Author: Scott Von Holzen

What Child is This right side.  The notes have gone from a pink rose to ultramarine: blue just seemed to make this canvas work better.   The Christmas painting is approached not as a cutting edge project but more like a summary of this last year.  Yet, What Child is This is more of a slower more thoughtful tune, and yet, what you see here is a lot of movement and colors that are bright; probably too strong for this music. It could not be helped.  When thoughts turn to the Christmas project the first colors that are seen are red and green.  Maybe, What Child, should have been done with softer yellows, browns, and pastels; but obvious that did not happened.  Sometimes, the art deviates from the music.  In this example it is quit apparent, and yet, no apologies are coming for Christmas is a joyous time and this music needs to a new cover that picks up the pace.  Hey, it is all about tempo.

Scott Von Holzen

Imagine___today on the news they were taking about it being the seventieth birthday of John Lennon. This canvas was completed in March of this year and there was no thought about this being a particular important milestone in the Beatles history.  This painting was done simple because the Artist grow up in the sixties listening and loving the Beatles.

It can be still be remembered so long ago dancing with a beautiful girl with long black hair, slowing to the Beatles song Let it Be.   That girl never felt so good.  Of course, she is long gone with only a few memories, and a few poems left to be remembered.  But, that night dancing close with that girl, listening to that song by the Artist favorite band, still lingers in the heart.

So, it is important that this Artist makes absolutely clear that these artworks  based on  music, have never been created to take advantage of the efforts of others.  These painting are done out of love of the music and are meant to celebrate that greatness that is the composers and performers of the music.

That time, that night,  and all that that is the Beatles,  is a big part why this Artist has finally found life focus. It  is Art that is to exploiting  the Dream;  and that is that.

Scott Von Holzen

Closeup of the Christmas painting 2010.  This painting will be reproduced on canvas photographic paper, sign and numbered and sent to all those who have purchased an art piece.   A slightly different version goes out to relatives and friends; but the painting is the same on each type of card.  Since this is a Christmas theme artwork, the colors will be pushed more to the greens and reds, and cheerful blues and some white to remind many of snow.   Usually these canvases are not experimental.  Mostly, they are smaller in size and done to celebrate the holiday season.  That sounds good, lets go with that.

Back in 2006 it was late in the year when the idea came to do a Christmas card with a painting.  That year the painting was printed directly on the card and the song was Joy to the World.  It is realized that Joy to the World is a classic pop song and nothing more, but the words Joy Joy Joy where used so it made it kinda Christmas like.  That is how it started.

This years words are ‘the babe of Mary.”  If it would not have been a painting that was represented on a Christmas card the words chosen from What Child is This would have simply been ‘the babe Mary.’   The words ‘the babe’  still  give this painting a twisted meaning, which is always the goal when words are used in a artwork.  Rarely, do artwork words resemble in meaning similarly found words in the music.   That is done a purpose to separate the art from the music and to see if the viewer is paying any attention: generally they are not.

Scott Von Holzen