Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 13

Jim Beckner
Afternoon at the Beach, Oil on Panel, Impressionism, 18 x 24 , American Artist

2022

About the Item

Afternoon at the Beach is an example of the bright colors that Beckner uses in his paintings. The orange umbrella paintings were painted at Hilton Head, South Carolina. Jim Beckner just finished a series of beach paintings at Hilton Head.. All of them can be seen below and available. Denver-based artist Jim Beckner paints like a jazz musician. The blues bop, the oranges swing, and the yellows vibrate. Drawn to the beat of the city, the artist creates expressionistic urban landscapes that show his unabashed love of color. More than anything, his paintings dance with their own energy, and an urban rhythm emanates from his canvases. Beckner was born and raised in Lakewood, CO, a suburb of Denver. Art played an integral role in the family. “My dad was—and still is—a watercolor artist,” he explains. “He does a lot of Colorado landscapes, very detailed, specific, realistic artwork.” Beckner remembers drawing and coloring at every opportunity when he was a child. “Both of my parents recognized that it was something I enjoyed,” he recalls. “I often drew to entertain those around me.” Occasionally, the Beckner family would drive into downtown Denver to eat out at a restaurant. “I always thought the city was an exciting place,” notes the artist. “It had a certain edginess about it.” Those early excursions, and the urban sensibility they fostered in the impressionable youth, would have a profound effect on his burgeoning talent. Encouraged by his parents, Beckner took art classes in junior high school. “I began to realize that I had some skill at drawing,” he says, “that I could see something and then re-create it.” In high school his art teacher was artist Ray Knaub, a well-known painter of western landscapes. “My senior year I did a representational oil painting of me and my friends sitting on a bench. It won first place in a county-wide art show,” Beckner recalls. Pragmatism took hold, however, when he entered Colorado State University in Fort Collins. “My parents and I agreed it made sense to have something to fall back on, so I decided to major in marketing,” he says. “I figured I could always paint on my own time.” To that end he minored in painting and filled his electives with art history and studio art classes. He took three classes with CSU painting professor Patrice Sullivan—an experience that continues to resonate. “She was the first one to help me understand how to see shapes of color,” he explains. “Before that I was more inclined to view art as drawing something and then filling it in with color.” Today he traces many of the origins of his current style to his college days. “I look back at the paintings I did then,” says Beckner, “and some were very vibrant with a lot of thick brushwork. I still handle the brush the same way, although now I’m more deliberate about it.” After graduating from college, Beckner worked a number of odd jobs. He continued painting and took classes at the Art Students League of Denver, where he found another mentor in painter Mark Daily. “Mark’s more of a representational artist. And a good colorist,” notes Beckner. “He also uses a thick impasto.” As time progressed, Beckner developed a painterly style in which color and movement replaced form and outline as his driving forces. These days, “I don’t particularly enjoy working on the drawing aspect of a painting. I’m too impatient,” he confesses. “I like to work quickly and get a lot of paint on the canvas fast.” The result is a body of work heavily weighted to urban landscapes, in which the artist infuses everyday scenes with the pulsating rhythms of city life. “As they say,” he adds, “paint what you know.” The breadth of Beckner’s artistic output reveals that he moves freely among stylistic approaches, from post-Impressionism to expressionism and even fauvism—all of which are heavily dependent on a strong color palette. Some of his cityscapes and beach scenes convey a post-Impressionist sense of capturing a specific place at a certain moment. Most of his canvases exhibit a personal, more subjective approach to color, à la the expressionists. In his bolder moments, Beckner moves into a fauvist mode, allowing colors to exude emotional nuance. Some of his paintings even veer toward abstraction in their distillation of forms into arresting blocks of color. “I try to push boundaries, to see how far I can go,” he explains. “You can take two of my paintings and put them side by side, and they might not be immediately identifiable as having been done by the same artist. But if you put a group of my paintings together, it’s like an album of different songs by the same musician.” As to his enlightened sense of color, he nods to two masters as important ongoing inspirations: Matisse and Monet. “I like Monet’s works later in his life, when they were all about color,” he notes. For contemporary influences, Beckner cites the techniques of two Denver painters: the thick brushwork of Nancy Switzer and the fluid, expressive style of Kevin Weckbach.
  • Creator:
  • Creation Year:
    2022
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 18 in (45.72 cm)Width: 24 in (60.96 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Houston, TX
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1405211380142
More From This SellerView All
  • The Sailor is a 11 x 8" oil Cuban-American Water Impressionism
    By Reynier Llanes
    Located in Houston, TX
    REDUCED FROM $3000 The Sailor is a 11 x 8" oil painting by Cuban-American artist Reynier Llanes who lives in Miami. It is framed. It is oil painted on a wood panel . The Sailor floats in the frame. The background of Reynier Llanes is unique in style , subject matter, and medium. The artist says this about Field of Flight The characters in my paintings emerge from stories and their journeys are inspired by my own experiences and daily routines. My inspiration comes from literature, music, cinema, and daily life. My daily routine enables me to meditate and use my creativity to serve these stories and inspirations. I begin my mornings with sketches and watercolors. This is the time I use to keep inventory of my ideas and to allow them to further inspire me. Many of these characters have been depicted in my work before, whether in a different geographical location or in a different state of their physical evolution. I use a variety of mediums in my work including oils, watercolors, coffee, and charcoal. They are all equally important to me as they allow me full expression, each in its’ own sector. I use a great deal of symbolism in my art to give depth to the subjects that I wish to express. I want my art to tell a story in a manner that stimulates the imaginations of others, especially of things never seen or expressed directly. As an observer it is clear to see that we are all in pursuit of life’s mission of working, loving, and belonging. I begin my paintings by building layers of textures and color values, and then subtly add dimension and depth. Through the use of colors and highlighting I am able to enhance the atmosphere with mood, character, depth and mystery, and bring special attention to my subjects. It is the creative process of using these materials and methods that feed my soul, life, and being. I believe it is our mission as intellectuals to have a voice in our society, for our work to have a footprint in history, and to be a reference for future generations. BIO: Reynier Llanes was born in Pinar del Rio, Cuba in 1985. He attended the city’s school of art (Instructores de Arte) for four years and completed his studies in 2004. Llanes was tutored by one of the country’s most recognized realist artists, Juan Miguel Suárez. In 2005 he moved to Havana where he continued his studies and collaborated with various artists. The capital was a thriving mecca of art and culture and the museums the grounds for inspiration. In 2007 LIanes availed himself of an opportunity to emigrate from Cuba and moved to the United States, first settling in Naples, FL. In Naples he began to introduce his work in a major exhibition entitled “Strange Visitor” at the Kapo Maestro Gallery. In 2009 he relocated to Charleston, SC where he had the honor of being granted an artist in residency at the Jonathan Green Studios. Llanes was awarded a "first purchase award" for a piece now in the art collection of the city of Charleston 2011 at Moja Art Festival Juried Exhibition Award. In 2012 Oxford America recognized him as one of the "New Superstars of Southern Art." The art of Reynier was nourished by the rich southern culture and he began to collaborate with various museums and art centers. His work was featured in a traveling exhibition The Vibrant Vision Collection at the Morris Museum in Augusta, GA and the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, SC. Llanes is also an avid art collector in his own right, focusing on works by artists from Cuba, and particularly those from his native province of Pinar del Río. A selection of works from his collection was exhibited at City Gallery in Charleston in 2013 and in the Art Museum in Myrtle Beach in 2015. In 2015 Llanes relocated with his family to Miami in order to take advantage of the city’s international art market and vibrant cultural life and to be closer to his home country. South Florida is, of course, home to a large community of intellectuals, collectors, and fellow artists who have welcomed Llanes into their cosmopolitan scene. His first solo exhibition in Miami took place at Miami Dade College West, this exhibition was entitled “Preserving Cultural Heritage” and it featured a large collection of coffee paintings. In 2017 he met Bill Meek...
    Category

    2010s American Impressionist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Wood Panel, Oil

  • Foggy Morning, Impressionism , Landscape, Cattle, Texas Scene
    Located in Houston, TX
    Foggy Morning depicts an early morning scene out in the Texas countryside. Look closely and you will see the livestock in the painting. The artist's note said it was painting around 7:30 am with a air balloon overhead. The dogs were upset . It has an Impressionistic Style as seen in many of Virginia Vaughan...
    Category

    2010s American Impressionist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Down River from the Pont Vecchio Bridge, Impressionism , Landscape, Plein Aire,
    Located in Houston, TX
    Down River from the Pont Vecchio Bridge is part of newly released small works from V....Vaughan's collection of recent travels in Italy and France. V....Vaughan painted each of the...
    Category

    2010s American Impressionist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Duomo at Sunset, Impressionism , Landscape, Framed, Plein Aire, Italy, Oil
    Located in Houston, TX
    Duomo at Sunset at Piazelle Michelangelo, Florence is part of newly released small works from V....Vaughan's collection of recent travels in Italy and France. V....Vaughan painted each of these on location "en plein air" It has an Impressionistic Style as seen in many of Virginia Vaughan's paintings. The Piazzale Michelangelo...
    Category

    2010s American Impressionist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Calle Zuguri, Impressionism , Landscape, Framed, Plein Aire, Italy, Venice
    Located in Houston, TX
    Calle Zughuri is part of newly released small works from V....Vaughan's collection of recent travels in Italy and France. V....Vaughan painted each of these on location "en plein air" It has an Impressionistic Style as seen in many of Virginia Vaughan...
    Category

    2010s American Impressionist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Basilica Santa Croce, Impressionism , Landscape, Framed, Plein Aire, Italy
    Located in Houston, TX
    Basilica Santa Croce is part of newly released small works from V....Vaughan's collection of recent travels in Italy and France. V....Vaughan painted each ...
    Category

    2010s American Impressionist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

You May Also Like
  • Wildwood
    By Kim Ford Kitz
    Located in Mill Valley, CA
    Kim Ford Kitz grew up in Southern California Beach towns, lived in San Francisco as a young adult, and now lives and works in a former furniture warehouse...
    Category

    2010s American Impressionist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Panel

  • View From South Ferry
    By Nelson H. White
    Located in Sag Harbor, NY
    Nelson H. White was born in New London, Connecticut in 1932. White has been surrounded by art and artists from the time he was born. He received his earliest art instruction from his...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary American Impressionist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

  • Bagno Paradiso
    By Nelson H. White
    Located in Sag Harbor, NY
    Painted en plein-air in Italy, a group of figures sit beneath a striped umbrella. T Nelson H. White was born in New London, Connecticut in 1932. White has been surrounded by art and...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary American Impressionist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Panel

  • "The Royal Palms" - contemporary american impressionist painting, small scale
    By Nelson H. White
    Located in Sag Harbor, NY
    A small scale, horizontally oriented oil painting on panel by American Impressionist Nelson Holbrook White. Every winter, White travels to The Bahamas to paint the bright warm scener...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary American Impressionist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Panel, Oil

  • Bahamas
    By Nelson H. White
    Located in Sag Harbor, NY
    Painted en plein-air on a beach in the Bahamas. Nelson H. White was born in New London, Connecticut in 1932. White has been surrounded by art and artists from the time he was born. ...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary American Impressionist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

  • Mashomack Point
    By Nelson H. White
    Located in Sag Harbor, NY
    Painted en plein air, at Mashomack Nature Preserve, Shelter Island, New York. Sand meets shrubbery with red shadows in the foreground. Wild green grass stands tall outlining a marsh....
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary American Impressionist Landscape Paintings

    Materials

    Oil

Recently Viewed

View All