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 Sweet Little Angel Image 2

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

Sweet Little Angel image 2This is a small update about Sweet Little Angel.  What makes this update important is that I have moved this art into a new direction.  I now have the tools and the resources to let the music flow stand out from the background.  I do this by using quarter-inch  aspen wood.  At first I was only going to do the two notes on the center panel, but quickly I could see that I have something special starting, and so the entire music flow is now made up of painted wood.  This changes this art,  and helps me carry out my goal to portray music more fluidly like the way music is actually played.  I am on to something here, and I am going to push this technique forward with this years Birthday Painting.

Up next for today,  and tomorrow is the story of my 2015 Birthday Painting which will be LCD SoundSystem’s Losing My Edge.

Scott Von Holzen

S_V_H Sweet Little Angel image 1

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

sweetLittleAngel_1This video of Sweet Little Angel shows B.B. King’s totally immersed in the music.  The sounds from Lucille, his guitar, flow through his fingers up and out through his voice and facial expressions.

Sweet Little Angel is a music in art two canvas composition, forty inches by about twenty-eight inches in height. This is the third in this current series of small works. This artwork is a part of a larger experimental trend of putting a lot more effort in the taping and applying of the paint, to increase the drama  and aggressiveness,of the backgrounds. I no longer want backgrounds whose main purpose is to provide a decorate look to hang the music on. I am seeing in the early stages of these artworks compositions that on their own could be seen as abstract art. Still, my true goal of these advanced super charged backgrounds remains consistent with the past, to set the mood, and anchor the music in its rhythmic movement across the canvas.

Scott Von Holzen

S_V_H The Ghost of Tom Joad Final Image

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

The Ghost of Tom Joad final image

I have completed The Ghost of Tom Joad. This artwork proves to me that it is easier to test new ideas when working on a smaller size canvas. I used two new techniques in this work that I plan on developing, and experimenting with in future paintings.  The first one is drip painting.  Dripping paint is not a great artistic breakthrough. It is a technique that I have ignored, until I stumbled on a dripping method that was convenient to use, consistent, and with fairly precise control. The second new technique, if you look closely at the enlargement,  you will see a number of small square wooden pieces that I have attach to this artwork.  I am fascinated by the unlimited opportunities that attaching painted pieces of wood to canvas can offer.

These two methods each can add interest, and more important depth, in edition to using multiple layers of canvases to make that three dimensional, sculptural look possible.  But not every artwork works well with layered canvases.  Now,  with the option of dripping, and adding small wooded pieces to the canvas surface,  I can give even a traditional flat rectangle artwork a little of that three dimension look.  I am always after this to better reflect the depth of the music I am portraying.

My original idea for The Ghost of Tom Joad  was to use earth tones to keep the coloring muted and the contrast lower.  I found out once again, that it was hard for me to limit my pallet.  I may have an opportunity to actually limit my pallet with this years Birthday painting, at the end of July.  My Birthday painting I start and complete in one day.  A simpler color scheme, with smart use of tints and shades, could save painting time,  and be an opportunity to experiment with a cleaner appearing,  less cluttered looked.

 

Up next is another small artwork, and a Blues Classic, Sweet Little Angel. I cannot seem to get enough of B B King so I thought it was time to do one of his own classic songs.  Since this is a Blues piece I can see this as an opportunity to create a simpler artwork.

Scott Von Holzen