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 Mozart K265 Var 5, Twinkle Little Star Image 2

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

Here are the four sections of this artwork, laid down on a 4 foot by six-foot canvas.  Not seen in the photograph,  the blue stems have an iridescent look when the light and viewing angle changes.  Also, the music is white with a pearl iridescent glossy glaze that adds depth but again, does not show in the image.

I recognize, before even starting this project,  the importance of the music to define the quality of the artwork.  I created the score, with Mozart’s guidance, using the free notation software Musescore 3.  As a first, in the previous blog entry, I uploaded the audio, with the thought it was too good not to show off.  Since then I purchased another notation software, Notion 6.  The advantage of this paid software is the sound library is huge.  I will use both for I have more to learn.  The one goal for the audio is to create a natural and realistic sound equal to the quality of the artwork.

For this artwork’s color choices I will continue to control the use of multiple bright colors. This artwork is a children’s song with a classical musical twist, so the logical range of colors would be bright multiple pure colors to black and deep browns.  For Twinkle, I am using a few pure colors to add and not distract from a general overall soft look of the artwork.  That sounds like a line of art speak found in countless artist’s bios. The next sentences are practical and not art speak.

Next up is to add features to these four panels to fill up space and add interest.  From its earliest days that has always been a necessary step.  So it continues.

Scott Von Holzen

S_V_H Mozart KV 265 Version 5, Twinkle Little Star

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

On my studio floor are musical pieces for the new art project, Twinkle Little Star.  This artwork’s music comes from Version 5 of Mozart’s piano composition KV 265.  This music comprises twelve variations of a French Folk song and the music for the children’s song Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

Here is a YouTube video of  Mozart: “Dodici variazioni per pianoforte su Ah, vous dirais-je, Maman, KV 265” Version five starts at the 04:25 timeline:

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For this musical version, I have added Strings and changed the ending.  This is the audio, so far:

I dated the start time on my work sheet as September 3rd, two weeks ago.  In the past my earlier work was spend planning and then creating the wood pieces that would make up the flow of the music in the artwork.  This year, once I have chosen the music, I start the project knowing the artwork will have active music.  Because of adding sound I then need to create an arrangement with a good start and finish.   Having that I then can design the look and flow of the artwork.

Scott Von Holzen

S_V_H Walking In Memphis Final

Published on by Scott Von Holzen
88″ Length by 33.5″ Height by 4″ depth

My start date was July 17th for Walking in Memphis.  I finished on the 20th of August. Most of my final thoughts on this artwork are in the YouTube video, but I will add a few more comments.

The piano and strings in this arrangement are the interactive parts of this artwork created using the software MuseScore.  In my video, I mentioned that the strings are the voice of the music.  I’ll add that the piano part of the arrangement connects Marc Cohn’s video to the artwork.  I now see sound as a transformational tool.  I once viewed adding music to my artworks as a selling gimmick for art fairs.  Nothing sold.  At less the non-paying public enjoyed it, although saying “Push the button to hear the music,”  grew tiresome.  What changed where the enthusiastic comments at ArtsWest’s Africa, and Mozart’s Turkish March at the Trout Museum.  A staff person at the ArtsWest library, at pickup,  asked to play Africa on our way out of the library.

My first serious music notation software, Noteflight. For years I used it only to create the arrangements of the music I painted.  My first added sound came with my little Beethoven 5th first four notes artworks.  I had found a recordable small plastic battery-operated soundbox with a half-watt speaker within an extension wired push button.  In 2018 using the software, Musescore, and soundbox enhancements, the music from this 1inch flat speaker sounds good on The Turkish March, and 2019’s ArtsWest artwork Africa.

My first Sound Box

After Africa, in early 2019 I created the jazz artwork Giant Steps whose style came from  2017’s Miles Davis artwork,  So What (Which I agree).  Giant Steps I believe I never considered adding music because of the limits of the soundbox and MuseScore’s synthesizer to replicate this Jazz masterpiece.  After Giant, I painted Over the Rainbow another experimental work based on the So What style.   From the blog entries adding music was a low priority.  That changed with Schindler’s List.

The largest in a long while, and a statement piece, I knew this music needed a higher quality sound to match its size.  Through research, I found a two-watt stereo amp that I could store and play a music file.  Instead of a flat one-inch speaker I now can power two, three-inch speaker placed inside their own custom made speaker boxes.  It required soldering.  I am getting better.

Adafruit Audio FX Sound Board + 2x2W Amp 2″ in length

Next up came Mercy Me, a self-inflicted obligation project that I saw as a long shot for a local environmental exhibition.  The song Mercy, Mercy Me was my first choice for this show.  My choice of music and time restraints made adding sound only a consideration.   Mercy, Mercy Me,  did not show.  I never created a sound file.

With The Blue Danube, I returned to doing artworks for me.  From the start of Schindler’s List, I knew I wanted to add a music file.  In fact, this artwork is a turning point.  From Blue Danube and Walking In Memphis onward finding the right music for a sound file is as important as finding what music to portray.

One final thought on Walking in Memphis: this music by Marc Cohn is the first song on Spotify’s playlist, One-hit Wonders.

Maybe this artwork will someday be a wonder on its own playlist of Greatest Hits.

Scott Von Holzen