Tanner Goldbeck

Artiste Extraordinaire

After graduating Maryland Institute College of Art with a BFA in 1990, Tanner spent several years working freelance jobs before going back to school. The Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art added another element in his brilliant artistic path. In 1998 Tanner relocated to the west coast and worked for Powell Skateboards in Santa Barbara, California. Tanner felt at home in Southern California and this is where he developed the unique body of his fine art work. California also helped him develop a passion for photography and old cars.

In early 2006, Tanner moved to Los Angeles and did work for West Coast Choppers and Icon Motosports doing helmet and jacket art work. This year Tanner has returned to full time freelance work.

What also makes Tanner an exceptional artist is his ability to be strong in more than one creative area. His photographs are beautiful, understated, unpretentious and tell stories about places and people we want to know. His paintings are deep, poignant - with a touch of humor. And his illustrations are bold, vivid, fun, vibrant and amazing.



What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My greatest achievement I guess would quite simply be the fact that I'm still able to make art and pay the bills. So many friends and fellow artists have faded away and changed careers over the years.

Who has had the greatest influence on you?
Every day there would be a different answer for this one. I find influence in meeting and knowing people who take chances and sincerely follow their own path against the odds.

What is your current state of mind?
Coffee buzzed and comfortable.

Which living person do you most admire?
Today it would be Gronk. He is a local friend and artist who have been influential in my new painting directions recently.

Who is your favorite fictional hero?
Any stereotypical "underdog"

What is your most treasured possession?
Dunno for sure, but I do have a real human jaw bone that's kinda cool.
 
What is your greatest fear?
Time.
 
When and where were you the happiest?
I was a pretty happy kid I think. I am never happier then when I'm fishing at the local pond in the woods behind my parent's home.

What is your most obvious characteristic?
Sometimes people say I'm overly polite to strangers? I don't know for sure.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
That I can be overly nice to strangers...

What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Ignorance. I have a hard time when uniformed people make bad judgments and perpetuate the chaos.
 
What is your greatest extravagance?
Coffee, oh yeah... and my Oldsmobile

What is your favorite journey?
The elevator ride down to the coffee shop.

What do you consider the most over-rated virtue?
Perhaps I cannot stand the unending river of jaded propaganda fed to the public from the media and political venues that constantly seek to sway opinions while hiding behind a lofty guise of virtuous objectivity. Hows that?

Which words or phrases do you most over-use?
"Yes"

What is the quality you most admire in a man?
Sincerity

What is the quality you most admire in a woman?
Curiosity

What do you value most in your friends?
Dependability

What is your motto?
I have a saying that I use every now and then. Basically... "The only thing I can rely on knowing about my future plans, are that they absolutely will not go the way i plan them to."

 visit Tanner's site