April 28th, 2006 by admin
universal image translates into more pleasing art prints
Boat-on-an-Ocean - digital painting - 2000 - Dan Beck
It seems to be a day for looking at older work. Such is what happens when new work is either not ready to share or not as good as one would hope.
The above piece continues on a theme of first prints. I was incredibly pleased with this piece and particularly what seems to be pretty universal appeal.
Between the rocking of the ocean, the complementary orange and blue colors, and the odd green in the sky almost reminiscent of the green flash sometimes present at the moment of sunset - this is a piece to get lost inside.
The first poster sized print I ever did was this piece - but it was not done on a poster quality paper and never had true color.
It was some years later that I started printing on watercolor paper, using pigment inks, and getting the quality color that I have been so apt to promote.
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Relevant Tags:Art Prints, complementary colors, digital painting, green flash, poster art, universal appeal
December 22nd, 2005 by admin
Digital, Computer, Painting, Giclee
Irrigate 1 - Mouse Painting - 2004
Stepping back a bit, it seems to me I have never quite accurately come up with a name for what I do. I have been using the term "digital painting" because the painting is both stored digitally and created on a computer.
However, even I would wonder by such a term whether the artist was starting with a digital photograph. Digital encompasses a very large world. The work I do starts with a blank page and I am not using photos.
"Computer art" or even moreso "computer generated art" implies the computer is doing the work. The computer provides some of the palette and some of the painting tools, but doesn’t generate anything.
As you can see from above, I kind of like "mouse painting", but my guess is that this term is even more obscure.
Truth is - I see this medium as an alternative in all sorts of ways - but particularly love the fact that every print is an original as intended and that the work does not have to be transferred to be rendered.
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Relevant Tags:Art Prints, computer art, computer generated art, digital art, digital painting, giclee, mouse painting, painting, poster art
December 9th, 2005 by admin
Definition, How the art reads, Final Flourish
Desert 1- Route 66 - Digital Painting 2005
From the last version to the finished version are some fairly clear changes which help pull the piece together.
I added rocks/stones to the precipice of road to make it read a little better. I also gave the mesa more solidity giving it more texture and definition. Creating a 2-dimensional piece from 3-dimensional world is about creating illusion.
Though my work is not a particularly realistic approach to painting, it still requires the interpretive look of whether something reads the way I hope it will.
As in listening, any sort of seeing, any sort of interpreting - one cannot imagine all the ways someone might look at something. Noted in the Daily Yomiuri Online(The Natural World of Olafur Eliasson - no longer available): "Contemplating a work of art, we each bring to it our own memories and experiences, creating a mental image that is uniquely our own."
With that said, it is our job to try to be clear - just as it is our job to try to understand all the possibilities.
The final thing I did to the piece was tint it a color which gives it more of the mood I was looking for and additionally pulls the piece together like a varnish might. It is kind of a final hurrah - a bit like an unveiling - or unwaxing a batik - a final coat making it just that much better.
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Relevant Tags:Art Prints, desert art, digital art, Final Touches, finished art, impressionist art, Interpreting Artwork, original art, poster art, sunset art
November 5th, 2005 by admin
New Approaches, Relaxed State, Recognition
Field Play - Digital Painting - April 2005
I am going back in time a bit to a piece I created last Spring. It has just come down from being on display and I am reminded of the feeling when it was finished.
It is said that an artist never knows what work of his is good. I think sometimes artists do get too caught up with circumstances and sentimentalism to recognize their strongest work. Part of the creative process therefore, is to show one’s work to other people and other artists in particular.
The piece above was created because the previous piece (see below) did not work as I had hoped. Although I like the piece and it has been particularly well received, it did not achieve exactly what I was hoping for - one of the techniques I used, creating the figures in a different painting and pasting them in, I have not wanted to repeat. Actually, the piece below is a wonderful example of how an artist does not always know his own work. I was disappointed enough with a certain aspect of the piece to be ready to dismiss it.
Click Field of Hoes for large version - Digital Painting 2005
The top work, Field Play was created in a more playful manner. I was having fun with the medium creating this swirling multi-colored manipulated space - the field backdrop. I was relaxed, unconcerned about mistakes, and after I quickly put the figure in - I knew I had created something strong and unique. Sometimes we just know we have hit it right.
What I was struck with today, and what made me write on this subject - was that I noticed a similar relaxed state today while playing guitar - though something I do regularly experience - today it was incredibly clear - and for some reason the same old licks sounded fresh and wonderful - and that attitude allowed me to create new improvisations in places not before seen.
This relaxed non-judgemental attitude is in my opinion where the best works come from.
These works like the others on the blog - will be available for purchase at Outhouse Studios in the not too distant future. I am still considering options for updating the site and how to add new art more easily.
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Relevant Tags:art, Art Appreciation, Art Prints, create art, digital art, poster art
