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portraying strange light in its own way

Another Lightness - digital painting / art prints - Dan Beck 2004

There are times when the mountains seem otherworldly - particularly I have been fascinated by the light that emerges on the mountains seemingly right under the overcast.

It is about perspective and distance - that creates the illusion - but than again - seeing is about seeing - not about what is scientifically there.  And in this case, it is also about an impression.

This piece captures the strangeness of light and abstractly portrays a phenomena that would be less real done a different way.

See Also

• uzilite.com
  “light obliterating every shades” according to Google - nice photos and very slick the way they are displayed - quite fun
• strange light pictures
  spirit in the lens - truth is not the issue for me - but the strange light irresistable
• Another Lightness
  gallery page - enlarge/details - art print options

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

Art prints & fields of color more pleasing large as intended

Yellow Field Green Hills - digital painting / art prints - DB 2005

Like most the pieces in the Impressionist Art Gallery, the digital paintings were intended to be printed large - yielding art prints at a minimum size of a 24 x 30" framed print.

Although I don’t see this as one of my all time best, I do find it remarkably pleasing - particularly since it also seems a bit imbalanced in some ways.

The funny thing is that there are certain perspectives where the mountains feel this ludicrously tall and the fields were indeed this yellow.

Nevertheless, the piece is about impression not a snapshot of reality.

See Also

• in a day’s look - a snapshot of reality - www.mytruevision.com
  interesting snapshots of graffiti -and a take I wasn’t expecting on this phrase
• Press Releases - Unversity of Sunderland
  there is a small press release regarding snapshot of reality - but the stories were lots of fun
• Yellow Field Green Hills
  gallery page - enlargement and details - availability and purchasing options for art prints of above digitial painting

Darkness of painting and boldness of sky pave way for accurate printing

Twilight Glow - digital painting / art prints - Dan Beck - 2005

This piece has significance for me in a number of ways. First off - it works despite an inordinate amount of brown. Half of the digital painting is dirt. Even lacking in detail as it is small, it still seems to be balanced.

The mountains have this smooth coolness as does the whole piece generally, but the sky is incredible - beautiful and dramatic - as it was - a fine impression of that evening.

The other significance was that this piece forced me to improve the way I was printing. I had thought I had found acceptable settings, but the darkness of this piece proved I had to rethink and come up with a better way.

And I did - and all my prints are more accurate as a result. Printed paintings always look better at Outhouse Studios.

See Also

• Twilight Glow
  availabilty of art prints
• After sundown afterglow in the sky - Digital Grin
  Photo progression of a beautiful sunset - gives some hint to the kind of night which insprired
• Wheel Keeps on Rolling
  Dont’ know when written - but I like the inspirational story and reference to “smooth coolness”

original art prints and the impression of a situation

Base of the Mountain - digital painting for art prints

Over the weekend, I was looking at some block prints done by high school students in the area and I got to thinking about their process and the definition of a print.  

A print requires a transfer - perhaps an "impression", mold, carving, stone, matrix, etc. to impart an image onto paper or cloth.

In the case of digital art  and the resulting art prints, the digital image - painting in my case, is that "impression". I find this even more apt since so much of my work is from an "impression" I might get from a scene.

Such is the work above. I drove by quickly - glancing back to take in the field workers picking strawberries. It frequently looks like a dance one when one goes by quickly, but I seriously doubt they were having anywhere near the fun of the what I portrayed. In fact, I know better particularly on this "Day without Immigrants".

And though I tout my art prints as being originals(the monitor image can’t practically be hung)- they are impressions of an original scene - and are removed from the original inspiration just as any art might be.

See Also

• Base of the Mountain
  art print options for above work
• WebMuseum: Monet, Claude: Impression: soleil levant
  Impression - some history and examples of the term

Colorful, Brilliant Glow, Quick, Powerful Look

Bold Glimpse - Enlarge - Digital Painting - 2006 - Dan Beck

It wasn’t so much sun as color that protruded under the clouds. I couldn’t stay out long - the wind was ferocious.

Even bundled up and being a transplanted Midwest/East Coaster who has picnicked in worse weather did not make me want to persevere.

But that was quite a while ago and I have grown accustomed to mild unassuming weather.

The painting above is a record of the boldness of the evening - the intense billowing dark clouds with brilliant glow beneath. It is a record of the nondescript fields which one barely noticed because the show was on the horizon.

It is a record of the nature of a glimpse - a quick look that only allows you to grasp the essence - and perhaps all that really matters.

It was an incredible sky last night - I only allowed myself moments with it without windows. I didn’t even set out to paint it when I started on the computer - but I couldn’t help myself - it had been that powerful.

See Also

• Impressionist Art Gallery
  Plenty of incredible skies and art from a glimpse
• A Glimpse of True Nature
  Pep talk about being who you are - tangentially related from glimpsing and grasping essence

Modern Day Impressionist Art - A Fair Term?

Enlarged View Sunset Impression - Digital Painting -2005

Part of the Impressionist Art Gallery at Outhouse Studios

The Impressionist Art Movement began in the second half of the 19th century. For me to title a gallery by this name is a bit of a misnomer. However, it is with my understanding of where impressionism came from that makes me use the term.

I don’t think I can improve upon my explanation on the gallery page, but quite simply it is about capturing an impression of a moment in time. There are styles we associate with the movement and that is also a lot of what the term refers to; and in some cases the work in this gallery references that style.

Given these things, I believe it is fair to give this gallery this name - it was previously called the "Large Works Gallery" (though many works have been changed with the name change) because I didn’t feel comfortable using the "Impressionist" term - not being in France at the end of the 19th century.

My current thinking is that I would like people looking for Impressionist art to get an opportunity to see some of this modern day work.

See Also

• WebMuseum: Impressionism
  Explanation and links to Impressionist Art
• Art Periods: Impressionism in France
  Very information and links to Impressionism

Current Weather Conjures Image of Digital Painting

See gallery page - Hill Mountain Fog - Digital Painting 2005

I have been seeing scenes quite similar to this lately. I look up and say - "didn’t I paint that?" And though you might not see this as being literal which it isn’t - it is remarkably like the weather we have been having.

This is not a particularly recent piece - but it has been in my consciousness because of the weather. It captures that winter pallor yet I think it was created in the Spring - probably one of those throw back days.

There are two things I love about this piece. First the feeling of fogged in and secondly the texture in the fields. You may need to see the largest enlargement for that either click here or on the gallery page.

Like a lot a my pieces this last year - this was intended to be printed quite large - at least 24×30" to captured the detail. So if you like it at all please make sure to look at the details below the enlargement.

See Also

• Google Image Result - Yielded Some Nice Art Work
  Work belongs to Math Lecturer at U of Wisconsin -Gabriele Meyer
• Ted Eckmann’s Fog Page
  Mutiple photos of California Fog and links to Fog information
• Photo Gallery - The Californian - www.thecalifornian.com
  Weather Gallery - good photo of Salinas Valley Fog

Inspiration, Intended Feeling, Results

Feeling of Rain - Digital Painting 2005

Inspiration can come from anywhere, from a thought, a sight, a sound, any sensation at all. Well in this case, the winter rains have started here. The "storms" here become the STORMS of anywhere East of here.

Storms here are rain and wind, but they still feel like a storm in comparison, even though I know better having lived in the Midwest and on the East Coast most of my life.

In any event, the piece above is about the feeling. It does look at the cloud and mountain scene to grab the feeling, but it is intended to be something more than a grasp at reality.

Lighter than snow, and clearer than fog - whether it works or not is up to the observer; but for me I am quite satisfied with it. The results have the feeling I was looking for and that is probably even more important.

See Also

• Reality Quotes, Sayings about subjectivity and objectivity
  Fun reading - appropriate to “grasp at reality”
• Music -Pink & Blue 1919 - Georgia O’Keeffe
  Something I was reminded of as I was posting piece and article
• Georgia O’Keeffe Museum
  More information and images of this important artist

Painting, Memory, Beauty, Artistic Impression

Mojave Desert - Digital Painting 2005

If I had to pinpoint where this is other than an impression from my memory, I would say it is the stretch of old route 66 between Kingman and Oatman, AZ.  In any event, it is how I processed that stretch of land.

The colors of the desert, the rocks, the cragginess, the brush, the aridness, the open space and the quiet isolation are what I took.  I can only make something beautiful in different ways; there is no way to compete with nature.

Even a photograph won’t do that. Three dimensions into two and active experience into something you can hold on to are not really possible.  It is curious what we attempt with art and scrap books.

But then again, the art can become something which is beautiful in its own right and that to me is the goal.

See Also

• Mark Sinclair - Premiere Artists Portfolio at absolutearts.com
  Found him from his quote - photographer creating a different beauty
• Route 66 in Arizona
  Nice descriptions and photos by section
• Oatman, Arizona
  Information on this historic town
• CBS News | History, Nostalgia on Route 66
  2003 story about Oatman, its burros, and charm