‘I'd rather make the world a happy place’

DENTON – Whether keeping a medical or vehicle servicing appointment, volunteering at the local fire company, making a bank deposit or grabbing a bite to eat, you’ve seen Robert Owen Beck’s labors of love.

The Denton resident’s colorful geometric drawings grace the counters and walls of local businesses and homes in and around Denton simply because “I’d rather make the world a happy place,” he said.

“I like making people happy,” he said. “I give out my art to people, and they feature it in all kinds of establishments. And I don't sell it. I give it to people.”

Beck, 67, lives with his mother Marion Beck, 88, and works on his drawings in their cozy cottage home. They moved to Denton from Centreville about 10 years ago following the passing of Beck’s father Charles Frederick and brother Charles Allen.

Although he spent most of life on the western shore, his paternal ancestral roots stretch back at least a hundred years in Caroline County through the Heather family in the Marydel area.

Beck talks frankly about his challenges. “I'm a schizophrenic, and I have my learning disabilities, so in school, instead of doing schoolwork, I would do my doodles,” he said.

Beck worked in the restaurant industry as a cook, but his main trade was as a book binder helper in the unionized print shop where his father Charles was employed.

After high school, Beck took some art classes. He was working as a prep cook at the Ramada Inn in Rockville, but “I took design and I saw where my forte was,” Beck said. “After that, I took off on doing things with the sketch pad and doing little projects here and there. And since I moved here to Denton, … I've done most of my really good projects. People have really enjoyed (my artwork), and I've really been most proud of it too.”

“Most people are very, very receptive and glad to have it,” he said. “I tell them, ‘Look, I give my art to people that I am appreciative of – (who are) always so friendly and helpful and kind and considerate.’” He estimates he’s given away hundreds of pictures.

Through trial and error, he’s found he prefers mixed media paper and Sharpies for his typically 6-inch by 6-inch designs.

“Back when I was in my 20s, I did more like a surrealistic type of thing,” Beck said. “But when I got here in Denton, I started going more for graphic art. I don't know why. That's just the way my talent went.”

Beck said his ideas for designs come to him anytime – while he’s sleeping or going about his day or developing adaptations for a series. Sitting at his dining room table, he begins with a border using a black Sharpie and a ruler, but then creates a freehand geometric pattern. Added to his talent has been the development of his craftmanship over time.

His choice of colors, which range from subtle pastels to bold primary combinations suggest themselves as he finishes the basic design. “Sometimes I use a chiaroscuro effect, with contrasting the dark and light, and sometimes … with bright and more subdued color too.”

“Believe it or not, in design class I got A’s. In the color class I took I got C's and D's, and people really appreciate my color now,” Beck said, chuckling.

The lifelong bachelor has congestive heart failure, so he doesn’t get out as much as he used to. He misses going to antique stores and yard sales, where he would find collectibles and model vintage cars. He enjoys “all kinds of music” but tends toward progressive music from the 1970s, Southern rock, blues and jazz. He enjoys watching Austin City Limits and quirky comedy films with his mom like “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” “Young Frankenstein” and “The Producers.”

Beck admits he is sometimes melancholy, but “I try to pick myself up” enjoying humor, working on his art, listening to music and helping others, he said. “God helps me. Of course, mom is my biggest influence. She's the one that really helps me the most. And we have a cat, and she's a good friend too.”

An experienced knitter, Marion Beck has even incorporated her son’s designs in  an afghan. Of her son’s artwork, she said, “I enjoy it. It makes him happy, and that's what makes me happy.”

“She's encouraged me with it,” Beck said. Along with his brother, “she's been one of my big encouragements.”