Outhouse Studios Weblog

Creating Acceptability

Light Shining Thru – digital painting / original prints – Dan Beck 2005

Categories are not always helpful – they don’t help with treating people like individuals and they don’t always help with understanding what goes into making a particular work of art.

Technology and timing add a dimension to all art that is almost always controversial. The classical guitar was not considered more than a folk instrument until Andres Segovia came along.

Digital art is a bit like that – but perhaps even more confusing. In doing an image search for digital painting, I discovered four different takes on what that means in the first four sites I followed links to.

Whether one starts with a digital photo and manipulates it, simply scans or digitally photographs an image, creates from a blank screen, or combines these in some variation; it seems everyone wants to use the terms.

I don’t think the beat box warrants the appreciation of a real drummer – but it is not without requiring some skill just by setting the speed and rhythm.

I find myself bouncing back and forth about all these things. On the one hand, I respect the discipline and development of the skills to create. On the other hand, I would like to be able to appreciate art just for what it is without regard to how it is created.

See Also

• Original Prints – additional explanation about what makes original art at Outhouse Studios and the category breaking concepts
• New and free prints on images and original pictures – digital prints are not defined at all – altered photos – paintings from scratch? – the artist has clearly not spent the kind of time with this type of work as with his painting and obviously values it much less since he is giving them away with the purchase of his paintings
• Digital Paintings and Photo Illustrations – very different work than mine – but quite fun and the artist distinguishes where his work comes from – I value that – but given my findings – it probably matters little at this point

a fresh spin on which came first

Spinach Harvest – Digital Painting – Dan Beck – 2005

Generally when I write – my inspiration comes from a choice of artwork – its implications or origins – but it is about the artwork – looking outward.

In an unusual twist, I am thinking about the climate of fear we live in. Living in Salinas (and even if I weren’t), I felt the hype over the 3 deaths and multiple illnesses related to E. coli tainted spinach a bit over the top.

I heard Jay Leno recently say that there were thirteen deaths caused by vending machines last year -

So basically there is over four times as much chance you will get killed by a coke machine than eating spinach – without even talking about health risks from too much soda.

Each year – approximately 35,000 people die in the U.S. of flu-related causes -

I painted the above digital painting – long before any E. coli spinach scare – it was a time consuming painting to go along with the time consuming task of harvesting. I have tremendous respect for these workers – they work incredibly long hours and just about always wave a hello if they see you – and most of them do work which no born and raised American would generally even consider let alone try.

So call me reckless, but I am more afraid of fast food than spinach, bigotry than illegal immigrants, and worst of all (in this climate of dwindling civil rights) – speaking up in a voice that might be heard.

See Also

• Death by Vending Machine – a tongue and cheek look at some of the stupidities in our world – but my take is “fear of litigation”
• Figures Art Gallery – original prints are available for all works in this gallery from 2005- in addition to this piece – others which were actually meant to be a bit dissenting