Toro Inspired – digital art painting – Dan Beck 2009

The artwork is inspired by Mount Toro – a part of the Santa Lucia Mountains – still Salinas.  There is a particular area I am thinking of in doing this painting, but it is not so particularly literal – what else is new.

Actually – where I find myself today is working on a major website redo – but being more overwhelmed by the prospect than being able to get on with the doing. There is no substitute for just doing – but it is a daunting task to simplify that which has gotten too big to manage.

Since I am painting instead of website building – and blogging instead – the piece undoubtedly reflects this state. If I could take the same approach as I do with art – I will get it done – but I am less inspired by website design than by the beauty that surrounds me – so I do art and hope that the next days will find it easier to get more done in the process.

On the bright side, I have been wanting to paint this area for quite some time – with or without cows – wasn’t sure – but today it felt like it needed a few cows – a digital challenge for a mouse freehander like myself.

See Also

• Taking on the View – Article and only other painting with cows – this one taking from the foothills of the othe mountain chain that creates the Salinas Valley
• Original Art – how can something reproducible be considered original – what does it even mean?

Spring Start – digital painting for art prints – Dan Beck 2009

In the Salinas Valley – if feels like spring starts in February – which is when this piece was created.  The crops are spottily coming in and the hills and mountains are beginning to show green.  As seen above, the dirt is still the most prevalent feature to the landscape, but the colors are becoming rich.  And though the change from winter to spring is much less clear than in most other parts of the country, it is nevertheless, a noticeable change and a welcome feeling.

If you are not from around here, you might not recognize the irrigation in the background – but this is the way it looks from a distance.  Many liberties taken with the emerging rows of young lettuce – but as I have written too many times – it is more about the feeling than the literalness.

I rely on no camera – just the lasting impression from what I spied.  Like the beginning of Spring – this is a first for me… a new article with a standard wordpress blog – instead of the customized version I had grown accustomed to – but had neglected. With the new standard blog – I have subscribers – but I don’t know what that means – perhaps one of you can explain it with a comment.  Are you informed when I post?

See Also

• Original Art – discussion of what it means and how it pertains to digital painting and its prints

Hillside Fun – digital art – Dan Beck 2008

One of the things I have improved on over the years is paying attention to the composition – so that a piece works both large and small.  With digital art – there is not necessarily an optimum size and certainly not a one and only size.

As I have taken on this medium, I keep trying to do work which utilizes the attributes which are unique to creating art on the computer. Stepping back is done by minimizing the size – and getting up close is done by magnifying.

Once a work is printed, I find they are generally stronger as they get large enough to see the detail found when creating the piece.  Texture and overlap of color come into their own in a way that is really only hinted at by a monitor screen – but yet again – seeing on a monitor may actually be closer than with a photo of a more traditional form of art.

See Also

Original Art – discussion of what it means particulary in the context of digital painting and prints on demand

Changing Landscape of Traditional Art – an internet search yielded an interesting thought but not sure if the internet has changed our access to this degree

Hillside Spin – digital art – Dan Beck 2007

I thought it was time to bring out another of the tracks from the Red Eye Recordings last spring – the unconscious mind is a fascinating thing.

The original song is called  “Global Warming” – a joke really – cause there really isn’t a whole lot the song has to do with the topic – just “How come we are sitting in the shade?”  – but as I quickly browsed an image file – looking only at titles – no dates – I thought that the above digital painting rather captures the song – not even sure exactly why – but as it turns out – it was created just about the same time as the song was written – I knew without remembering.

Also interesting – was my own personal quote in the article – something I thought about just yesterday out of the blue -

the dots often connect in conjunction with my life – there is always meaning in the timing – things don’t happen at the speed I expect them to – but when they do – it is always amazing how many things fit together to build a richer meaning.

Writing music works in this same way – a song’s lyrics and music develop like these hills – building until the ending kind of folds into the beginning – spinning back upon itself…

Listen or View

• Global Warming – a song about life – these spinning connections – dog/me/past/future/expectations/potential/timing/ – partner having cigarette withdrawals – me needing to withdraw – and played with a flourish – just one guitar and vocals – and an extra pass for backup vocals – Dan Beck 2007 – Alone and Contagious – written during the recording sessions
•  Price of meaning – every bit as ridiculous as the conceptual creation of an artwork and article entitled “Meaning” – because of the comical implications of doing such an internet search – prices for original art prints of the above referenced work of art

Times Square 2 – digital art – Dan Beck 2008

I felt good about my first take on Times Square – but wanted to try to tackle the feeling again – a little more focus on the TV nature of the advertisements – still the bright color and overwhelming show – but hoping for the shape of the over the top media bombardment that is part of the fabric of life in the big city.

My life is normally situated in a more bucolic west coast – rolling hills – and farmland setting – so this is a departure from what feeds my art generally.  But what an incredible scene – the East Coast in general has such a great mix of old and new – quaint and over the top sensory bombardment – it feels like there are artistic touches everywhere.

In the Salinas Valley I am fed by nature and quick scenes which grab my attention – in the East – I was bombarded by lights – by life – by urban frenzy – and this for someone who lived back east (love that expression) for a major portion of my life.

See Also

• Digital Art – explanation of different meanings and more about what it means at Outhouse Studios
• Beautification or … the death of Times Square Eye Candy – stumbled upon this discussion about banning advertisement in San Paulo and a question of when have we gone too far…

Rooted Tree – digital art – finger painting – rendering from memory impression – Dan Beck 2008

There are trees like this at one of the places I frequent with my exercise craving dog – it took me a while to notice them.

But like with most things – once one finally sees something – one starts to see the same thing more frequently. Even though I am an artist and probably more observant than most, I am keenly aware of how much of life I miss, until I become finally aware.

Perception, attention, and understanding are all fascinating subjects – I paint from an impression – a memory – quite frequently – knowing that my understanding plays an even bigger role in what I project when painting.

The intention here is not fantasy, but fun and freedom to portray the essential double rooted nature of these trees on the hillside – blasting with my own color but attempting to convey

the beauty and oddness that strikes me and makes me smile when I see them.

See Also

• Composite Nature: A Conversation with Stan Brakhage – an image search result for double rooted nature – found the work rather interesting
• Celebrated Poets – another interesting search result – the top poem seems to even relate
• Digital Art – a look at the wide definitions and usage for the digital art term – and what it means at Outhouse Studios

Play Print 1 with Dog – digital art painting – Dan Beck 2008

This is a very recent piece of digital art – playing around with a new template – hoping to introduce a new option for sharing art – more interested in the template size and corresponding original prints than the actual painting.

As a result, I have approached this work as the title suggests – from the point of play. Despite the play – and the landscape painted with abandon – it wreaked of a particular area I had been taking my dog, Bogart, to get some exercise.

Though he probably should have been scampering around the hillside – I ended up putting him in the corner pushing my brand or symbol around – kind of indicative of our relationship I guess – teaching him that I am in charge yet him pushing and resisting most of the way.

some sort of weird karma – reminds me of myself when I was adolescent… and sometimes still am

See Also

• Digital Art – ambiguities, distinctions, and open ended meaning of digital art
• Sharing Art – search result finds blog – nice image – traced from a photo – not at all like my work – but creativity needs to be encouraged
• Tour of Youth Arts Collective – art fosters problem solving and thinking outside the box – I have seen the yaksters work and I it points more towards the kind of world we need …

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

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

Quick Study 0 Quick Study 2

The second painting contains all of the first but is built upon – in essence, these are the same digital painting – but I saved one and stopped and continued working on the other.

I like them both – although as in most cases I tend to lean towards one version over another. Being from the same place makes them more in competition than even otherwise.

It has been drilled into to us – that there is one right answer to most problems – one best way – one best work etc. – it is built into our grading system in schools – we rank and compare. I think this is also why we tend to think of original art as being one of a kind.

Truth is there are many solutions to problems – many different ways of getting to the same place – many different ways of doing – and they all have advantages and disadvantages.

If we didn’t know these were the same digital painting to start with – would we compare so hard?

If we truly saw each other as individuals …

See Also

• Foothills Terrain – a different take on the same general place; however, I have made original art prints available for sale for this digital painting
• Psychologist studies what stimulates creativity (11-03-94) – I found this interesting and also to the point – rewarding for doing little leads to doing little
• Outstanding Doctoral Mentors: John Holloway – I skimmed this article – but thought it pertinent – because it points out how important creativity is in science. The creativity has to be nurtured in graduate school because it is drilled out of us – this doctoral mentor realizes how important and necessary it is