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

Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 9 No. 1

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

This painting is 12 feet long and it is difficult to get a reflection free image and to photograph the entire image.   These large canvases make it difficult to show much detail.    Closeups are coming.   This canvas seems more, messy?  Compared to the previous Eyes on the Prize which is near by so to be able to compare. Why compare who knows?  There just must be a big competition going on between each artwork.  It may be becoming  a contest of  which work has the best neatness look?  Do not believe that.  All works of art (this has been said a dozen times) find their own way with no regard to what has come before, although they all own a debt, they just will admit it.  They all have egos.

Tired tonight, so although progress is being made along the top and bottom areas of the canvas, it has been slow……..slow with a thoughtfully non-committed attitude towards finishing the base.

Scott Von Holzen

Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 9 No. 1

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

Starting to get control of this image. Last night, for a while, I thought that after adding those two bands of color around the main, what-ever-it-is,  to better frame it out, was a mistake.  Changing the mine was too late and it would be nearly impossible to remove.  Then,  just before quiting I did a fleeting thought that I had much earlier in the painting, and  framed the inside of the band with a Cerulean color that worked better then I thought.

Tonight, It was easy to drift  away from the main color band:  the Mark Rothko color band  look.  Sometimes you have to let a part of a painting set in, to make sure to not over paint.   So, on to the four other narrow color bands.    Then it was back to the main band to create a better transition between the top and bottom edges and the rest of the canvas using a magenta color.

Interestingly I drifted tonight when I heard the Pa-pa-pa-pa song from Mozart’s Magic Flute.  I have a version in iTunes but I became a lot more interested in the music after watching a great version on You Tube.  I remembered it first from the movie Amadeus  which I never forgot but never had the interest stirred until tonight.  What this means is that Mozart is next, and now while listening to a piece by Vivaldi,  just maybe……..

Chopin’s Nocturne OP. 9 No.1

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

A lot of bouncing around with color looking to fill in the, I guess the best name for it is a Rothko staff.   A lot of colors are used and mixed and there is not a clear logic. at less not tonight.  I think the color goes down sometimes just to move the work further somewhere, anywhere but where it is now.   When I paint, I try to keep my thoughts on the work and not the other stuff we think about when we are not trying to think about, but it just happens.  That is why the paint goes down, and then the judgment begins and that followed  up with more paint, just a different color; and more decision making.  A lot of times the wet rag then comes out and it all gets scrubbed away.    Still a long way to go on this base and there is no plan, no idea what will be done next, and no direction.  All is normal.

Scott Von Holzen