This is the last stage of my scratching technique, when I draw in the words. I dislike art that includes words to enhance the works’ lack of purpose. My words go with the music. They are there because they belong. They exist to add interest and offer the viewer the option to choose their meanings. I have always applied words in that way. If the music has words, I like to use them. I see them as decorative graffiti. I then scratch through them. This technique downplays their value and covers my print writing, which is awful, but important. My hand writing connects me to the artwork, not unlike Jackson’s Pollack hand print on his canvas.

I should mention how I choose the colors for this artwork. The background color ideas that appear through the scratching, and the top white layer of white, come from Elton John’s outfit in an early video of Your Song. The silver I used for the words I found in the glasses of Lady Gaga’s performance of Your Song at the 2018 Grammies.

This is a technical note: This image above is after the scratching was done. Issues are continuing with getting a clean scratching across the entire canvases. The top layer, in places, is rubbery. That means the pallet knife tears the top layer instead of clean ripping it away. This issue could be caused by the thickness of the paint, or that it needs longer drying time. The solution is further complicated by the rubbery issue not being consistent across the canvas. What is known is that as the days pass, the top layer firms up on the artworks and my test canvases. Letting the top layer of paint cure for maybe weeks, with testing, could be an answer, except that does not work for me. I live with each of these projects until finished. Only when completed do I start the search for the next music project. Hum, so the choice is?

Scott Von Holzen