Month: July 2011

S_V_H Vivaldi – L’Estro Armonico, Op. 3, Concerto No. 2, Larghetto image2

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

Vivaldi’s Larghetto.  While reading the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die, there is early in,a painting by Masaccio called Tribute Money.  What is special about this special painting was the interesting colors of the robes.  This painting is looking to that painting to see how the different robe colors contrast  and balance with each other, and how tints of blue, red, and green  can be used in the background of this painting to give this work that classical feel. That is the thought, but ideas have a tendency to evolve,  most of the time that is a given.   That then leads to a work going its own way no matter what great ideas are thought of at the start: Art just happens.

The heat and work has worn down any momentum that this work deserves.  It is even hard to put down these words.  Time for a break.  Break.

Looking at the painting after working some new colors into the canvas, there is a desire to try to find a new way of applying the colors.  Just think, artists have been using a basic tool, the brush, using all kinds of materials, from animal hair, to natural fibers, to synthetic, all connected mostly to a stick.   It is about control and precision, understandable, but still there is a drive to somehow find a unique style with this most used artist tool.  That probably will not happen not just yet, the time does not seem right, and the focus certainly is missing. Its like the desire to find new colors to use, somehow, someway of placing color on canvas is yet to be found that will satisfy the dream of this artist.

Scott Von Holzen

S_V_H It’s a Man’s World final & Vivaldi

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

It’s a Man’s World was titled and signed on the back on July 12th.  It is hard to believe it was that many days ago, but it is summer, and things are going on.   Over all this is a good effort, with the surprises being the way the Slurs where handled and the design of the note heads.  It does seem to relate to the pass few works, but each work builds on the previous, and that will never change.  Sometimes this artist regrets that change and style evolution is slower than wished.  He knows that time is not on his side, and frustration is growing, yet step in front of step is the only way this art is going to find that mature level of artistic meaning, skill, and value that is a goal.

To relate to those thoughts, the next work started is: Vivaldi’s Lestro Armonico Op 3, Concerto No. 2, Larghetto. Surprisingly, it was on the 12th that the decision was made to do the next work.   It grows over the months the desire to do a Classical Musical piece.  The reason may have to do a lot with the emotions that drive this art.  Every time a new work is chosen, the question just before is why are you doing this music?  Of all the hundreds of thousands of pieces of music that can be painted, and with the shortness of over all time that currently is available, why chose that one.  It troubles the mind the closer to decision time.  After a few modern pieces are completed, the search for Classical music gains strength.  The increasing interest is the simple fact that for example this chosen Classical piece has already proven its ability survive being written in 1711.

Vivaldi’s music has gained popularity with this artist over the years.  Although, this artist tries to create works based on the piano, this work was written for the violin, but this music is so straight forward that getting a grasped of it was easy, once it was actually found.  This canvas is 24 inches by eleven feet in three panels.  There will be about 57 notes that will appears across this work, and the note heads will not be that large.  It should be an interesting challenge, with the color thoughts be strong reds, blues and greens, all classical in shades.  We shall see.

Scott Von Holzen

S_V_H It’s a Man’s World image9

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

Man’s World a quick update.  This music contains three musical slurs.  In sheet music a slur is just a slightly curved line, above or below, a number of notes and is used in music to indicate a phrase that is to be played in a smooth flowing manner.  Of course, what you see above is this artist rendering of a slur in the style of the just passed Cy Twombly.  There is a fairly expensive book about his art in this artist library called Cy Twombly  A Monograph, but it never created much interest. It was purchased because there was something about this Twombly’s swirling cursive paintings that caught attention.  But it was found that those paintings only occupied a few pages,  and the rest of the books  imagery offered no inspiration, so it was put on the shelf and mostly forgotten.

It was the need from the start of this work to try and breakout of a small rut, with one thought being to create a greater sense of movement across the canvas. That was why the swirling slurs just caught this artist in a pleasant surprise.  If you look at previous canvases there is the movement in this direction. It was the death of Twombly, however, that made the artist remember his book and why it had been purchased.  It all happened quickly.  Those three slurs had been put off for there was no idea, anywhere to be found, to how to draw them, and then the answer just was there.  Within a few minutes they where drawn in and later touched up to even out their flow.

Sometimes this artist thinks that there cannot be much more that can be done with this theme, and then it happens, the way forward is found and a new path or direction is suddenly in front of you, with plenty of choices to be tried.  That is when Art is fun. That is when this artist realizes just why there is no need to rush a work.  The artwork will eventually suggest the way forward, and all the artist has to do is stand back and patiently listen.

Scott Von Holzen