Category: country

S_V_H Wichita Lineman first image

Published on by Scott Von Holzen
Wichita Lineman 40 inches main canvas.

I could be wrong, but I doubt many people under 30 years ever heard of this song or Glen Campbell. Of course I knew of it and have liked this song to this day. Although my first contacts with music was country (think Hank Williams) my first genuine connection to music was folk music. As a pre-teen I was more into pop songs I liked (Speedy Gonzales by Pat Boone). Even in college, my music tastes remained on the conservative side. I remember then ( as I still am now) being all in on The Beatles, but turned away from Led Zeppelin. I believe in my last year or so of college, in Madison, I finally began appreciating the rock music of Jimi Hendrix, Cream (I bought the album Wheels of Fire), and The Who, for examples. Of course in my later college years I also began developing a feeling for classical and a passion for the Blues.

Wikipedia chart (1968-1969) for Wichita Lineman

Here are two videos of Glen Campbell singing live Wichita Lineman. I chose my base colors (Red Oxide, Silver, and Cobalt Blue) used in this music box from these two videos.

This live performance was from The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour
Here is a 2008 live later version by Glen Campbell.

When I looked for Wichita Lineman on YouTube, I came across an opinion video by Rick Beato, who currently has over 4 million subscribers, including myself. That video confirmed my choice to use this music for another mini artwork.

Later I found this interview of Jim Web who wrote Wichita Lineman
James Taylor cover of Wichita Lineman. I dated this video around 2021
Rolling Stone500 greatest songs of all time (actually from the 1940s to the two-thousands)

Jolene, by Dolly Parton at number 63 is the only song that I thought for sure was country music, that ranked higher. I believe these two should change places on Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs.

As a note to myself, this is the fifth in the series of mini artworks. They are all, for convenience’s sake, based on the same basic model. Well, I am getting bored with this repeating process. I am going to stay small, but I need a fresh approach to creating/building these small works (within the reasoning and parameters I set for these mini works).

Scott Von Holzen

S_V_H Will the Circle be Unbroken Final image

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

Will the Circle Be Unbroken 56.5L x 54H x 4D inches

 

Here is my YouTube Channel review of Will the Circle Be Unbroken:

What I did not mention in the YouTube video was that The Carter Family’s lyrics still sung today, tell the story of the loss of their Mother.

“I was standing by the window
On one cold and cloudy day
And I saw the hearse come rolling
For to carry my mother away

Lord, I told the undertaker
Undertaker please drive slow
For this lady you are carrying
Lord, I hate to see her go

Oh, I followed close behind her
Tried to hold up and be brave
But I could not hide my sorrow
When they laid her in the grave

Will the Circle Be Unbroken
Bye and bye Lord, bye and bye
There’s a better home awaiting
In the sky Lord, in the sky”

-The Carter Family

Reading those words I cannot help but remember my own Mother that passed away many years ago.  We three boys knew her as Namie, a name she chose because she did not want to be called Grandma.  Her mother Ann’s nickname was Namie.  We shorted the name to Nam.  She was a strong woman that did not “mince” her words.  Still, many times I saw that strength dissipate into frustration saying that nobody listened to her.  I think we three boys did, but my Mother grew up in a time when Men were in charge.  My Dad made the money and the rules.  Two little memories of my Mom that I will always remember (there are plenty more) is that she told me numerous times that I would “lose my head if it wasn’t attached.”   That is true to this day.  Even more important, was this advice from her “don’t cut yourself short.”  I live those words in this art, also, to this day.

Scott Von Holzen

 

S_V_H Will the Circle be Unbroken image 3

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

The current size of this artwork is 57 inches by 53 inches in width.  To travel with this artwork, the bottom section needed to be removable to fit inside the usable 42-inch width of the Toyota Rav.   That meant I also needed to remove the two connected canvases which cross all three sections of the artwork.  I first attached to the top and bottom front of the canvases  L-shaped aluminum strips.  The distance between them was enough for the artwork to fit in between.  I then drilled through the upright aluminum and artwork’s wooden frame to connect the artwork together with screws and wing nuts.

I was concern although 2019 with balancing the space between the art.  Early on I realized that the shadows created by the artwork features were not enough to fill the space.  That is when I started to add small pieces of canvas images between the gaps in the artworks.  The larger size and placement of the two canvases may be the better direction to explore.

The canvases purpose was to balance the negative space (that which is not part of the subject. I first called it empty space), and to add depth, and not to add contrast or interest.   The canvases are not original in style or design.  They are more like Walmart art.  I prepared them by layering multiple satin glazes using the same colors in the artwork.  The final gazes are of Iridescent Pearl.   My preference was that the canvases blend with the artwork and the off-white background support.   Although, there is separation.  The artwork has a matte finish while the canvases have a shiny satin look.

Finally,  it would be good to reduce my large stock of canvases.  I have probably thirty different sizes of canvases that have remained squirreled away since I finished the Vivaldi The Four Seasons series in early 2015.

Left to do is adding the words.

Will the Circle Be Unbroken with Johnny Cash, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and many others:

Scott Von Holzen