See Important Message bottom of this entry.

 

 

 

Background Image 1 July 4th. This painting is the twelve in this series Vivaldi The Four Seasons.  It consists of five canvas panels.  The total length of this artwork is fourteen feet by three feet in height.  In this background I tried to show the colors of spring where I live.  Since Spring, again, was short, and lack the emotions I use to attach to Spring when I was younger. Now, when I think of Spring I think of April and May as our two best months where storms can easily become tornado warning.  In many emotions I dread Spring.  This year what there was of spring came late.  I thought way late and to me Spring was an afterthought. But when it did come I saw it in the blossoms of the crab apple trees, the smell of lilac bushes, of few rhododendrons, and if you travel into the country side plenty of Golden Rod.  That is it for Spring.  And some of those colors, Purple, Rose, Pink, Violet, and Yellow, are what you see above.

 

 

Background image. July 13th. Here you can see the results of my struggles to find a more pleasant look to this background. The colors in image 1 seem rough, harsh, and not working together.  That could not totally be resolved in this version, but it is better.  I specially like the wide blue center strip with the dark and light areas of those narrow strips giving a lot of depth and almost a sparkle to the work. I can see more of this random stripping, letting previously colors show through, can give a work interest and impact.

I spent a lot of time working on this background trying to its entire look that is eye-catching and that adds drama. This background at the point of it being finished, minus the music you now see, completely dominates this artwork. Now that is where the music comes in.  When I decide what the music is going to look like I do so thinking about how I can counter the background. I did this to change the focus of the painting. And this continues, in many areas, of  this artwork. Each new addition make it own statement in color and contrast to that around it.  This painting will tell the story of how each shape has interacted with all the other shapes. When finished  you will see that all these unique additions in color and shapes, have all evolved to become a logical part of the artwork. It all will connect not only with itself, but hopefully in the mind of the viewer.

 

Attention: 

I will paint this years Birthday Artwork  all in one day,  Thursday July 31st. You will be able to bid on the art through an online EBAY auction.

Plenty of details to come on your chance to own an original Von Holzen Birthday painting at an amazing discount up to 60%.

Scott Von Holzen

 

This Vivaldi has taken forever. And the enlarged image does little to portray the power and chill that this work sends through the viewer. You will have to see it up close to know its cold feel. But few of you will, and for now,  that is just the way it is.  I can say if you check out the other 10 Vivaldi’s at my Vivaldi page that this is one unique artwork.  It was better when I worked on this painting in mid February, but lucky for me now, the ‘chill’ is already in this work.  For It was in February that I switch my efforts to complete three commission works. Now, I am somewhat back, for I am also working on another client artwork, that has no hard timeline. I will have enough hours for this Four Seasons piece over the next couple of weeks, to finish it before June.  I need to finish for standing in line are the last two Vivaldi’s: the first movement of Spring, and the Storm that is Summer.  The timing for starting the Spring Vivaldi is already past, but in reality spring around here was nothing. It was bland, boring, and dull. For the most part the feeling of Spring was nonexistent, with most days being a back-en-forth between late Winter and early summer. What this means is that I will have accumulated little inspiration for my Vivaldi Spring based on the weather. Of course, that is not true with this Winter Vivaldi. It was a long, cold, bitter, uncomfortable winter, and it clearly shows in this work. If you are ever lucky enough to view this seventeen foot work in person, you will know and feel winter.

Scott Von Holzen