Ava Maria is this years Christmas Painting.  For those who have purchased one of my paintings they will once again receive a Christmas card with a signed and numbered canvas print of Ave Maria.

Of the different versions of this song this one written my Franz Schubert probably is the most well know, sung by the soprano singer  Maria Callas:

That is not the version used for this painting.  I prefer this aria of Ave Maria composed by  Vladimir Vavilov in 1970, and attributed later to Guido Caccini:

This year’s Christmas painting music,  by Vavilov/Caccini,  sung by mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca:

What convinced me to drop the Schubert version was the words.  Originally written in Italian, the translation to English loses much of the power of the music for me.  In this Vavilov version the only words are Ave Maria.  For me this projects a stronger message,  because the  singing of those two words, without sounding repetitious and boring,  creates a magical and hypnotic sound.

Scott Von Holzen

This is a small work forty inches in length by ten or so inches in height. I wanted this to be a small painting for a number of  a practical reason:  I needed to work on methods to produce, and feel good about,  small works in the same way as I have always felt with my larger works.

I am also trying to be practical, smaller works are easier to sell for they take up less wall space,  have a lower selling price,  are cheaper to ship, need less storage space,  and actually take less time to produce.  Another reason for small is I am still working under temporary and constrained Studio conditions.

For my Christmas paintings I never try new ideas.  Over the years I have learned to see these artworks as a summary of the year’s artistic style, which than eliminates any thoughts of risky style changes. Each year my singular goal with this artwork is to get the painting finished, photograph,  printed on canvas, signed, numbered,   create a new card design, address all the envelopes, and mail out a week before Christmas.

When finished I always have the feeling that all this extra work is worth it. I have never regretted this annual artwork. Those that have supported me over the years need to be told, at less once a year, how much I appreciate their belief in this art.   That includes you Pat, Kevin, and Matt.

Scott