ALAN BECKSTEAD Texas, US

Contemporary Art Curator Magazine Interview with Alan Beckstead Interview with Alan Beckstead Could you please introduce yourself and tell us how you started in the arts? and your first experience in art making? I have been painting all my life as a hobby while I made a career as an electrical engineer with an MBA. Painting gave me an avenue to expand my imagination and I truly believed it helped inspire innovation at work. My partner and I have been avid collectors of contemporary art since the late 1980s. As work took me to various cities across the US, I supported the local artists. Our collection encompasses a large swath of the regional artists and styles. While living in San Antonio, Texas I was on several art boards: Artist Foundation of San Antonio, McNay Contemporary Collectors Forum, San Antonio Museum of Art Contemporary Advisory Board, and San Antonio Area Foundation Cultural Committee. Working closely with artists has provided me a tremendous learning opportunity and helped my artwork evolve. My first experience in making art would have been in the 2 nd grade in Little Rock Arkansas. My teacher; Mrs. Abercrombe, let me create works of art for two large bulletin boards each month. I created the designs and other students helped fill in the color. I bring this example up because it was my first training to think out of the box with colors. In doing the nativity scene for Christmas one of the kids helping me colored Mary’s face green. I was at first very upset but realized why not and we colored all the people and animal’s bright primary colors. My first contemporary piece.