Tag: Music Box

S_V_H 1st image All too Well

Published on by Scott Von Holzen
YouTube Video Taylor Swift – All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)(Lyric Video)
This is a working draft of the music. I can then create the artwork’s music feature. I am also assured that the cover music length will be close to the 1:30 maximum I set for larger or more important projects.

I am a Taylor Swift fan. How do I know for sure? I found that answer in the number of her songs that are in my Spotify Liked Songs list that reaches to 2,472. A surprising 29 songs on this list are by Taylor Swift. In contrast, I have 44 songs by Bruce Springsteen. That makes sense. I grew up hearing his music on the radio. Billie Holiday, another long-time favorite, and a close woman second to Taylor at 25. I have 9 Mozart songs and 10 Beethoven songs in my Like Songs. My classical favorite since the beginning of this art, Antonio Vivaldi, has 28 songs in my Like Songs.

All too Well 40Hx30WxD6.75 inches

I know it is hard to grasp, but this first image colors for All Too Well all came from the video. To explain, watching the video, I saw the colors in the changing seasons. That gave me my color direction. This project will comprise different shades of blue, green, brown, and white. This video, like many I have used in the past, is helpful in giving me direction and, at times, insight into the artist’s thinking and their taste for colors.

Scott Von Holzen

S_V_H Final Image Everything I Do

Published on by Scott Von Holzen
Everything I Do ≈ H46 x L30.5 x D9.5 inches

The artwork, Everything I do, is an example in a long line of breakthrough projects that have changed the look, the style, and the direction of this art. I have four reasons for this style shift. First is simple: I was tired of the current direction. I took another new look at Mark Rothko. Using only one standard size canvas for transport makes it easier to pack into our car. Finally, having the ability to place three rows of music on a single 40 x 30 inch canvas looks much better than I thought it would.

When I look at this artwork, I see the familiar vertical standard appearance of art. It seems less aggressive to me and it does not go every which way, maybe making it a little easier for the viewer to grasp. My one minor concern is because of the height of these artworks and their depth nearing 10 inches, storage is going to need a reshuffling of my limited storage space. And this change, like all the previous moves this art has made, may not be the one that changes the circle of life of these artworks.

Each project starts with finding a song. Then I create a rough cut of the cover music. Next comes the build and painting followed by creating of the final soundtrack. Then there is the dating, signing, and the recording of a final thoughts video. There may be, but more so, maybe not a public showing. No matter, there will not be any feedback. In the Studio it will remain for a few months for reference. Then I will put it in storage. Repeat. But I do not fault this path. It makes for a work routine and keeps me moving this art ahead. To counter this reality, I actually received a pleasant surprise.

I received a comment (it feels honest) on my YouTube channel. But first I will mention that for this art to receive any comments is rare, and only slightly rarer than comments from those who know of this art. What makes this comment on this art worth mentioning is that considering the last 18 plus years, I have never had a spoken or written comment that has gone much beyond one sentence, or much beyond my collection of rejection letters. It was November 10, 2024 when this message show up in my email.

“I am a violinist and had to prepare a presentation about Vivaldi`s Four seasons. I just can not believe the time and the effort that you put in these paintings. I have no words to say, other than how amazing these paintings were and understanding music in such a way is like a blessing. I am so sorry for the amount of followers you got. Nowadays people unfortunately do not understand the value of these things. But since I came across your page, I will tell all my students to watch your videos and learn some perspective through your amazing artworks! Thank you for not giving up on music, all of your works are so rare and valuable!!” ________YouTube

Here is the rest of the story of Everything I do:

The cover music for the music box: Everything I Do.

I should only post a 30 second snippet of the cover music like on my website, but this blog exists to preserve this journey, and the music plays a major part in this story.

Scott Von Holzen

S_V_H Everything I do first image

Published on by Scott Von Holzen
Everything I do next to the previous project,The Scientist

Everything I do, the music box artwork pictured above, displays a new design direction for this art. This change came about from looking back at how the artist Mark Rothko handled color. I have a large and expensive book of Mark Rothko works on canvas. Picture below, on the right, is the 2nd to last image from that book. I believe it is this image that also inspired the backgrounds of the great artwork’s Hallelujah and Thunder road. Both hang in the studio, pictured below.

Besides taking another look at Rothko’s use of color, I also turned my canvas to match his vertical style. It turned out to be a simple move from a horizontal look to a vertical look. I will arrange the music in three sections across the canvas, from the top left to the bottom right.

The image I like is on the right. One of Mark Rothko‘s last paintings.
Everything I do earlier image side view.

I like the idea of wall mounted artworks extending out from the wall as if reaching out to the viewer. This one canvas turns out to be over 6 inches out from that wall. There is a reason for this.

Typically, I mount the speakers in the canvases, which projects the sound from out the back, bouncing off the wall. I hear the stereo effects in larger works, but with smaller artworks, the speakers are close together, and although the music is fine, the stereo separation suffers. This artwork is 30 inches wide and too narrow to accommodate a decent stereo sound. That is why I mounted the speakers on the sides of that canvas. This pushes the sound out in two different directions, a separation of 180 degrees. I expect to experience a larger stereo soundstage (definition). Of course by accommodating side mounted 5×7 inches speakers, I also gave myself a practical reason for extending the canvas further out from the wall.

Artist’s Studio wall hanging of the brown colored Thunder Road 2011 next to the blue Hallelujah 2011.

I wanted to do an update version of the Rothko painting I found in his book. That is why I choose a 30 by 40 inches canvas. And I really wanted to go with his horizontal rectangles in a new way but comparable to what I did in the early years, for example, Canon In D from 2009. But after some attempts to update Rothko’s idea, I thought what I was trying to accomplish failed. Wisely, for this project, I went with a mix of blues for this work and will attempt a Rothko update another time.

Bryan Adams – (Everything I Do) I Do It For You, Live At The Royal Albert Hall

I never was a Brian Adams fan, but this music is one of his best, with its exceptional arrangement, strong lyrics and a good melody.

Scott Von Holzen