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 It’s A Man’s World image2&3

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

It’s a man’s world 24 inches by 6 feet.  Above is last nights effort, and just below is the nights before, which is frightening and effected that nights sleep. By the end of that night, something had to be done to change the direction of this canvas, and that it did.

Last night there was a refocus and movement forward.

This music speaks about the relationship between a man and a woman, and what was started last night is an effort to combine feminine colors with masculine.   That will hopefully continue tonight.  But last night and this night, this artist is tired from another busy week at work, kissing peoples asses. And the weekend is shot with visiting relatives. So it goes. Then there will be a few days after with marginal focus and drive, and then finally, finally the insight will return.  It is scary being away from your art.   It is the art that holds the dream together.  All else can fail, and it will in time, but the pursuit of the art keeps the beat strong, gives purpose,  meaning, and for now keeps failure away from the door.

Just before starting Man’s World it was hoped that this work would be able to close the door on the Birthday painting. The realization tonight, is that door no longer exists, and so there is nothing to close. The feeling is just move on, and see, see, see the way through this work onto the next,  then the next, next effort to witness the surprises that will all surely present.

That is how you sharpen the focus, chase the dream, and shun failure.

Scott Von Holzen

S_V_H Like a Prayer final image

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

Like a Prayer 2 panels 24inches by 8 feet:

Looking a this painting propped up on a set of spare easels across the room,  provides distance and softer more random  lighting  that lets the interesting use of colors, the flow  and the interaction of the different  shapes, play out musically.

Above is the work table for Prayer that was rolled around the floor following every move. This photo is much the same as a similar one taken many month earlier. Again, a new artwork workplace starts clean with a tube, a couple of jars of white, and a few scattered rulers.  As you can see things get messy from then on. When the project is over the paints are piled up and over onto each other including a couple dozen tubes of paint that are buried.  Although finding paints can be time consuming  this method of work will never change,  because to put the jars back after being used, leaves the possible question later on, of what colors were used?  Understand,  too much organization definitively slows the creative moment, and can make the artist too cautious.  When you are in the zone,  the only thought should be how best to apply and move the paint.

Back to Prayer this work,  since this is the smallest painting of the three, there was a feeling from the start that its size would guarantee the difficulty to out perform Hallelujah and Thunder.   Looking at the finished work, Prayer has it strenghts, in some ways better in others not so much: Hallelujah has a majesty about it while Thunder Road looks complicated. Prayer is neither of those descriptions. Prayer has more separation between the base and the music.  Prayer’s colors are hotter, and the flow moves quicker across the canvas. Prayer is more playful, similar to the music, less reflective then either of the other two, and harsher which is obvious. Prayer does continues the same stylistic theme which works to bring all three of these artworks together.  That use of a similar style is what now brings us to It’s A Man’s World:

First image It’s a Man’s World 24inches by 6 feet.  A smaller canvas was picked which makes it easier to break the current style. It does takes less of everything to form an impression, or change a direction when using a six foot canvas.  The current thought is to look back  to the Birthday painting from late July 2010. There has been this continuous feeling that more was done that day to push this art forward, then anything after that.  After July the biggest stylistic change was thought to be the move to round the notes.

Looking at The Birthday painting, The Long and Winding Road, it accomplished its goal with its blended look, much different from what has followed.  There is no thought to duplicate that past, but there are lingering feelings that have continued to bother as if something had not yet been resolved. But that is going to change now, with Man’s World.  There is finally the insight to what occurred that July day, which turns out to be obvious:  That work brought the background forward and mingled it with the musical flow. That was surprisingly easy to do then, because that work was painted based on a Van Gogh landscape.  Since then nothing like that has been tried again. So, it is no wonder that what occurred that day was a one-hit-wonder.  That brings us to the current goal of trying to close the door on that late July.  That can be accomplished with this painting by lifting the background and moving it closer to the front where the music is.  Do that without the help of a Vincent painting being used as a template will be a small evolution, that is for sure. But it will be a concerted effort, to hopefully move every bit of this art forward in one big chunk.  We shall see.

Scott von Holzen

S_V_H Like a Prayer image4

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

Like a Prayer 2 panel 24 inches by 8 feet:

It is not hard to let go. There was an interviewer asking a artist about selling her art and if it was hard to let them go, and she said it was, but she did sell them.  This artist sees that also, but not like that example, or like Rothko who found it hard to let his work go.  This artist just lets it go sold or not.

When a work is finished, after weeks and many, many hours of effort, when the work sends the message that it is ready to move it, this artist does just that.  And the artwork is then begins to be view entirely differently: the painting is signed on the back. photographed and most likely leaned up against a studio wall.  It is left in the studio for a while especially through at less one or more new paintings.

It is there to compare and set a standard for the next work. It is there to scare the hell out of the artist.  It is there to challenge, the next work to who is better.  It is there to push and force the artist to not repeat and to tweak the direction just to prove that there is still room to grow.

One thing that is  surprising, when visiting pass works, is that the name of the artwork is sometimes forgotten.  Seeing an artwork , whose name and the music is unknown, puts the artist in the same situation that a first time visitor viewing the artwork from a distance would have: does it attract, is there a curiosity that brings them forward to find the name of the work?  Does the work, work?

Like a Prayer is near completion, and should be finished sometime this weekend.  There has been a change in thinking in that the backgrounds need to be more aggressive.  For example, looking a Prayer the broad middle mostly Phthalo Green, looks to smooth, and lacks variety. It is not sure what can be done with this current work, anymore, but the next work will try to experiment more with contrasts and colors.  The problem is making the background interesting and not hurting the drama for the music as it flows.  For now, prayer does stand out from it companion paintings, Thunder Road and Hallelujah, and that is good for now.  The scribble of the ties works well with this work and the new added dimension of making a tie possible spell out a word add greatly to this work. This idea will surely be used in the future when it works. There is still work to be done with the background and the three eighth notes, and the there is some doubts about the stems and the red outlines.  This work obviously is not ready to let go.

Scott Von Holzen

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