Blackbird 24 inches by 6 feet, photo taken December 21st.

Blackbird the music from the Beatles White Album,  started  way back on December 8th with this photo taken today, three weeks later.   During his last few year Van Gogh production amounted to sometimes 3 to 4 canvases in a day.  Obviously, he knew what he was doing, and this artist current position is similar to Van Gogh’s Paris period.  For an example of today’s influence, take a look at the Sean Scully  style, in miniature,  added to those flying notes above.

That being understood,  this art is complicated, dealing with a complicated subject which is music, being preformed by an artist that is certainly far from reaching a mature artist style.  So, lets move on to Scully. This art started with Mark Rothko has it’s first inspiration, and it remains today.  But, Sean Scully was not an inspiration, even though his styling has been present in the background of every work done recently.  Scully became known when I received the wrong used book, from Amazon.  I had ordered a Hans Hoffman book, but instead received Sean Scully: Wall of Light. The book was sent back for credit, and never received the Hoffman book, probably for the best.

Also, thinking back, for a time,  using the book The Art of Richard Diebenkorn as inspiration, I thought this could be a  influence on this art, but that faded.  Now, there is an wakening to the work of Sean Scully, that may be sustained.  Not to copy but to learn from.    And not only his stripping techniques but also his layering of canvases.  This artist has seen alot of nonconforming art shapes, for example Frank Stella.  But not until stumbling over Scully, did the possibilities of using that technique became clear.   Hopefully, with the next work there is going to be an added canvas on top of the rest, not for decoration, but there to emphasize  a particular piece of the music.

The backgrounds in this art, are doing what they are suppose to do, create interest, and move the music across the canvas.  Lately, working with this music, there has been a frustration, not only with the choice of colors, and with how to paint the music that is about a bird, but with the hope of creating a background that has a larger impact on the music.  Those  Scully miniatures where painted in to at less show an effort is being made.

Scott von Holzen