Tag: Music

S_V_H The Heart of the Matter image1

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

Heart of the Matter is 30 inches by over 8.5 feet in length.   This is a better size.  The 2 by 6 foot canvases are on the small side.  It is only when you move up in size that you no longer can dominate the canvas.  The rules change as the size increases.

There is little logic to what is the picture above. The beginning process starts with a bad feelings when looking at a blank canvas.  What you see is the results of using  Burnt Sienna and  a tube of Liquitex Quin Red-Orange.  Since Heart of the Matter, is a slower, and a reflective song,  those starting color choices made some sense.  For some strange reason it just did not feel right to use a three inch roller. The speed of  that way of applying paint  just did not fit the mood of this work.  The material choice was a number of dry three inch brushes, with a change from the usual horizontal direction, to short separated vertical strokes. Nothing was planned ahead.  Once the quick verticals started it was decided to keep on going.

Listening to The Boxer – Paul Simon, a favorite towards the end of the college years.

So, where do we go from here?  Well if you need to know, there is a feeling to fill up some of those white areas, but first, maybe, some horizontal lines to see if what effects they will have.  Not sure color, but probably some blues or different  tints of browns?

Listening to The Smashing Pumpkins – 1979  Do not remember 1979, except living and working up in Northern Wisconsin, and at that time, my first attempt at being an artist, was surely, in the early stages of fading from the daily routine.

Joe Williams – That’s All

Wichita Lineman – Gen Campbell  a thoughtful musical piece.

Miles Davis – It’s Only A Paper Moon.

Billie Holiday – If The Moon Turns Green

The Decemberists – o’Valencia!   Nice beat.

Scott Von Holzen

S_V_H More Than You Know Final image

Published on by Scott Von Holzen2 Comments

OK out there, here is the final image of  a great musical standard of the 20th century More Than You Know.  Listening to the Beau Brummels – They’ll Make You Cry.  I believe we use to play that song in the band, a long time ago.   On to Janet Jackson – Nasty,  which also feels good.  The personal preference is to be a nasty boy, but time and common sense has changed all of that. Billy Joel – A Matter Of Trust.

Some words about the words to this artwork, which are Luv you I do I do.  They are this artist interpretation  of the musical phrase, “Loving you the way that I do There’s nothing I can do about it.” The decision to paint a musical piece depends on these major things: How much does the music effect me.  For example can it be played over and over again, throughout the three or four weeks it will take to finish the work, and still sound fresh and meaningful?  Is there a musical phrase part of this music that has great interest and great opportunities to experiment with?  If there is a phrase that might work, and it contains words, can those words be twisted to  then become an expression of this artist.  And last, will the music fit on the available canvases.?  Actually, the first and biggest challenge is to go through the list of must paint music, and then convince all over again just why this music should be painted.  Some times it takes days, and no, no matter how practical it might seem, it is impossible to switch this artist mindset.  In other words, if  the current painting is More, there is no room for any other thoughts concerning the next work, which is now to be Heart.

More is an impressive effort that breaks new ground.  Above you are seeing on the top left the evolution of a musical beam.  On the whole right side you are seeing a a new take on a musical slur. Why should that make a difference?  Both of the examples above, show the slow but consistent effort to not paint boring things.  Certainly,  a curved line is a slur, and a rectangular box is a beam, but this art would have abandon a long time ago if that was all there is.  

Bruce Springsteen – Broke The Mold.  This artist understands all art evolves with repetition, but there is that moment that can separate the wall decoration painter from the born-to-lose artist.  This moment happens any number of times throughout an artwork.  Thanks, to the artwork, that demands to be different, and thanks to this artist is still lucky enough to feel what the work is saying, there is hope that the future will be full of of  swishes to swashes yet to come.

More Than You Know – Erroll Garner – Barbra Streisand – Dave Brubeck – Frank Sinatra – Judy Garland – Thelonious Monk – Dinah Washington – Billie Holiday – Ella Fitzgerald, and this artist’s very very favorite Sara Vaughan.

The third style point  used in this work, that has been mention, are the little abstractions that are the shafts used in five different locations.  At first they where thought of accomplishing something special, but soon those feelings faded away from that when they appeared to be lost in this work.  It was only adding the light green line along their edges did they seem then to pop back.

Platinum Weird – Will You Be Around.

It is the music that maintains this blog and the art.  It is hard to pull away from every night. It means that much.

Mozart – Piano Concerto No.22 III: Rondo.  From here next up is a 3 panel work  from the music of Don Henley entitled The Heart of the Matter.  The words chosen for this music are fitting and sum up the meaning of the music.  Those words are “forgiveness.”  You see if you can figure it out.

Something To Believe In – Poison.

And again Sarah Vaughan – More Than you know that is the finish to this blog post.

Scott Von Holzen

S_V_H More Than You Know image7

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

More Than You Know update while listening to Concerto Grosso in G Minor RV578  VIVALDI!   This is a quick update post to show a change in style in this art’s depiction of a musical slur.  Picture below is a standard musical slur image  (used without permission from Wikimedia):
Listening to The ‘In’ Crowd – Ramsey Lewis.      Now, in this painting, More Than You Know written in 1929 and since then sung by many of the greatest voices, the last two objects that are representing the flow of this music are

……   Jackson Browne – For A Dancer….

the example of this arts evolution.  Yes, much of the whole far right side of this canvas is being dominated by one very disjointed slur with a little Hans Hoffmann in the background to show off, and hold the slur shapes together.  You are not quit seeing a finished image yet, so look for a small tightening of the shapes and colors.  But there is no doubt, in this artist mind, that something good about the way this music and this art are ever changing and in every way coming closer together with each new work.  This is an interesting canvas, that has been has surprised.

Listening to Wild Wild West – Escape Club

Shawn Colvin – I’ll Be Back

Finishing this blog with another Jackson Browne – The Naked Ride Home.

Scott Von Holzen