Completed in the first image of Fast Car is the notation with the lyrics, “I had a feeling that I belong.” The small wooden painted pieces scattered about are the notation’s beams and slurs, also completed and waiting to be glued down.

I do not consider the song Fast Car a must paint song. I do like the music enough that I consider it a good fit as a mini project for several reasons. The lyrics tell a detailed story. The verses are nice and flowing, but, for me, they seem to drag on. What makes this song great is the chorus where the words and melody super charges the music, confirming a connection I needed. That this song was first released in 1988 and then became popular again with the Luke Combs cover in 2023 gave me the feeling that this music has legs. When I am deciding on a song to paint and I find a favorite from years ago, I always look to see if other artists have done covers of the music. The more current the cover, the better. This artwork can then be a reminder for future musicians to take another look at this music.

Here is the rough draft of my cover music for Fast Car. Start date was April 22nd.

I have some thoughts on these images I received from Ray, one of our group members that was checking out the spring members show at the Hopkins Art Center in the area Minneapolis.

In 2019, I exhibited and attended the reception at the Hopkins International exhibition. The show was impressive, showing a higher level of quality with some interesting art on display. And although I dislike stacking, they put on an excellent show. The images above are from their current members show which is local talent. Ray sent the group over twenty images. My take, which I felt scrolling from one image to the next, was I have seen this art so many times before. I see this members show, as small, local boring art. I am also a follower on YouTube watching a lot of different major art exhibitions and gallery shows. This art is no longer local or small, but that is the only difference from the local boring art. What I mean by boring is not that the art is, insert any negative verb. Oh no, most of the contemporary art, both local and especially not from here, is highly polished and skillfully produced and decorative in style. The art that isn’t decorative feels strained to its limits trying to act, look, or be different. The results with all this effort are sales and happy customers for a few spot on artists, and the rest of the art and the artists quickly fade to storage. And yet, galleries absolutely need this art in abundance to fill empty walls from the last take down of pervious filler art. I am thinking as a group we should become members of the Hopkins? And really do I want to hang on top or below next year’s spring members’ show, which is pay to play? No one said this was going to be easy.

Scott Von Holzen