Keep on Loving You consists  of four canvases about five feet four inches in length.  This is an early 80’s piece of music from REO Speedwagon.  Here is a live video of Keep on Loving you:

Since this is a 80’s music I thought I would start this work using a  pallet from that time.  When I think of the eighties colors like Mauve, Seaform green, Plum, Harvest gold, and Cerulean blue, pop up after doing a little research.  You are going to see similar those colors along with other tints and shades of that 80’s look as this work progresses.  Keep on Loving you will not end with a totally nostalgic look, for I am kind-of a color wanderer when needed, and I think I  will find ways to give this artwork a modern appearance.  These tweaks in color happen because I like to contrast colors and objects.

Scott Von Holzen

The Pretender 20 inches by 5 feet (1.524m) with three add on canvases.  The colors are appearing a little on the bright side on my monitor, so there is still some work to be done, to offer a realistic representation.

This week and more, have been filled with interruptions and other obligations, but no matter,  the time that is spent with this work have produced, small, but productive efforts.

The song and the words of The Pretender are soft and reflective, while still maintaining a rock beat.  This is a constant reminder when it comes to color choices.  It is important to maintain the mood of  this music, so that is why the blues and darker purples are there. The splashes of bright color add musical and artist contrasts, because, in many ways, this is an upbeat song:  it is the excepting of one’s own fate, and then getting on with it.

Musical slurs are a part of this painting. You see a lot of them on the lower right added canvas.  They have been evolving, in style, a lot this last year.  The  issue with slurs has always been how to make them stand out. That is where the different colored boxes help to do.  The boxes eliminated the need to work with the painting’s background color.

Now, after doing a number of canvases, with this  slur -in-box style, there has been some questioning. Going back to Van Gogh, again, and looking at a number of his olive tree paintings from 1889, the wonder is could Van Gogh’s late style be worked into these slurs, to open up the look?  Hum?

Hopefully this artwork will be done this week, which would be about a month spent.  That time spent is to long for a work of this size.  But, since finished works are display only a few months and then stored away, it may be time that is do to it.

Scott Von Holzen

The Pretender the music of Jackson Browne.  Why, are there not more colors.  Sure there are a lots of reds, yellows, blues greens, and some mixture of them all, but at times, they all appear, in their groups, to be much the same no matter what names they are given.  I need more colors.  It feels limited that there are only three primary colors red, yellow, and blue. I could use a forth.  Until then I have been mixing combos like Diarylide Yellow and Indian Yellow Hue, or Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold and Quinacridone Magenta, just looking for something different, that works.

Listening to Love Shack – The B-52’s

Not caring about those splotches of blue on the shafts.  When that happens, and it happens without notice, something is going to have to be done to make them work with the painting.  Everything evolves, and what looked decent at first can, like now, lose its appeal as other shapes and colors come forward. At times colors are tired, and then over painted, when they fail to work.  It is all very subjective: a quick look and the answer is clearly, yes or no.  There is rarely the feeling of that will have to do, except at the end.  When it is over, and time to move on, then good enough, is just that, good enough.

An artwork grows from nothing to something. It is that something that holds, at first all the big dreams and expectations of the artist.  And then, reality finally sets in hard after a few weeks, and the artist accepts what the painting always did know: time is not unlimited, but life is, and whatever that final something is is all that can be expected.  Time to move on.

Seal – Kiss From a Rose

There has been a lot of distractions interfering and limiting art time, this week. But out of all the interference and idea has developed to finally market this art. When this work is completed, that next new project, large in scope could change everything, and could span a couple of years.  We shall see.

Listening to Vivaldi – Opus 3 no2 in G minor -L’estro Armonico

Scott Von Holzen

The Pretender 4 panels with main panel 20 inches (51cm) by 5 feet (152 cm). The color is off with the far left lower panel, which should be more golden than orange.  I will work on the photography.  There is a lot to learn for with these odd shaped works it is more difficult to get the perspective corrected.  Matching colors is always hard, but this usually improves with the updates.  Obviously, it is important that the viewer is seeing what the artist sees, and this means being carefully, and honest, when working with these images in Photoshop.

The three panels where chosen and placed to better display the flow of this music.  Adding them actually solves a problem that has existed since this art was started: finding the right size canvas to  fit the music chosen.

There has always been a limited number of canvas sizes to chose from.  Because of that, it became the common practice to drill holes in the sides, and connect multiple canvases together with bolts, so that the music would fit.   It is only lately, starting with the Mozart work, that the idea of placing canvases on top of others, just seemed the right thing to do.  This artist has in the past enjoy the creation of a couple of sculptures, made out of wood, so this, in a small way, will satisfy that desire, for now, while opening multiple doors.  The fun is just starting.

Listening to Coldplay – Moses

This size work was also chosen to offer flexibility in design and options, and to lower the cost of painting things over, if change is required.  A smaller work does lower the invested time, and can better maintain the momentum and pace for the learning and creative process to be put to canvas.  Once, the basics of multiple canvases is understood, that includes how they are carefully mounted,  it will be back to the big boys.

The Band – Up On Cripple Creek

Next up, is do more color work with the smaller three canvases, and then draw in the rest of the music flow that they will cover.  After that, my notes will  be given a color and that will decide what color options the body of the music will have.

Laura Nyro – Blowin’Away/Wedding Bell Blues.  She was a early favorite artist of a naive third year college student, staying in his first dorm room, on a big time campus.

Scott Von Holzen