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carrying out original vision

Checkerboard Day - unfinished digital painting

If I work this direction - meaning create a landscape and then add figures, I generally save the painting before moving on.

I like the piece where it is above - the checkerboard of light and dark and the clouds are strong enough to carry the painting. Plus the hills have the warmth and at least my eye is pulled in enough to want to move around in the composition.

But frequently, the case with art is about solving a problem or carrying out something one has conceived. I always think there should be some give and take with the painting itself as it is created. But I also think it is important to at least try to say what one intends (a take on Original Art - I had not thought of before).

The checkerboard mountains and the two irrigation workers hoisting their pipes in unison were witnessed on the same day - and the connection made sense to me when I saw them and created the finished original digital painting.

See Also

• Original Prints - catalog of prints starting at $95 - some of my favorites - many current paintings are on hold as far as prints being set up for easy purchase - email if determined - changes are coming
• The Art of Problem Solving - good tips here - concise and clear - even if my take is more about art honing such skills
• The Art of Complex Problem Solving - I think this may actually be about “the Art” - as it is the changing views as one rolls over with the mouse that makes me appreciate this - the puzzle about puzzle solving is more complex than I have patience for at the moment - but a nice complex diagram nevertheless

transcending the confines of canvas stereotypes

Sky Over Mountains - digital painting - Dan Beck 2007

I wrote a page for my website in which I go into detail about what digital painting is and how it differs and is in many ways the same as other types of painting.

Much of my focus was in pointing out the painterly similarities. Composition, color, and form as well as a clean canvas to start with are all the same. The above is a good example, because it too is much the same as traditional painting in its gradations and intensity of color - but it differs as well in the way lines and texture are created.

To me the computer connections and origins are rather apparent. I am not out to hide the nature of these works, but I am more concerned with what they are trying to communicate than the language of digital or even the language of art.

Feeling and beauty are meant to transcend technique and for that matter transcend the art - their success is not something which can luckily or easily be measured.

See Also

• Digital Painting - discussion of how it is same and different - insight into how it is viewed at Outhouse Studios and part of why it is such an exciting new medium
• What is Art? And why does it Matter? - open house questions - Yale University Art Gallery - thought these quotes rather enlightening as far as some across the board thinking

recent experience affects creativity

Typical Mountain Color - digital painting - Dan Beck 2007

Well yes - this really isn’t typical mountain color - but is more a case of saving a piece with a title before knowing exactly where it is going.

The mountains are beautiful here and they have this look and feeling which I try to communicate frequently. They change a lot, but there is always this wonderful patchwork of color.

When I started painting this piece - I was drinking out of a pseudo Van Gogh mug. I approached the painting with more abandon and colors than I might normally - it felt like the right thing to do.

The figures came in to play because 1) I wasn’t done painting, 2) I felt it would make the piece more interesting (colorful), and 3) because I caught two men resting on their hoes recently (even though these are shovels) - something I don’t normally see.

The third figure seemed necessary with the rest of the composition. His posture will be discussed at another time.

See Also

• Field of Hoes - how could I not think of this piece - a number of people have said it looks like a band of musicians out in that field - plus original art prints are set up for purchase
• Van Gogh - an interesting take on his use of color - with imbued meanings throughout - perhaps even more credit than the spontaneous style we can all see - but such a lovely image to make the discussion come together

focus to harness an awkward imbalance

Field Fitting - digital painting / art prints - Dan Beck 2006

I don’t know if one can tell by looking, but this was a challenge for the eyes to make. A lot of the piece was done by filling in lines - not like conventional painting but with the unique tools of the computer - yet really focusing on getting in between.

I am particularly partial to this digital painting - I think the composition is compelling - one feels like one is at the end of the precipice. The fields undulate - the colors are more real than real - and there is this wonderful awkward imbalance of the man positioning the irrigation pipes and trying to harness nature.

Perhaps I read too much - but then again - I think it speaks strongly about my own vision and style.

See Also

Field Fitting - art print options and availability for above digital painting

Understand Your Subtle System - completely unrelated and particularly foreign to me - but quite interesting - searching the term: awkward imbalance

composition for a non-specific subject

Quick Study 2 - Dan Beck - digital painting for art prints - 2007

The process of creating is almost always interesting. By the time I got to this stage, this digital painting was no longer a quick study… but it did start out that way.

I have had enough of an absence from painting - that I did not want to retrieve a subject - this is no place in particular - something I do from time to time - but it definitely is here.

I am happy with the composition - the eye-flow - the richness of color and the feeling it evokes.

See Also

• Filming In Monterey County - Location Library - Location Photos, Listings
  photos of Monterey County from the Film Commission
• No Particular View
  art print options for a different but similar piece - have not yet created purchasing options for above piece

composition and details translate best printed large

Beyond the Ivy Fence - digital painting / art prints - DB 2005

The fields across the road are dirt again - it is that time of year. This piece was done earlier in the year than now - but as I was looking across the road, I was thinking about this.

Small and on the surface kind of boring - but then again not - the dirt and diamond an accurate portrayal - the ivy articulation a lot of fun.

As with a lot of the pieces in the Impressionist Art Gallery at Outhouse Studios - they were designed and intended to be printed large - they come alive when they are viewed that way - and frankly are just not done justice small.

Perhaps that is a weakness in composition or perhaps it is perfectly ok to not be all things, all sizes.

See Also

• Beyond the Ivy Fence
  Gallery page for above digital painting - click to enlarge and see details - also info about art print purchasing options
• hs1706 - plowed and disced field - Photos by Donald Kinney
  click on “small” to view some other interesting shots - Just dirt can be pretty amazing
• All Things Web: Accommodating Imperfection
  being all things - on the web as elsewhere - the perpetual and impossible challenge - but interesting discussion

creatively interpret events, views, and life

Irrigation Bend - digital painting / art prints - Dan Beck 2005

Being creative is not just about creating things.

In many cases, it is about creating meaning - or finding meaning - not exactly the same things - but either way about creatively interpreting the world.

Today this piece came up partly by clicking the roulette button(chance?) and partly by my being in the figures gallery. It was also displayed a year ago with the piece I wrote about earlier today.

I was surprised to see I had not written about this. It is a strong piece - it also was the first time I had really observed workers wet adjusting the irrigation spray.

Another important connection to this piece is the the last digital painting I did was called “Irrigation Man” and utilizes the same theme but in a more iconic fashion.

Nevertheless, I think it is the first time since the above piece I have painted anything resembling this theme.

The hills, the bend in the road, the stripes of color and texture, and the sky all conspire to make this a really wonderful piece - also much more enhanced when viewed large.

See Also

• Irrigation Bend
  gallery page - enlargement /details - art print options for digital painting
• Two Part Prints
  Look at recent work with similar theme from last year and above
• Creativity, Creative Strategies and the Critical Counter Culture of the 90’s
  Definately more of an intellectual study than I am into these days, but some interesting things brought up - creative do’s and don’ts are a little scary though

influenced by late afternoon glow on the mountains

Afternoon Glow - digital painting / art prints - Dan Beck 2006

I think "influenced by" - is a good way to describe the forces behind this painting.

Starting without a composition in mind - not necessarily my favorite way - I could not escape the incredible vision from the prior afternoon - somewhat overcast yet also shining right on the mountains.

There is an incredible light here in the late afternoon - quite often this time of year. I don’t think there is any way to do it justice - but my hope was to somehow hint at the feeling of glowing and the warm bath of light.

I didn’t have a particular spot in mind - more like a plausible scene - and mostly hoping to catch the feeling of the late afternoon light shining on the Gabilan mountains or Santa Lucia for that matter - as it happens on both mountain ranges, but only in the afternoon.

For art prints of above digital painting - please email: specialorders@outhousestudios.net.

See Also

• Impressionist Art Gallery
  most similar on site images
• Gabilan Range and Pinnacles - Fullscreen VR Panoramas
  Get a feeling for how it looks from the mountains - full circle - pretty cool really

simplicity, colors, and composition combine

Sunset Startled - digital painting / art prints - Dan Beck 2005

I was pretty happy with this digital painting when I finished. Sometimes it takes a while to appreciate the work one has done and other times it is immediate. I find the same to be true with music I’ve written.

I kept the fence simple and the green field very austere as well. But that little squashed setting sun was pretty right on - and the complexity of the horizon itself quite fascinating.

What I think mostly is that it is pleasing in its colors and in its composition - enough to make one feel good. And if I recall correctly, it was a really special evening .

See Also

• Sunset Startled
  gallery page - enlarge/details - availability of art prints for Sunset Startled
• Low Sun
  More pictures and info from site sighted in text
• Earth Science Picture of the Day
  the separation and squashing of the setting sun - but moreso

as art prints are more revealing that digital images - so can art be to seeing

Out Field - digital painting / art prints - Dan Beck 2006

This is an excellent example of how art prints can show so much more that is in a piece than simply looking at the monitor image of the digital painting.

By looking at a detail closer to its intended size (results will vary with monitor resolution*) - one can see how much is being missed at what is close to a monitor sized image.*

The content and composition is pretty much a composite of much of what I see in the fields around here.  All of these things are going on at once, but in truth there is no way to see them all from any perspective that I am familiar with here.

So I invented one - hoping to show more of the reality than one might actually be able to see.

For art prints of above digital painting, please email: specialorder@outhousestudios.net.

See Also

• Figures Art Gallery
  some similar work can be found on website
• Glossary
  content here is more completely defined
• Art History Glossary - Perspective
  the claim is you can learn all about perspective by following the links (but not as in point of view or bias)