Author: Scott Von Holzen

Thunder Road, it has been a while since the last post on this canvas.  Progress was slow, but understandable.  In the image above you are seeing a symbolic picture of three quarter notes and three eighth notes.  More important, you are seeing the flow of the music. The progress over these many days was stalling out when different efforts to punch-up this artwork failed to unite the artwork with the music.  Stopping efforts with the eighth notes, the quarter notes quickly evolved when it was decided to paint  their stems similar to the no passing zones seen on two lane highways.    That work great visually and fit well with the music.

Back to the eighth notes still no unifying style could be found.  It because obvious that something similar to the eighth notes in Hallelujah needed to be found. Finally, at the end of an evening, an idea for a shape was found. Looking for help out came the Art Deco book, and while flipping through the pages there was spotted a picture of a woven rug on page 403.  The design of the rug contain a large wide rectangle whose one long side had been rounded.  That was all it took, and the next day that design idea and the color, Gold Ochre, was chosen for the ten eighth notes.  This took a couple of nights to complete, working the connection with the different designs already finished presented its challenges, that surprisingly solved themselves quickly.  The concerned, now looking at the eighth notes, is that they could be interpreted as having a stain glass look, and not the more mechanical feel that would be closer to the original design ideas. The design and colors used in any of these paintings try to reflect a certain atmosphere that the music presents.  That is why in Thunder browns and earthy muted colors are being used, with the addition of brighter colors to create push and pull,  and to bring in the feminine.

It is a simple as that, give’n enough time the art eventually leads the painter out of the abyss he has dug for himself.

Scott Von Holzen

Thunder Road.  What is it about this music?  At least once a night, and more like two, three times, the ten versions of this song are played, and played, and played.  There is enough variety in tempos, mood and styles of this music done by Bruce Springsteen, that holds the interest.

The drawings in white are the first drafts of the design of the eighth notes. The only thought, that  happened to come to mind while going for a walk, was to use different colors of different blues, and see if that can pop those notes.  Decisions are quick and decisive, without ever any lingering doubts, so we will see quickly if the blues are keepers. Another thought is,  like Hallelujah,  to keep the use of  green to the ties, that have not been drawn in yet. .

Right now it is hard to write anything: the work week was long and demanding, and switching directions is  rough, and at this moment the artist is just plan tired.  The second wind, physically and mentally,will come later into the evening, and the painting will probably go to about eleven pm.  This important work needs a complete effort, and surprisingly the mood will soon shift and the passion will return, and the dream will push forward, and the paint will flow, and the right efforts will finally present themselves and Bruce will be singing “…it’s a town full of losers. I’m pulling out of here to win,” and then it will, once again, all make sense.

Scott Von Holzen

Scott Von Holzen

Thunder Road 36 inches by 9 feet.  This is the first draft for the music flow.  It took some time to fit in the 19 ovals needed to represent this important pop song.  Not sure a hundred years from now that anyone will know this music. It is important music of this artist time, and the future, hopefully, will have this artwork.  Then in the years ahead the true art and music lovers will seek out, and if lucky find this small section, from that great music. Then they too will understand, and will remember, and just hopefully they will tell their grand children the secret .

Scott Von Holzen