Category: Modern

Thunder Road.  What is it about this music?  At least once a night, and more like two, three times, the ten versions of this song are played, and played, and played.  There is enough variety in tempos, mood and styles of this music done by Bruce Springsteen, that holds the interest.

The drawings in white are the first drafts of the design of the eighth notes. The only thought, that  happened to come to mind while going for a walk, was to use different colors of different blues, and see if that can pop those notes.  Decisions are quick and decisive, without ever any lingering doubts, so we will see quickly if the blues are keepers. Another thought is,  like Hallelujah,  to keep the use of  green to the ties, that have not been drawn in yet. .

Right now it is hard to write anything: the work week was long and demanding, and switching directions is  rough, and at this moment the artist is just plan tired.  The second wind, physically and mentally,will come later into the evening, and the painting will probably go to about eleven pm.  This important work needs a complete effort, and surprisingly the mood will soon shift and the passion will return, and the dream will push forward, and the paint will flow, and the right efforts will finally present themselves and Bruce will be singing “…it’s a town full of losers. I’m pulling out of here to win,” and then it will, once again, all make sense.

Scott Von Holzen

Scott Von Holzen

Thunder Road 36 inches by 9 feet.  This is the first draft for the music flow.  It took some time to fit in the 19 ovals needed to represent this important pop song.  Not sure a hundred years from now that anyone will know this music. It is important music of this artist time, and the future, hopefully, will have this artwork.  Then in the years ahead the true art and music lovers will seek out, and if lucky find this small section, from that great music. Then they too will understand, and will remember, and just hopefully they will tell their grand children the secret .

Scott Von Holzen

Thunder Road 3 panel 36 inches by nine feet.  This base is near finished. It has been a struggle working with brown as the general direction of this theme.  As can be seen, what started as a chance to work with a group of colors, that have been sparingly used in the past, have  over the last few days, been painted over. In time maybe the skill to work similar colors together will develop, but this just is not that time.

The color range brown was chosen because this song, and its lyrics are gritty, dirty, rough, harsh, unforgiving, hopeful, sad, encouraging, and basic rock and roll. The surprise was that Burnt Umber and Transparent Brown Iron Oxide turned out to be the best of the browns in the acrylics. The disappointments where Burnt Sienna, and Van Dyke Brown Hue, too green.  The Van Dyke was purchased purposefully for this project, and the acrylic Sienna just is a weak color compared to the Windsor & Newton water based oil.  The thinking is that the oil Burnt Sienna will be used later with the notes and that could help push this works color theme back towards the browns.

There is a realization that development of this artist skills improves, incrementally with each new work. Some sharper shifts at times do occur.  Recent examples are found, for instance with the Birthday Painting from this last year, or I Call Your Name, completed last January.  With Thunder  a  small style technique,  that is missing from Hallelujah, is seen in the bands of different colors across the top.  This change could have a big effect on future works.  Funny, it probably does not look like much, but it takes a lot to put together each of these work together, and what has worked in the past, gets the first chance.   Art takes time to develop and this artist is hoping that time will be generous.

Scott Von Holzen