I landed on was fun though - I am particularly partial to the multicolored artichoke looking thing and the floating shapes throughout.

Although not in anyway intended to be surreal, I have always found this somewhat reminiscent of Salvador Dali. I am going to hunt down some examples - see what you think.  It is obvious I am not copying him anyway.

See Also

• Start-lings
  availavility of art prints for above digital painting
• VirtualDali.com
  Large library of works by Salivador Dali
• Gala - Salvador Dali Foundation
  Collection of 50 works

flag qualities and color over texture

My Series 7 - digital painting / art prints - Dan Beck 2005

What works in this digital painting are the colors - there is a creaminess to the blue of imagined sky or water because of the different tones and overlaps.  The green is pleasing and underlined by a light shade of red - making what might be interpreted as a flag of colors.

It is a little square, but then again the bit of background texture which shows through the left side of the piece in particular - gives the work an interesting depth.

All of the pieces in this series juxtapose the smoothness of the color gradients over the coarseness of texture. They all created this unique world and hint at something represented while not actually representing anything but the digital painting itself.

See Also

• My Series 7
  availability of art prints for My Series 7
• Colors as Symbols in Flags: EnchantedLearning.com
  Since I made the analogy - good info to know
• Try This: Our Flag’s True Colors?
  Explanation for optical illusion sheds light on perception - again with the flag

Fluid piece from past contrasts with overworked recent work

Mountain Sails - digital painting - Dan Beck circa 1998

Originally I was planning on sharing a recent digital painting - but I surprised myself by not being able to undo a mistake.  I write all the time about mistakes being mistakes only in relation to what follows - meaning - they can be ok and even a blessing if you keep working.

Well I did, but the color in the piece had gotten too muddy … and even though I worked it to a point that I liked it - when printed it just didn’t sing.

But above is a piece I did many years ago. It was quite fluid - not overworked - and as far as I am concerned quite pleasing.

My understanding of the medium was quite limited at the time, but I had learned how to overlap translucent color gradients and that was huge.

Anyway - I am offering the above piece as an example of what works … and chalking up my latest piece to not everything can be so good.

See Also

• Mountain Sails
  Full Enlargement of Above Piece
• The religion of Jackson Pollock, painter
  Capturing the concept of fluid painting beyond what I am describing

Painting Stopping Points - Painting Development

Unfinished Horizon - First Saved State

I have been talking about color-gradients - because that is what really got me excited about digital painting.  With a little bit of color choosing assistance, the computer could produce a color gradient smoothly and to my liking.

On top of this, I was able to figure out a way to paint with these gradients and overlap their translucency.  In the start above - these overlapping color gradients are particularly clear - and pleasing as they sit at this stage.

Second Horizon stopping point

Essentially this is more of the same.  I continued the overlapping, tightening up the distances, adding more passes, and mountains.  It is becoming more interesting without losing the original course.

A piece can be stopped at many different stages or taken in many different directions. We always try to choose the best path - whether there is such a thing or not.

See Also

• The Hindu : Magazine / Arts & Crafts : Connoisseur of the inexplicable
  Article about different paths an artist can take over career
• Outsider Art Exhibition Gallery
  Many artists taking different paths