Dan Beck Colorado Landscapes

 “Painting is a balancing act between opposite ideas - direct observation and instinct, control and spontaneity, even between the literal and the symbolic. It seems to me that although a painter is deeply involved with his own private investigation, his real aim is to communicate something that only the person looking at the painting really understands.”
-Dan Beck

Wanderlust was Dan's primary motivation in the decade following his graduation from high school. Dan took to the road, working jobs that included ranch hand in Arizona, construction on the beach of Florida, refinishing furniture in Louisiana and four years in the infantry, including a two year tour in Germany. Wherever he went, Dan filled sketch books and journals for his own enjoyment. Then in Colorado after a couple of years in college, he realized the thing that meant most to him was his sketch books. So he quit his job and college, sold everything he had and decided that commitment to one path was where all the previous had led him. Now Dan Beck is an award winning artist and sought after teacher. His paintings have found collectors in both the private and corporate world on a national level as well as from such diverse places as Canada, Japan and the Middle East. He is in the permanent collection of the Littleton Historical Museum and has exhibited with the Phippen Museum, Prescott, Arizona. He has been invited to show in several national invitationals including the annual American Miniature Show at Settlers West Galleries, Tucson, Arizona and the annual "Fall Classic" in Hamilton, Montana. Dan's work has also been featured in "Southwest Art", "Art of the West" magazines and "Art Talk". He is a member of Oil Painters of America. Equally adept at figurative, still-life and landscape, Dan paints both oils and pastels and feels he is firmly rooted in the tradition of Impressionism. His love of nature and a deep respect for the tradition of art serve as both guide and inspiration to his goal of "making a contribution" to the world of painting. Dan's paintings evoke a timelessness and dignity that are the underlying themes in whatever he paints. As to his working methods, Dan works quickly and loosely in the beginning, covering the whole surface to establish his major shapes and drawing. Then he slows down and lets the emerging image dictate the way the painting will be finished. Dan now lives in Lakewood, Colorado with his wife and two daughters.

Select Awards
OPA National Exhibition 2007, 2008 Awards of Excellence
OPA Regional Show 2007, Award of Excellence
Settlers West Miniature Show (Invitational) 2007 & 2008
Salon International (Juried) 2007 & 2008, Greenhouse Gallery. Award of Excellence 2008
Great American Figurative Artists Show, Invitational, 2007, Waterhouse Gallery
Fall Classic Invitational, 2007
Raymar Art Panel Contest, Top Ten 2007

Select Publications
Latitude, Fall 2007. “On the Canvas” by Michelle Corriel
Southwest Art, October 2006. “Collector’s Choice” Guzzie Fauntleroy
Southwest Art, November 2003. “Art Events-Colorado” by Bonnie Gangelhoff
Southwest Art, February 2003. “Art Events-Colorado” by Southwest Art editors
Southwest Art, June 1999. “Best of the West” by Leslie Busler and Bonnie Gangelhoff
Art of the West, February 1999. “The Mission Continues” by Vicki Stavig

Select Exhibitions
Great American Figurative Artists Invitational Show, Waterhouse Gallery 2007
OPA Central Regional Juried Exhibitions, South Wind Gallery, 2007
Three Person Show, Wilder Nightingale Gallery, 2007
Oil Painters of America Annual Juried Exhibition, 2007
Salon International, Greenhouse Gallery, 2007
One Man Show, Heddenart Gallery, 2007
Annual American Miniatures, Settler's West Galleries, 2007-2008
Oil Painters of America 15th Annual Juried Exhibition, Missoula, Montana 2006