Author: Scott Von Holzen

I am currently renewing an artistic adventure that first started in 1974, and ended in the early 1980's. A casual comment restarted the quest in art in 2004. Now, at night I am surrounded by artworks done and in progress, shelves full of art books, my music collection playing through a classic NAD amp and a pair of solid, classic free standing speakers, my piano, violin, blues guitar, and saxophone. So all is musical no matter what I am up to in the studio. Since I was a kid I have had the urge to be creative Now, in my later sixties, I am determine to know. I want to follow this to the end to see what these paintings, and all this music amounts to. This is probably the last great adventure I will have, so I am all in. So, watch out for nonstop music, canvases with multiple panels, with paint spread thick or dribbled on, words with meaning, and results that will challenge, push the meaning of music, and may even splash back. This blog's real purpose is to document my story in the making, and you are welcomed to follow along. Thank you for your support. Scotty Von Holzen

S_V_H Cherish image 1

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

cherish_1Cherish is this 2016’s Birthday Painting.  This artwork consists of two canvases  15 inches by 60 inches in length.  Cherish,  was released by The Association  in 1966,  the same year I graduated from High School.  My four high school years were divided, with my freshman and sophomore years in a very small Wisconsin town that we move to in 1962.  I then  spent my Junior and  Senior years at a smaller Catholic High School, when we moved again, to a much bigger small Wisconsin town.

What that means is that all through my High School years I was kind of an outsider, not quit fitting into a normal teenager’s life. I do remember this song for its theme of unrequited love. Being a teenager in new towns, with only a few good friends, the emotions that came from listening to the music of The Association,  and The Four Seasons was felt and lived.

Looking back, I think I  should have enjoyed those times a lot more. I should have realized that I was fairly naïve about the art of  dating, and it certainly showed, and that is was all about the learning, and all about asking girls out,  and slowly figuring out step by step what the game of love was all about.  But I did not, quite get that right, during those times.

” …I was so much older than, I younger than that now,”  (The Byrds My Back Pages, 1964).

 

Scott

 

S_V_H We Belong Image 2

Published on by Scott Von Holzen1 Comment

weBelong_2We Belong, is taking on that 80’s Pat Benatar look.  I knew her music, but in the 80’s I was more a Madonna, and Prince kind-of-a-guy.  Now, since this is a commission work I have had to take a fresh hard look at Pat Benatar,  her music, and influence on other women rockers of the 80’s.  My updated impressions of her  is that she certainly was an attractive performer,  brash, with a great voice.  I am referring to her  early 80’s hard rock voice which was deeper, less refined, and raspy,   that makes me think of the older Sarah Vaughn, without the range.

Here is an example of the early Rocker Pat Benatar before she went pop, We Belong,  followed by a comparison (only a  little) of one of the greatest singers ever, Sarah Vaughn.

Regrettably,  with an extreme amount of others things that need to be done, We Belong is slowly moving along.  Next up,  I will be adding more of the 80’s color look into the artwork, in the form of a lot of small wooden shapes. That will add interest and bring the music, and the background together.

Scott Von Holzen

S_V_H We Belong image 1

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

weBelong_1Here is the first image of a classic Pat Benatar song We Belong. This is prime Eighties music. This artwork consists of three canvas panels with a length of 52 inches by 16 inches in height.  Looking at this first image of We Belong, the background is a surprisingly sparse in comparison  with earlier works, with a solid black color dominating the artwork and not the stripping.   The influence for this first image for We Belong comes from the Bach Aria artwork I did for Japan.

This is American Pie from 2010, that the Bach client picked for a template. It did not surprise me that they prefer my older style. What did surprise me was the required amount of  adjustment made by everyone involved to make the older look work in 2016.

americanPie_1

When we reached agreement on the background style and coloring, I than went even further back for another idea found in this Mozart work.  It is in this early 2006 artwork where I used a wide stripping to resemble my take on the musical staff or stave:

MozartConcerto21_2006

Here is a musical staff used in sheet music:

blank-music-paper-landscape-long-1

All these adjustments  resulted in a contemporary retro artwork the  Bach Aria work, 2016,

AriaBWV988_ImageFinal

Now, free from the need for approval, I took the Grand Bach painting ideas and simplified the entire background with the color black that works well with this artist.

 

This is the 1984 music video of We Belong.

I could not find a live early 80’s.  This is the best of live versions from 2001:

Scott Von Holzen