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 Amazing Grace image4

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

This is a third of  the painting on the right end side, image appears to be slightly darker. Currently, there is some listening going  on, through the many versions of this music, to better grasp this song which may seem obvious and pointless to most listeners.

This music has been heard many times over many years, and  with all of the huge variety of emotions it generates touching many, how can any painting represent those feelings?  How does any painting speak to all of that?

It may be possible in the relationships of the color: color against color, mixed with, touching, bouncing off of, soft and hidden, loud and dominate, feisty and arrogant, loose and free.  Color that demands attention, or shyly blends away.   That and more put all in on this canvas, and hopefully displaying music that can be touched; music that can be felt.

Personal thoughts: During the day the hours are spent working for the man. Some days take fragments of the night away, shredding the art into  interrupted, disturbed, distracted, and lost pieces of creativity.  Some days are held together by fear, that drives the incentive to paint, paint, and paint, to find the other way.  Some days will always be forgotten, but the art builds, builds, and builds, with feeling, without the obvious, with all the emotions, but never pointless.

Scott Von Holzen

S_V_H Amazing Grace image3

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

Amazing Grace close up first draft of notation.  This verse ends  slowly so that there is not much to punched at  the end of this music.  So, the action has been expanded, for example in this section, to create some pop and interest.

Notation is just notes and stuff.  To make this art work the notation had to evolved over the years.  This evolution certainly is far from done, and is a driving force of the artist.  For example, look at these notes and compare them to any other sheet music and you will see that the art has lifted the notes up, from their almost laying down position in 2005, to a sharp angle to create movement of today.

The music that is painted is painted out of passion for the music.  To express those feelings attached to the music the notation had to be constantly tweaked to where this art now defines its own musical expression. Since there is no sound though, emulating from these canvas, the Va-Va-BOOM is got to come from the flow of the music, otherwise these paintings would be boring. It is this flow where this art stands out.

The Point: and this is the big Point, unlike previous expression of music this art is not done as an abstraction. It could be. It could easily then be wall decoration at the local Perkins restaurant.  But it is not for what you see is only Amazing grace,  and not a fabulous expression of  Cherry Cherry by Neil Diamond.

What makes this art work is its connection to a one-of-a-kind piece of music.   What makes this art work is that this fluid connection is expressed in the flow of the music.  Since this art cannot be played, it isn’t music.  Since this art cannot be sung it isn’t music.  Yet, it is all about the expression of the music.

Look at it this way: most portraits are pictures of someone, most landscapes are pictures of somewhere.  Both the portrait and the landscape rarely duplicate the subject, you have photography for that. Look at a cubist portrait by Picasso or a Arles landscape by Van Gogh, and it is not the person or the place that you love, it is how they created more out of what was present.  This art expresses music as a portrait, a landscape, a still life, an abstraction making more out of simple notation.

Scott Von Holzen

S_V_H Amazing Grace image2

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

Amazing Grace close up image center of canvas. There is a comparison, with the center shape of this image with image1 of Amazing Grace, but that is it. What is seen now is what is left of the crimson colors of of image1, their current shapes a remembrance of Clifford Still’s work.

There is no understanding why this work began with acrylic reds to such a large extent, other than the music was not being payed any attention. What else is not seen is the work done between image1 and 2.   For awhile there was an attempt in the center section to covered the red with shades of purple, that failed and ruin everything, but could not be removed.

Image2 then is what pulled this canvas back to its theme.  The unexpected result of the streaks of crimson reds, from the first image, now  have taken on the representation, of say, the flames of punishment. The blues that now overwhelm them could be the image of amazing grace, just to keep with the religiousness theme of this music.

Not seen clearly in this image, is that the surrounding colors are mostly different shades of gold. The blues where always a consideration for this music, but the use of so much gold is a surprise.  Image2’s reasoning  has been unexpected, with some of the results a matter of technique luck.

Stuff that makes stuff happen sometimes happens unexpectedly.

Scott Von Holzen

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