Category: 2010

Amazing Grace closeup middle of this 24inch by 6 foot canvas, which is near finished.  It has been signed on the front, and tonight and some tweaking tomorrow will finish this work.  In a couple of days a truer color photograph of the entire work will be done and posted on the website.

The version of Amazing Grace song by Judy Collins is what is being played to at this moment.  This music in six different version has been listened to many times to try to bring the mood, the feel, the connection, the impact this music has to the canvas.  It was creative drifting that pulled the canvas in different directions, until a strange feeling of lost occurred.    In a couple of days the brush found the right paint and without hesitation or debate,  it began the process to unify all the colors with all of the shapes.

Now, it is nearly done, and will be what it is.  Every artwork starts with a quest for perfections that quickly changes to the reality that what is best in an artwork is like what is found to be best in people: the uniqueness of the flaws.

This painting has been finished a number of days ago.  It just happens, the painting is done and the move is quickly made to the next project and final thoughts were not put down.  Even the written journal had little to say about it.  This painting is considered the best of the Christmas projects so far. The slurs where an interesting challenge.  The slurs are the four squiggle brownish objects, that push the artwork across the canvas.  It took time to get them right. This work has a nice balance and flow and the colors work.  As stated before, there was a effort to back the color down, to match the pace of the music.  That is the reason why the slurs are more earthy in color and why the flags on the 8th notes where quieted down with Burnt Sienna and Naples Yellow.

It is amazing how much comparison between the previous work and the current goes on. The previous at first seems much better.  The first effort on a new canvas starts with efforts to incorporate those moves that worked into the next work.  It never works, there are subtle moves with the colors and applying techniques that change everything.  It ends that way, there is no other choice.  The art wants to be the art. There was thinking of not posting this image and saving it for the surprise in the Christmas cards; but not enough people view  this blog to make that surprise, any less.  Also, this image is just a quick shot and the final photography will not be posted to the website until after Christmas.

Scott Von Holzen