Category: 2013

S_V_H Dave Brubeck Blue Rondo á la Turk Finalimage

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

BlueRondoFinal This is the Final Image of Blue Rondo á La Turk. These 8 canvases, that make up this work, contain a piece of the music, that when arranged, as you see in the images above, produce the flow that is Blue Rondo. This sectioning of the music gives me more creative options, enhancing the overall look and emotional impact to a greater extent than canvas based on one look.  Each piece can stand out, but still remain part of an even greater whole.  A universal theme, I do believe.

In the past the look of an artwork was fairly consistent even across multiple canvases.  For examples take a look at Thunder Road, Hallelujah, or Body and Soul, all from 2011.  This trend continued through 2012 with Four Seasons Autumn Allegro, completed in December and  pictured on the main page of the website.  This pieces  look of Blue Rondo first showed up in early march, of this year,  with The Pretender.  That trend showed its strength with 2012 Christmas painting, Let It Snow.

TakeFive

Take a look at the only other Dave Brubeck piece, Take Five,  from March of 2006, and you will see how far this art has changed. What a different 7 years can make.  According to the words of  Robert Frank, a photographer must have both a sense of Purpose and a sense of Passion. I cannot help but think that is the same philosophy that drives every creative person and what pushes this art. Everyday, I interact with people who have purpose but no passion, and regrettable that has become a learned and a reinforced behavior, in today’s disposable work place.

Scott Von Holzen

S_V_H Vivaldi’s Four Seasons – Winter – Allegro image2

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

4SWinterAllegro2

This painting is just under 18 feet (5.48m) in length and is hard to photograph,but the color and the contrast is fairly accurate, even with the uneven photography.

When I listen the music and read the Allegro part of the Vivaldi’s Winter Sonnet:

Now we walk on the ice, with slow steps,
attentive how we walk, for fear of falling

If we move quickly, we slip and fall to earth,
again walking heavily on the ice,
until the ice breaks and dissolves.

We hear through the closed doors
Sirocco, Boreas and all the rushing winds at war –
this winter, but such as brings joy.

I feel that this music and those words speak to those bitterly  cold temperatures and hard numbing winds that we who live in such climates, scurry quickly inside to avoid, and certainly dislike.  Maybe the word “joy” in the Sonnet refers to the relief one feels with the warmth of a fire, a cozy blanket, and shelter from the wind.

Thinking that way, this one work, is going to use a lot of white, grays, and blues that are the look and feel of ice and bitter cold.  Also, I must find a way to depict the raw winds. And finally, to push this artwork, hopefully, I can offset this wintry theme, based on  that one word  joy.   Taking that word, I am thinking I can bring in some bright contrasting colors, to shake up, and lighten the mood of this work, while increasing this artworks overall emotional grasp on the viewer.

That is the thoughts, and we will see if this artwork cooperates.

Scott Von Holzen

S_V_H Dave Brubeck Blue Rondo á la Turk image 2

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

BlueRondo2 What you are seeing is the second image of a painting of two measures from Dave Brubeck’s Blue Rondo á La Turk. The change in style, that shows with this work, clearly works.  These two measures of music were found to fit an artwork around six feet in length. My goal.  This size allows more options to hang Blue Rondo at a different locations at the University.  After choosing the phrase from the music to paint, I than broke that down into pieces finding the right size canvas to fit each.  Next up I  connected those pieces, at an  exact sharing point, to best represent  this musical flow.  What you have now, is a better visual physical representation of those few moments, from this exceptional Jazz piece.

The overall feel of this Jazz piece, I do like.  I cannot help but use a lot of blues and deep greens.  The vertical red bars, which I mention in the video, still bother me, and will need more paint.  I have also done some work on the left beam, seen above as a drawing, but this morning I looked at the results and quickly decided that I had to think of something else.  What happens, with many decisions, is that they just pop into my head. Most of the time the decisions are correct, but sometimes like the effort with the beam, the paint looks bad.  I am looking for a new idea.  Tonight the small goal is the painting in the beams on Blue Rondo. I may then switch over to the Vivaldi work so I can apply what I have learned.

Scott Von Holzen