​ARTIST
DESIGNER
LOVER
FIGHTER

SOUTHIE-BORN
SOCAL-RAISED
100-PROOF GINGER

Spinning in circles since 1976.
.
.
.

"Each painting begins with openness. Every scrape and smudge, an exhale. There is no plan but to listen, feel, react, and let go."

ABSTRACTION IS FREEDOM.
​​It's where I go to breathe.

Biography

Tobi Beck (b. 1976) is an American visual artist based in Southern California. Her intuitive abstract paintings, aptly described as “Smudges of her love and guts”, are considered emotional exhales of her always swirling mind. An over-thinker and ADHD neuroatypical, Tobi finds respite in the unique freedom abstraction allows, giving space and release for the raw honesty in her work. Having been born and raised in the projects of South Boston, the gritty textures of the city come through in her grungy marks characterized by memories of brick and ripped stickers on light poles - a moodiness that inspires her abstract style; each scrape and stroke building and tearing away to evoke tension or freedom.

A cathartic new experience for Tobi, smearing paint to paper was wholly intrinsic and marked the start of her artist journey in 2014 - a practice that would carry her through a cancer scare only one year later. This awakening was the catalyst for ending a corporate career in administrative sales to pursue art full time. Tobi’s abstract body of work has grown to include monochromatic graphic paintings, mixed media, collage, and digital medium with a focus on layered geometric compositions that tap into her early experience as a graphic designer.
​
Tobi studied Visual Communications at The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles and is a member of the Santa Clarita Artists Association. Her work is in private collections throughout the US and in Denmark. Recently, she was a featured artist at West Elm LA in Beverly Hills, showcasing her Color Pop series and Tiny TABstracts - a favorite project to date, having painted 100 3” abstracts over 100 days. Her triptych “Take Me With You” is currently on display at SCAA Gallery in Newhall, California. As an experiential self-taught artist, she continues to develop skills and knowledge through mentorship, community, and online education.

Artist Statement

CV

GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022 Santa Clarita International Film Festival SCAA Gallery, Newhall CA
​2022 "A Starry Night" Henry Mayo Hospital Gala, The Hyatt Regency w/SCAA, Valencia CA
2022 "Art Weekend Sausalito" Sausalito Center for the Arts, Sausalito CA
2022 "Inside Out" SCAA Gallery, Newhall CA
2022 "The Great Outdoors" SCAA Gallery, Newhall CA

FAIRS, FESTIVALS, POPUPS
2022 Jackalope Art Fair, Burbank CA Fall
2022 Newhall Marketplace, Newhall CA
​2022 West Elm LA Popup, Beverly Hills CA
2022 Burbank Arts Festival, Jackalope Arts, Burbank CA
​2022 SCAA Spring Art Fair, Santa Clarita CA
2022 Jackalope Art Fair, Pasadena CA Spring
​2019 SCV Summer Art Fair, Santa Clarita CA
​2017 RenegadeLA, Pasadena CA

COLLECTIONS
NBC/Universal, Universal Content Productions, LLC
​Private, US and Denmark