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carrying out original vision

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

remaining original - referencing original

Mountain Sails Again - digital painting / original prints - Dan Beck 2004

Pulled this piece up today - again following the concept of even how all original art comes from somewhere else. Way prior to this piece, I did a very fluid mostly abstract painting which conjured up this lake, sea, mountain, and sail look - entitled Mountain Sails.

That original digital painting seemed quite unique to me and was the first painting I ever printed on a larger scale. Like life, we move on to new challenges and develop new ways of doing things - sometimes we long for the innocence of yesterday.

There is nothing original about trying to capture the feeling of a previous work - and yet it is original - the approach is different because it has the advantage of having seen what has come before.

Experience is built upon - the above piece though a bit stylized still works but doesn’t have that quality of having found a new place.

See Also

• Mountain Sails - original digital painting - perhaps more original since it came first
• Innocence Art Quotations - The Painter’s Keys Resource of Art Quotations - quotes are always fun and do provide some additional background and understanding

original new knot

Three Way Figure 3 - original digital painting -Dan Beck 2007

This is the last of three digital paintings. Each one was done while working on the others once they diverged into three. As I was doing them, I was certain I would end up liking this one more than one or two, but at this point I am less sure.

In any event, it was the first time I had ever seen any one using a small sickle and it struck me enough to do such a figure - how it developed into three I have discussed elsewhere.

What I think I am having the most fun with is the fact that not only is each digital painting original, but each art print is also original art. I like tweaking our understanding.

Nothing is completely original - in truth every print is slightly unique even - paper and ink don’t always mix the same. But like all the work I do in this medium - the art is intended to be printed in multiples and is the way it is intended to be viewed … as original prints.

See Also

• Half an Hour: Copyright and Creativity, Again - on the pretense the intellectual property somehow fosters creativity
• Aqua Boogy - thoughtful discussion of original moves in what on the surface might seem an unlikely place - dance on!
• Original Art - discussion at Outhouse Studios along these lines but tailored to this medium

original and same - pushing the language

Three Way Figure 2 - original digital painting -Dan Beck 2007

Don’t know if I left anyone in suspence or not - but here is the second of three digital paintings - done together with divergent paths.

When I started the piece I started with the background - and got to a point where it needed some additional color - I filled using different gradients but liked three choices and decided this time not to decide.

Putting off the decision and taking three different paths simultaneously was a fun way of working - an excercise I may or may not repeat. But it doesn’t matter - what is important is the exploration of different ways of working - different ways of keeping things fresh - and in my case different ways of creating original digital paintings and accompanying original art and original prints.

As I keep saying original art has multiple meanings - I see my art as a way to push our understanding.

See Also

• Figures Art Gallery - a good place to explore for similar work to above - each one original
• What Is A Print? - a basic on understanding the originality of prints - traditional methods discussed here only - but still aids in understanding meanings of original
• Meaningful Work: 10 ways to recover a sense of calling - this was not what I meant by different ways of working - but it is a good way of looking at oneself and is quite akin to the creative process. I like to pass on pertinent though sometimes marginally related links I discover which add to the content of my own article

originality and sameness

Three Way Figure 1 - original digital painting -Dan Beck 2007

Once again I shall try to defy the common sense meanings of original art and continue to demonstrate that there is more to original than one might originally think.

The above piece is one of three digital paintings. Each started with a very similar background - but I chose to fill in the emptiness in three different ways - deciding that all three were good and I would treat each piece fairly differently from there.

The figure is also mostly the same in each digital painting - but differs slightly in how I chose to fix some problems with the original figure and how I chose to embellish.

Each of of these three pieces is original - digital - intentionally much the same - but each of the prints is an original print.

Therefore - even in its sameness - it is all original - but then again - I think it is!

See Also

• What Makes a Print Original? - I think this is fairly in line with my understanding and use of the terms
• What is an Original Print? - this explanation is more designed to differentiate from individually done mono prints from other types of original - etchings, lithographs, and in my case - pigment prints from original digital paintings
• Digital Painting - additional info about the process and intention by artist Dan Beck and Outhouse Studios

revealing real and refined

Sunset Over Artichokes 1 - original digital painting - Dan Beck 2007

How original can art be when it so clearly comes from another painting or rather is a continuation of another digital painting?

My focus on original art is many sided. First off - I want to differentiate myself from the pack. Is it unusual to want to be different? - of course not. Is it unusual to actually be? - definitely.

I don’t like associating myself with digital art or even digital painting - though it is my medium. If you have come here looking for what most people look for in digital art - you have come to the wrong place.

The focus of my work is portraying a direct impression - no photo - just glimpse and memory - direct yet processed by my understanding - no bones about it. Seeing is a part of the process - the art itself becomes a part of the process.

The above piece was more how it looked that evening - more developed and more because I had more to say. But did I improve upon it? I am not sure - perhaps when enlarged more - the work is more satisfying - but I am not sure.

Either way - the art prints are originals - either way - they are more painterly than digital - either way - they speak to a world both real and refined.

The beauty of a sunset to me is undeniable - my efforts are about conjuring not imitating.

See Also

• Impressionist Art Gallery - contains artist statement and other works of similar genre
• Top 100 Chart - digitalart.org - though this will likely change over time - it is perfect encapsulation of what is most looked for and thought of - by digital art

glimpse can present challenge, difference can be subtle

Gabilan Foothills - original digital painting - Dan Beck 2007

As I start writing today, I realize I was waiting to do a new digital painting before writing again in my blog. My current weblog is focused on original art and I wanted to feature something which was original in the sense of having not been seen.

Obviously, it is not completely different from my other work or art which has come before me - I don’t believe such a thing exists or should exist - continuity is also essential in order to see the newness and distinction.

Someone speaking in a completely foreign tongue would not be particularly interesting barring the shared body language we might have.

So I had particular fun with the weedy ground cover in the front and the greenish sky - and have never painted rudimentary cows before - no reason why - except it isn’t really my thing - but I saw them the other day - and a new challenge is often worth pursuing.

See Also

• Houses on the Hillside - not sure why - but I am reminded of this piece - also a drive by glance and a different sort of challenge
  
• Green Sky Landscape - I do like this landscape, but more importantly search brought me to a website worth a good perusal - some really nice work here by different artists raising awareness and money at - The Body: Visual Aids Web Gallery