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Impression of scene accurate - piece falls a little short

Shades of East Boronda - digital painting - Dan Beck

Creating art is a lot of times about solving a problem. What I saw was a crazy incline of dirt and as a result - nothing behind it except the Gabilan mountains.

I saw it as a glance - quickly while driving but it was a rather profound image at the time.

Having said that - I don’t think this is one my better pieces.  It achieved exactly what I set out to do - but turns out in my eye to not have been enough.

Despite that I like the feeling of the mountains and the feeling of the dirt - even the composition is ok - balanced but not too symmetrical.  And of course, the art prints are also better than the digital painting.

I see art as a metaphor for life - I am not alone in this - I did what I set out to do - perhaps this is akin to "being careful what you wish for".

See Also

• Shades of East Boronda
  In case this piece speaks to you anyway or curious - availability of art prints
• Stephen Frisch Photography portfolio image - Foot of Gabilans Mtns
  Particular angle from Mountains quite interesting - but photography on site worth checking out
• Re: Be careful what you wish for
  Looking at the phrase - explaining a bit - and asking more

ambiguity and breaking from convention don’t shake essence

Big Valley 1 - Digital Painting / Art Prints - Dan Beck 2005

I featured this piece once before but didn’t really write about it. I don’t really remember creating this digital painting, but looking at it today - I can flash to where I must have been viewing - looking west out over the Salinas Valley with the Gabilan mountains behind.

There is an ambiguity in this piece in regards to how the hills are sitting - how the fields intersect - it captures without being particularly literal.

I love this aspect of art - not just in my own - when something looks very different from convention, yet is unmistakable nevertheless.

The essence of a thing is not always what we assume it to be.

See Also

• The Salinas Valley III
  a little further south that where I was thinking of - but photo gives good idea about dimensions of the valley
• Salinas Valley with Gabilan Mountains and Fremont Peak behind
  a little bit north of where I was thinking of - but also gives good idea of dimensions of the valley
• Big Valley 1
  Look Again - Gallery Page - has enlargement and art print options by following “buy this piece” link

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