AN AWARD FOR AN ARTIST: Pennsylvania painter Robert Beck, whose “Classic Lighting, Fishtown” is shown here, is among three artists to be honored next month at The Philadelphia Sketch Club.

Artist Robert Beck will be honored, along with Moe Brooker and Elizabeth Osborne, at the 154th Anniversary Gala of The Philadelphia Sketch Club on Saturday, October 18. Bronze medals will be awarded to the artists for their contributions to the arts. Previous honorees include Alex Kanevsky, Jamie Wyeth, Robert Venturi, and Denise Scott Brown.

“It was a surprise,” says Beck. “Those are big names. It is an honor to be mentioned in that company.”

Mr. Beck studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and in addition to his many exhibitions and awards has four invitational museum shows to his credit, one of them a solo retrospective. He is also a lecturer and contributing writer to ICON Magazine. Beck maintains a studio at his home in New Hope, Pa, and a gallery in Lambertville.

Beck’s representational images, mostly painted “live,” bring the viewer to a broad range of subjects, often created in high-energy, even difficult, environments. “I have always been fascinated by what makes things happen, and I use painting to investigate the events of our lives. I’m creating a portrait of contemporary culture,” Mr. Beck says. “This is not nostalgia. My images are straightforward depictions of being in the American here and now.”

Mr. Beck has recently been using social media to share sequential photographs of his paintings in progress. “Seeing how the image is built informs the viewer whether painter or lay person,” he says. “It is like discovering a descriptive language. I’ve had good response to it.”

“I’ve always wanted my work to have a purpose,” he adds. “To identify simple truths, or move things forward. That is what is so fulfilling about the Sketch Club award. It is recognition from my colleagues that I am getting it done.”

Beck’s work can be seen at www.robertbeck.net. Visit www.sketchclub.org for tickets and information. The Philadelphia Sketch Club is at 235 South Camac Street in Philadelphia. The gala begins at 7 p.m.

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