Category: Classic Rock

S_V_H I Will 2nd Image

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

I Will the second image of the artwork shows good progress,  considering the times we are in.  I suppose that is not such a bad thing.  Except that the threat from COVID-19, being over seventy in age, has hampered my concentration.  Yesterday was a good day, as my focus shifted back to this art.  Still, my concerns, along with those who except the truth, is the coming danger in the next weeks.  It will remind us all how fragile is life.  That means, for me, my life is in the studio where this art, my piano, music, and books will be my busy support, along with walks with my doggy, Zelda.  That also means my wife and other family members will interact more so with others, to keep this home feeling as normal as possible.  Although all families will soon confront the unknown, for now we want our lives to remain as normal as possible. The Family is the first line of defense, no matter the crisis.

This wonderful small sized artwork is resulting in a busy-looking artwork, with smaller open areas.   Since Over the Rainbow in early 2019, I have focused on reducing the spacing in my artworks. This artwork may be the height of that trend.  The companion artwork for I Will, that I have been slow to work on, will not follow the direction of this first example.

Next up I want to repaint the music.  For some stupid reason, I spent my valuable time in a wasted effort to paint detail.  I displayed this issue in the close-up images of the music in the last blog post. Enough of that silliness.  I am not a detail artist. That runs up against one of my basic philosophies.  Although I am amazed by those who can realistically draw, personally I can accomplish the same results with a good photograph.  That thinking has defined this art throughout its development. My detail is in the artwork’s structure, where color is a tool not an end all. That is it.  I measure my artistic skill in millimeters.

For this artwork, I going to take this boring image two, and introduce a little color, to cover up all that silly detail.  Color to accent, or complement the structure and the voice of the music,  ain’t that special.

Scott Von Holzen

S_V_H I Will first Image

Published on by Scott Von Holzen1 Comment

This is I Will the first image.  I put all the pieces for this music on the floor in a rough arrangement.  This will be a rare, tiny artwork. I am guessing over 32 inches by 22 inches in height.  It needed to be small, for it is an artwork already promised, and it will need to travel to its home to be.

Here is a closeup of the decoration I attempted with the music.  I am not really a detail style of artist, so I am not sure this look works for me, and this may change.

 

Back on my tables, I will glue down the music to the background.  The starting date on my worksheet is March 4th.  The progress of this artwork is especially good because I am creating two similar works of this music.  The first one you are now seeing.  The second artwork of I Will, will be more experimental, and its progress has not kept pace with this first example. That is what I expected.  I already know the difficulties I have working on two projects at once.

Here is a nice acoustic version of the song, I Will,  sung by Paul McCartney:

Here all the lyrics from I Will.  I am building this artwork around the enlarged lyrics.

“Who knows how long I’ve loved you
You know I love you still
Will I wait a lonely lifetime
If you want me to, I will
For if I ever saw you
I didn’t catch your name
But it never really mattered
I will always feel the same
Love you forever and forever
Love you with all my heart
Love you whenever we’re together
Love you when we’re apart
And when at last I find you
Your song will fill the air
Sing it loud so I can hear you
Make it easy to be near you
For the things you do endear you to me
You know I will
I will”  – Paul McCartney
Interestingly, as I was writing this post, I played the video of Paul McCartney singing,  I will.   Forgetting to close the YouTube page, unexpectantly on YouTube, Paul McCartney sang another acoustic version of his music.  This time the song was Blackbird.  I painted the music Blackbird in early 2012.  Here is that artwork:
I like this artwork a lot.  It hung in my last studio over my computer desk.  “I was so much more painterly back then, I younger than that now.”
Scott Von Holzen

S_V_H Walking in Memphis image 1

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

Walking in Memphis first image shows the prep so far for this sculpture.  My work sheet has a start date of July 16th.   Since then I have spent much of my mornings, afternoons, and evenings cutting, sanding, and painting pieces of wood.  Now the fun part, putting the artwork together.

I have always liked this song.  One connection to this music is that I visited Memphis around the early nineties and toured Elvis’s home and the grounds.  My remembrances are that the house was not ‘big’ for a mansion, and I could not go up the long stairs to the bathroom where he died.  It shocked me to look at the Google Street view of Graceland today.  It now looks like a theme park.  During my visit I don’t recall many other visitors being there.  I remember walking through the gates and into the house, no guide, and then wandered the other buildings and his grave.  The house with its unique theme rooms are still the coolest part.

After choosing this song I spent days doing research.  I read up on Beale Street and searched for images both new and old.  The past pictures I found several copyright free images.  As for current images, because of the neon everywhere, finding night pictures was difficult.  Most of the Beale Street images I found had copyright requirements for their use.   After more exhausting search, I found three free use images by Heidi Kaden only asking, if you wish, this photography credit:  Photo by Heidi Kaden on Unsplash.   I looked at Beale Street using Google Street view.  It is almost being there without worry about parking.  Beale Street was where the Memphis Blues style developed with the help of great musicians like Louis Armstrong, Muddy Waters, Albert King, B. B. King and other blues and jazz legends (Wikipedia).   To my surprise, they performed on a short two block stretch of blues clubs from 4th to 2nd street.

Here is the music of Marc Cohen who sings and wrote the 1991 song Walking in Memphis:

 

Coming up more ideas on the many ways I will connect this artwork with the music, and the street.

Scott Von Holzen