Learning Versus Applying
new techniques can spin out of control
Hillside Spin 2 - digital painting - Dan Beck 2007
Like many of my digital paintings, I started out playing a bit with the medium. It kind of amazes me that I can keep learning new techniques, but I don’t know why since that is the way most things work. I’ve been playing guitar for years, but I haven’t stopped learning.
So the above started because I was playing around with a curve tool - the tool creates smooth curves but not particularly tight - I had always worked within its confines or used freehand.
I figured out if I stopped and started - I could get a tighter curve - so I went wild.
The above digital painting is fun - but it is probably not a direction I will continue to go in - but the technique I can and will apply - but probably with less abandon.
See Also
- Process - gallery page for work which was clearly about taking a new technique to the nth degree - pretty cluttered small - but pretty interesting enlarged
- Solutions: How do you spin out of control? - found this comic kind of enlightening - since the joy of a new found fun is a lot like these kids - I remember - “Let’s do it again”
- The Painting Environment - just a quick look at some of the tools I use - program was simple to begin and more open ended than I think the appleworks creators even knew









