See Where It Goes – original digital art -Dan Beck 2010

A recent cloud formation was so inspiring to look at – I thought it would be fun to kind of bask in the memory – exploring my own representation of clouds without referring directly.

After all, no rendition can ever capture the experience – no memory can capture an experience …

but art can be experienced again and again – and in the process of making it – one can get lost in a world that is its own.

I am on a campaign of trying to be true to myself – not that this is a big departure.  I have painted the Salinas Valley landscape for a number of years now – partly to pay homage to the beauty here – partly as my own personal challenge to try to communicate the feeling it gives me – and partly because representational art has generally gotten better response than my abstract – but not always.

And frankly why do I care about response – because I am human and like to believe I am doing more than talking to myself.

Today, however, and in the art above – I know I am talking to myself – if anyone else chooses to listen – fantastic.

But today it doesn’t matter.

After everyone had pretty much left the gallery – we had a few photos with Dan & Trish in the Gallery at the Blackstone Winery.

I think the picture hints at what a beautiful space this is to have an art show. The opening was a lot of fun and the art was universally well received. Comments ranged from “Spectacular!” to “that painting belongs in the MOMA“. There are 35 original pigment prints hung in this exhibition and it will remain up until mid August.

Since Trish and I are getting married the first week in August we are hoping to share the show with our out of town guests. Trish has a smaller showing of her double-exposure photography in the corridor to the gallery – so it is really extra fun for those who know us both.

Monterey Bay Colors – Dan Beck – February 2009

On certain days, there is an incredible green glow that comes from the ocean when the sun shines through.  In the month of February, the ocean – at least on this particular day – was an incredible shade of blue.

I have taken great liberties with the way I have painted the sand dunes, painted the ocean, painted the structures which butt out from the land on old Ford Ord just west of  Hiway 1  – not sure if it is Marina or Seaside – but this is not important.

What is important to me and was at the time of painting this – is the intensity of color – the remarkable show that I have never seen quite the same elsewhere.  What are these Fall colors doing in the midst of such a tropical colored ocean show?

I share this today because of the strength with which this piece is painted.

See Also

• Tropical CD Cover Art – the colors reminded me of some other art where one can “put oneself in the scene”
• Another Example – also from the same cd cover project – good album too
• Fall Color – a painting of mine by that name – oddly a passing California vineyards image

Sync Hoes – digital image – Dan Beck 2009

This painting was created in early April.  It is an image which  comes from both what I witness and what I understand.

This is often the nature of how I create – something captures my attention – in this case the in-sync hoeing that looks like a dance to a slow passing motorist.  It was the relationship of the field workers I was focused on and not the location.

There was a place – but again I was more concerned with the color.  Attention is related to understanding because so much of what we see is dependent upon what we are looking to see.

One could see the above art as abstract, as colorful, as primitive, as movement or perhaps none of the above.  It is my understanding which makes it work – I hope it works for yours as well.

See Also

• Hoe Dance – 2005 painting with a similar theme

• Original Art – exploring the meaning

Harvest Depth – starting image for music/art video – Dan Beck 2008

Exactly 1 year ago today, I posted a video which contained both a recording of one of my songs with corresponding images from my related paintings. The original article linked to youtube. The visual and audio quality was pretty poor and I didn’t do much to promote or share it.

Today I am sharing the video on what has been a hidden page on my site until today.

As for the content of the video – I think it speaks for itself – the song is entitled “Nothing Is Equal” – it is really a tribute to how people can make the best out of their situation – it is loaded with respect and I suppose some shared guilt for life being so unequal.

It offers not just a five minute tour of my digital art and music, but also two PDF files which anyone can print and get a better idea of what this work really looks like.

Even printed on a standard letter paper will reveal details and a feeling which cannot be appreciated by just looking at a monitor image.

See Also

• Play & Print – art and music combined for a true Outhouse Studios Tour and flavor
• More Music from 1danband – another hidden resource – my undeveloped MySpace page – just not much of a social net-worker as of yet

Eucalyptus View – painting – Dan Beck 2009

This is the most recent finished painting I have done.  I am no longer particularly current on my blogging and am not sure if or when I will become so again. I’ve done a lackluster job of trying to engage people -

A blog is supposed to be a place for people to comment and interact and create something more than what is written by the author. I suppose my tendency is to write a little too much to myself – or write in a way that doesn’t invite comment – and of course – it probably would help if I tried to create an audience by actually inviting people to read my articles and then to comment… by the way – please feel free.

I chose the subject above because of the drama of looking through the giant Eucalyptus trees to the fields beyond – a scene I viewed driving as a passenger on the 101 south of Salinas before you get to King City.

I think on a deeper level it is also a metaphor for how we see ourselves – on what should we focus? – expressions that come to mind :  one can’t always see the forest through the trees … it is hard to see through the growth…

I don’t care where you are in life – it is next to impossible to see oneself the way others see us.

My biggest fan was always my mother – today would have been her 90th birthday – had she lived that long. Eucalyptus was a favorite of hers – I thought of both these things only as I finished this article.

Listen or View

• Digital Art – since this is an example of painting on the computer, get a further understanding of how non descriptive this term really is
• Has Life Turned a Corner – written a couple weeks after my mother died (almost seven years ago) and the eve of having to put my dog down – damn – Sure glad I don’t feel this way now! – but I do still like the song  and do still miss those who are gone
• Forest Through the Trees – found this silk painting by some search results – don’t know the artist but I do like the image of the silk painting – perhaps you will too

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

Gray Fields – Dan Beck 2008

On an overcast day in Salinas -  a few weeks ago – was a lot of planting going on – through plastic covered rows of dirt – ready to become next year’s strawberries.  Though I understood what I was seeing – this digital painting is more stylized than detailed.

The fields are gray – the day is gray – and yet it felt very peaceful.

It fits with the distance I was viewing and the pace I was driving – much faster than the pace of life today.

The plasticized fields are both ugly and beautiful all at the same time – the decision to paint it I think rests upon these clearly coexisting opposites.

See Also

• Impressionist Art Gallery – commentary on the inspiration and intent of this type of imagery and other earlier works

Abstract 2 – digital art painting with time limit – Dan Beck 2008

Recently I wrote a song about there not being enough hours in the day, the night, or a lifetime to do it all – and certainly not enough hours to do it all right.

So basically we have time limits on everything we do – whether we realize it or not.

So I guess my conclusion is to be a little less of a perfectionist and not take the adage about doing things right the first time to heart – because there is no such thing – no artwork is every done – no fix is permanent …

All of our efforts are more like “treatments” if you will – we make an adjustment and it improves things and then needs another adjustment.

I’ve been trying to limit the time for various tasks in my life – even works of art – when the rule strikes my fancy -

For after all – even the rules are like a treatment – needing readjustments as we go along.

See Also

• Digital Painting – insight into the art form and process of creating by Dan Beck at Outhouse Studios
• Managing Perfectionism – there is good insight here – my focus is a bit different because the process for me has always been about gaining a certain level of expertise – enough vocabulary or technique to express myself or determine it isn’t my thing – but focus can be very focused to very broad- we can be extremely specialized experts to dabblers in everything

digital art – 2 Much 2 Control – Dan Beck 2008

When I wrote about this digital painting before – I focused on the process and the secondary success not conceived of with the original goal in mind.  There are always secondary gains or successes which were not intended – just as in life.

I like to think that my work is innovative art – that I am always pushing the limits of the medium or my own limits – the limits of my audience which of course includes myself.  If I am doing my job correctly, I will not necessarily appreciate some of the things I do right away… a strange paradox really.

All art comes from somewhere else – all music, all dance, all theatre etc. is not created in a vacuum, but is built upon what is already found elsewhere in culture.  A term I have come to appreciate more than even originality or innovation is authenticity – whether the art is authentic or genuine – coming from the place of being done because it has to be – where appreciation and regard are not a thoughtful consideration.

Innovative – I think, is more about being ahead of the curve …

See Also

• Shape of Something New – a previous departure from the art I was doing at the time – but a road I didn’t travel down – and one which seemed too familiar and previously traveled by others – but a piece I like nonetheless
• Ahead of the Curve – this article takes the curve for granted – career with money
• Ahead of the Curve – clips from university musicians – some authentic – some cloning … obviously originality and innovation are difficult to measure – work that is too different has always been poorly received