Introducing Ian Beck
As a part of our Winter Art Trail, we’d like to introduce you to the artists that produced the wonderful artwork for the trail. In the Artist Spotlight today, we have Ian Beck, inspiring you to get outside and appreciate the beauty found within the natural world.
Introducing Ian
Ian is a Suffolk based cartoonist and illustrator working in a variety of traditional media including India ink, watercolour and acrylic - with some pixels thrown in for good measure. He favours a light-hearted art style, aiming to capture a feeling of character in his work.
His inspiration comes from a love of natural history; everything from fossils and rocks, to fish, tiny plants and invertebrates. But he has a particular soft spot for birds, with their endlessly fascinating shapes, voices and behaviours.
Above: Ian Beck with his contribution to the Winter Art Trail. Inspired by sightings of their village Barn Owl with his daughter. “We often spot it searching for prey along the ditches, hedgerows and field margins around dusk. I go out walking early some mornings and often glimpse it silently returning home - sometimes with breakfast.”
An example of Ian’s painting process. Photo by Ian Beck.
Ian has worked with charities, wildlife trusts and small businesses to produce greetings cards, picture books and themed illustrations for children. He writes and draws a regularly published cartoon strip called Prehysteric, eats far too many biscuits and enjoys doodling funny characters with his daughter.
Above: Ian Beck’s Comic ‘Prehysteric’. Photo from https://iangbeck.blogspot.com/
To see Ian’s contribution to Stowmarket’s Winter Art Trail, you’ll find it in Wool Street’s shopfront window, which is on Station Road West (across the street from St Peter’s and St Mary’s Church!) The Winter Art Trail runs until January 15th 2022. After that, all the artwork on the trail will be displayed at the new arts bar next door, Pallet. You can also find a range of Ian Beck’s giclee prints and original watercolours available to be purchased at Fox Yard Studio.
To find out more about Ian Beck, visit his blog: https://iangbeck.blogspot.com/