Posts Tagged ‘color’
Tuesday, November 6th, 2007
sharing concept – overlap of world views
Love, Death, and in Between – Dan Beck 2007 – digital art
This is not a particularly representative work for me, but then I see my work as being in transition – which is indeed what this is about.
The digital painting above was done for the Day of the Dead and accompanying celebration here in Salinas – though I didn’t exactly include a Steinbeck Theme – just wasn’t thinking about that aspect at the time.
What I was thinking about what the different world spheres we all live in – how they seemingly overlap, sometimes don’t, and sometimes aren’t even seen. Without the confines of time and space, I am not sure how in flux the world would seem – but imagine a world where we saw every change and everything in flux – not just a swirling world, but the separation between life and death being blurred.
Add to that the newness of painting mostly by finger movements and finished by mouse – a blending of new and known – and at the very least(or most) “brilliant in color”.
See Also
- Dreampt Away – a brilliant colored piece from another time – not related – but for the colors of dreaming and the obvious flux of that overlapping world
- Escher’s Reflective Sphere – school project shows how we can learn from what exists and take it somewhere else – this is exactly the kind of reflection I would like to see from my own art – as would any artist – learning how to see is an ongoing process
Tags: Art, color, digital painting, painting
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Saturday, October 6th, 2007
the climate of change
Two Pick 2 – digital painting / art prints – Dan Beck 2006
Yesterday was California Arts Day and also being the First Friday of every month an arts celebration here in what is a small community of Salinas.
There is nothing new about this – the two of coincided now for the third time; but this time the local newspaper – which like most – is more concerned with publishing the bad – published the good – right on. They also included an image of the above piece of digital art – which of course was a nice surprise for me.
For what it is worth – colors in print look a lot better than their website version. I have not written much about my current show in Salinas – but it has been really well received. More important to me is being a part of a changing landscape.
I believe we are in the process of becoming someplace special – our climate, landscape, and culture are coming together here – people are believing – just as I believe: in being at the right place at the right time by being where one is – and therefore supposed to be.
See Also
Tags: Art, color, Digital Art, digital_art, painting, prints
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Monday, September 10th, 2007
observing the flow
Kitties - digital art – painting – Dan Beck 2003
Over the weekend, we held a giant yard sale in which I sold a few experimentally framed and matted pieces along with every other odd and ends thing under the sun. This particular piece was one I sold.
I have been too busy trying to move to be able to blog, but thought I could take a few minutes today – to share this piece. This digital painting was and is about pushing the limits.
I didn’t even know I could paint cats on the computer when I tackled this piece. Perspective was not as much of a concern as making the cats look cat like.
Even to this day, one of the things I actually like is that the medium is still not completely under my control. There are both happy accidents as well as a rather loose control over much of the ways I impart color and form. I can do things I couldn’t do with conventional paint and brush, but my control is not nearly as developed.
The skill is more about learning how to observe and duplicate playing with the medium. The freedom to let go and make mistakes is also the freedom to control the uncontrollable.
See Also
- Kitties – availability of original prints for the above digital art painting
- Slow Leadership: Getting comfortable with control – related by the notion of controlling the uncontrollable – seemed like sound advice though not so much about what I was referring – learning through observation
Tags: Art, color, digital painting, painting, perspective, prints
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Friday, August 31st, 2007
perspective from above – same theme, different understanding?
Flat Runs – digital art – painting & original prints – Dan Beck 2007
This is my last completed digital painting – finished last week sometime. It was started after the first same themed piece and prior to the last featured piece from more of the true perspective – if there is such a thing.
The work was inspired by a drive-by moment witnessing three field workers racing their strawberry flats to the staging area or truck – I didn’t notice.
It is more about feeling and understanding than actual viewing and therefore a view from above is just as true – but it wasn’t what I wanted and I started another piece before I finished this.
And though I think the other two pieces are more original art for me – I do love the bright color and some of the digital art twists, turns, and copy and paste which are not always utilized in my work.
See Also
Tags: Art, color, Digital Art, digital_art, field workers, Original Art, original_art, painting, perspective, prints, strawberry
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Friday, August 17th, 2007
reiterating: results are in the doing
This is not my normal style of digital painting, but I suppose it is not that far removed. I have no qualms about using color – and the intent of painting from a simple line drawing was mostly an exercise – an exercise in approaching painting in a different way.
Just like taking a class – exercises can be valuable. Just as the definition of digital art is rather wide open so are its limits. Many programs allow one to remove something unwanted that was many steps back – programs like photoshop and illustrator which use layers for instance. Even without that, one could save unlimited versions of a piece so that one might not go down the wrong road.
The problem with any of these approaches is that – it is important to hold on to process when one paints – if one doesn’t get that meditative, get lost in the painting – what good is it?
Lesson 3 is about utilizing rules and limits – to have freedom to create inside and create necessity for trying things in new ways.
See Also
- Original Art-chives – page shows development of technique and how technique is not really what determines whether a finished work has appeal or not
- Photoshop Layers Tutorial – you will notice this explains well – but until you do it yourself you probably won’t get it. My personal experience was being shown, but not remembering until I essentially figured it out on my own.
Tags: Art, color, Digital Art, digital painting, digital_art, Original Art, original_art, painting
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Thursday, August 16th, 2007
teaching experience?
So if it isn’t obvious – this is a continuation of yesterday’s article. And like the lesson before, I will probably give very little technical advice. For even if one is committed to a certain computer painting program, the learning is mostly in the doing.
The first digital art panel above is tinted in color from the previous pane. Not all digital painting programs have this capability – very useful – some use adjustable opacity and that is even more controlled.
The color which follows is done using a freehand tool in Appleworks, which few use these days – and as far as I have seen – no equivalent exists in photoshop, illustrator or other programs I have touched upon.
Lesson 2 – learn to use what you have – use help menu-pop-up descriptions and utmost – don’t be afraid to experiment. All programs have advantages and limitations, there are always work-arounds and ways of doing things which may not have been thought of by the authors themselves. It needs to become your medium – explore it and develop it.
I believe the reason kids get around the new technology so well is that they don’t have the fear of losing all their work or their computers like most of the rest of us.
See Also
Tags: Art, color, Digital Art, digital_art, painting
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Tuesday, July 31st, 2007
and enjoyment of creating
Furrowed Field – digital painting – Dan Beck 2007
When I started adding the patterned colors in the dirt – the green, red, and blue; the contours of the dirt flattened out a little – but I liked the digital painting more and found the addition a nice addition to the enjoyment of creating the painting.
The furrowed field in question did just start getting irrigated and I did see two workers in yellow slickers with wrenches cranking on the water.
There was no posing and no pretense of a world in scale -but hopefully fun nevertheless. The figures do seem a bit cartoon-like to me and the representation of water – I have certainly done a few times.
Since to me, one of the key aspects of creating original art is communicating one’s unique perspective – this piece works. It is neither completely new or completely redone. The prints are always original and always as intended by the artist.
See Also
- Rainy Halloween Harvest – first digital painting with figures – actually painted through the window – on location as it were – and first painted yellow slickers
- Good Communication Skills – not advocating a course here – but good points about communication also apply to the conscious part of art
- Original Prints – definitions and distinctions – understanding what is being offered at Outhouse Studios
Tags: Art, color, digital painting, Original Art, original_art, painting, perspective, prints
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Friday, July 27th, 2007
controlling what at first seems uncontrollable
My Series 12 – digital painting – original prints – Dan Beck 2004
Simple, colorful, expression – not much in the way of form – not much in terms of movement – but it does have a good feeling nevertheless.
This was not a particularly thoughtful piece. It came from following a concept of being on the cusp between representation and abstract as well as having the smooth colors atop the beige textured background.
Original art, original prints – this has my characteristic comfortable strokes of the mouse – unique to the way I move my hand and wrist – controlling what was seemingly uncontrollable at first.
As a musician, I had to learn how to hear some of the odd scales my fingers had learned how to play – in some ways – this abstract piece is about the same process with painting on the computer.
See Also
- Abstract Art Gallery – other digital paintings from “My Series” as well as other fluid, playful pieces
- Success Express To The Land Of Plenty – while looking for something on the lines of gaining control by being an observer – I found this interesting article
- Fate vs Free Will – again not exactly the angle I was looking for – but a way of integrating determinism and free will in a way I hadn’t really thought of – astrologically
Tags: Art, color, music, Original Art, original_art, painting, prints, texture
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Saturday, July 14th, 2007
more to communicate
Foothills Anywhere – digital painting – Dan Beck 2007
Some pieces of original art feel more serious than others – more in a tradition of fine art than colorful poster art or illustration, cartoon, or folk art.
Just as my music has influences of jazz, rock, folk, blues, and classical – my visual art tends to have more than one influence.
Even though the above digital painting is intensely colorful and painted in a quick bold fashion, it is more serious. There is an intentionality of communicating a feeling and mood which is not always there with an abstract piece or a more fantastical piece.
I have been working on other types of art and creativity and this still feels like my most recent work – original prints are not yet available.
See Also
- More Warm Hills – a piece I am reminded of – translating the hug-able quality of the hills and a similar type of 3 dimensionality
- Fine art – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia – for lack of a better place to refer – this offers many a category of distinction – though the point is all categories overlap
Tags: Art, color, creativity, digital painting, hills, mountains, music, Original Art, original_art, painting, prints
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Friday, July 13th, 2007
blurring lines of distinction
Fishies – digital painting – poster art prints – Dan Beck 2000
Is there a distinction between fine art and poster art? – between serious representation and caricature?
I can see a difference between my earliest digital paintings and my more recent ones. The first ones were bright playful colors with no pretence of trying to capture the feeling of someplace real – rather they were a place of their own though inspired by something seen.
There is a brilliance which fish have which can’t be captured – the above rendition is not from vision not from reality so much as from imagination and colors of the medium.
I imagine it more of a poster than a work of framed original art – but I never want to lose that sense of play – I want the lines blurred – I want my work to be low brow – high brow – no brow.
We need categories to make sense of our world – but after doing so we need to be able to not categorize in order to see.
See Also
- Original Art-chives – earliest digital paintings at Outhouse Studios and some as recent as 2005
- Under Water Photo Gallery – don’t know this photographer or his work until today – but Gary McCarthy has done a nice job at showcasing some of the incredible colors under water
Tags: Art, color, Original Art, original_art, painting, prints
Posted in Original Art | No Comments »
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