Artist Statement: Essentially, my artwork reveals my experiences and opinions on being an American. Unique images of homes and buildings, the ocean and landscapes, are my starting point. I started drawing and painting regularly as a child and developed a strong interest in the Hudson River School of painters from the nineteenth-century. Growing up in a suburban California neighborhood, my parents indulged my interest in art and I benefited from our proximity to many museums in the Bay Area. In high school I won awards for my artwork and weekends were spent viewing my favorite paintings in the Bay Area. I was particularly drawn to Frederic Church's "Heart of the Andes" at the De Young Museum in San Francisco and Thomas Hill's "Yosemite Valley" at the Oakland Museum. I would often ride my motorcycle fifty miles to study them on a Friday afternoon after school. What impressed me most was the illuminating beauty of these paintings and I desperately wanted to learn how to paint well. At the age of 16, I made a serious commitment to painting full time and have never looked back. I've been fortunate to make my living solely as an artist for more than thirty five years. The beauty of the American landscape, particularly New Mexico, is endlessly inspiring for me. Beauty and a refined quality is important, both in the materials I select (linen and only high quality pigments) as well as the unique method I originated to apply oil paint to canvas. I was born in New Mexico and consider this my home. Living in the high desert here is necessary for inspiring my work: the light, the open space, the unique cultures here fascinate me. My subject matter will continue to develop from my urge to reconcile the lush, radiant images of Manifest Destiny which caught my eye as a young artist and the more sober visions of current American politics, the immense beauty which always surrounds us and the everyday lives of working people. Beck's work is in numerous public and private collections. With gallery representation for more than 20 years, he has had several museum shows and his paintings are featured on the cover of magazines, ad campaigns, television shows and films. He lives and paints in Albuquerque, New Mexico and regularly travels to both coasts to paint and exhibit.