Month: October 2010

S_V_H Amazing Grace image5

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

Amazing Grace right side half of 24 inch by 6 foot canvas. The words chosen come from the first lyric “I once was lost, but now am found; Was blind, but now I see.”   These words where deliberately chosen for they are easily recited from memory by all who know this music.

Looking at this section of this artwork, the only words that are appearing are “am”  and “now.”  They where originally drawn using the color Alizarin Crimson.   They looked nice but created to much color bounce needed for this music.  Regrettably, they where removed and drawn again, this time with a Copper acrylic, that does not show well in this reproduction, but whose appearance better matches the flow and mood.

The words are chosen in the effort to separate this artwork from the original musical lyrics.  This deliberate attempt is made to create a reference twist to  any words used. Understand this music, like all music appreciation is personnel to the viewer and listener.  What is attempted here is a visual challenge to the viewer, to see different the music and the lyrics, hopefully gaining a uniquely different perspective.

Think about that.  If this painting was done to match the music, what you would then have is a Walmart art reproduction, that would look just fine: easy to digest, and just as easy to dismiss as wall decoration.  This art will not allow that.  This art demands its own identity.  This art seeks its own meaning. This art pays tribute to some of the greatest music every created, yet will forever seek to stand on its own.

Scott Von Holzen

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S_V_H Amazing Grace image4

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

This is a third of  the painting on the right end side, image appears to be slightly darker. Currently, there is some listening going  on, through the many versions of this music, to better grasp this song which may seem obvious and pointless to most listeners.

This music has been heard many times over many years, and  with all of the huge variety of emotions it generates touching many, how can any painting represent those feelings?  How does any painting speak to all of that?

It may be possible in the relationships of the color: color against color, mixed with, touching, bouncing off of, soft and hidden, loud and dominate, feisty and arrogant, loose and free.  Color that demands attention, or shyly blends away.   That and more put all in on this canvas, and hopefully displaying music that can be touched; music that can be felt.

Personal thoughts: During the day the hours are spent working for the man. Some days take fragments of the night away, shredding the art into  interrupted, disturbed, distracted, and lost pieces of creativity.  Some days are held together by fear, that drives the incentive to paint, paint, and paint, to find the other way.  Some days will always be forgotten, but the art builds, builds, and builds, with feeling, without the obvious, with all the emotions, but never pointless.

Scott Von Holzen

S_V_H Amazing Grace image3

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

Amazing Grace close up first draft of notation.  This verse ends  slowly so that there is not much to punched at  the end of this music.  So, the action has been expanded, for example in this section, to create some pop and interest.

Notation is just notes and stuff.  To make this art work the notation had to evolved over the years.  This evolution certainly is far from done, and is a driving force of the artist.  For example, look at these notes and compare them to any other sheet music and you will see that the art has lifted the notes up, from their almost laying down position in 2005, to a sharp angle to create movement of today.

The music that is painted is painted out of passion for the music.  To express those feelings attached to the music the notation had to be constantly tweaked to where this art now defines its own musical expression. Since there is no sound though, emulating from these canvas, the Va-Va-BOOM is got to come from the flow of the music, otherwise these paintings would be boring. It is this flow where this art stands out.

The Point: and this is the big Point, unlike previous expression of music this art is not done as an abstraction. It could be. It could easily then be wall decoration at the local Perkins restaurant.  But it is not for what you see is only Amazing grace,  and not a fabulous expression of  Cherry Cherry by Neil Diamond.

What makes this art work is its connection to a one-of-a-kind piece of music.   What makes this art work is that this fluid connection is expressed in the flow of the music.  Since this art cannot be played, it isn’t music.  Since this art cannot be sung it isn’t music.  Yet, it is all about the expression of the music.

Look at it this way: most portraits are pictures of someone, most landscapes are pictures of somewhere.  Both the portrait and the landscape rarely duplicate the subject, you have photography for that. Look at a cubist portrait by Picasso or a Arles landscape by Van Gogh, and it is not the person or the place that you love, it is how they created more out of what was present.  This art expresses music as a portrait, a landscape, a still life, an abstraction making more out of simple notation.

Scott Von Holzen