Tag: Music

S_V_H Time to Say Goodbye image1

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

Time to Say Goodbye is a European pop  song sung by the Italian operatic singer Andrea Bocelli, made even more popular when he paired with Sarah Brightman, an English classical crossover soprano (Wikipedia).

 

I found this music, almost randomly.  I have maintained a list of odds and ends  songs that I think I might want to paint.  At times I refer to that list when I have finish a project, to see if anything interests me.  Rarely, do I choose from it, but looking for a smaller project, this music stood out.

I made this artwork more complicated by not framing out the music in aluminum or canvas.  That lead to a lot of  experimenting with pieces of wood and aluminum to find a way to  support the music on each end.  It would have been easier if both ends, like all by earlier works of this nature, where framed with canvas.  Instead, I took on the challenge to design a different support system for the music. What I have works, but I know I can do better.  I also confirmed that Tacky Glue, my standard, works well enough for bonding pieces of aluminum and wood.

The  dominant colors used in this painting come from the artists in the video.   This is a color technique I use often for it works wonderful to connect the music to the artist, or a performance through video or pictures. Black and white where obvious choices. My choice was to use shades of rose, to emphasize the strong influence and performance of Sarah Brightman.

Scott Von Holzen

S_V_H Like a Rock final image

Published on by Scott Von Holzen
Like A Rock three canvas, 19 inches x 34 inches in length, with aluminum and wood features.

This artwork for the music Like a Rock will catch the eye of the aware viewer with the words, “I Believed My Dreams.” I choose those words knowing their meaning would be varied and unpredictable.  I chose those words to take this artwork beyond the music.  I chose those words because I dream.

By the time I get to the final image of any of these artworks, I have lost my emotions and words for the artwork.  Except that when I turn away from the computer and look across the room, I do say that it surprises me. I never expected this music to turn into an artwork this good.  I like the browns and blacks for they fit Bob Seger.  I like the words for they take this artwork to another level.  And I like this artwork, because it builds from the past but does not imitate what has come before.

Other than that, I am moving on to once again paint some Italian music, but not Vivaldi. This time the music is Operatic Pop with a cover by my favorite Disco Queen, the fabulous Donna Summer.

Scott Von Holzen

S_V_H Like A Rock image 3

Published on by Scott Von Holzen

Like a Rock partial  Lyrics:

“I was eighteen
Didn’t have a care
Working for peanuts
Not a dime to spare
But I was lean and
Solid everywhere
Like a rock……

And I stood arrow straight
Unencumbered by the weight
Of all these hustlers and their schemes
I stood proud, I stood tall
High above it all
I still believed in my dreams

Twenty years now
Where’d they go?
Twenty years
I don’t know
Sit and I wonder sometimes
Where they’ve gone……

Like a rock, the sun upon my skin
Like a rock, hard against the wind
Like a rock, I see myself again
Like a rock”

This artwork has developed  its own look, and offering these innovations:

I rounded the ends of my ledger lines, square ends before, and allowed them to dominate the notes. Before these lines where either connected to or behind my notes.  Also,  I positioned my blue flat incidental to enhance the look of the artwork not because of the music.

In sheet music each group of musical notes has its own beam, but for my music I connected two groups of my music with one long beam.  I than added some stripping in groups of five like the five lines of a musical staff.

Over the years of painting eighth and sixteen notes I have tried dozens of different looks. With this artwork I have created one of my better looks for my own 16th note.  Very Art Deco.

Although,  I may not be done with this half dome tie, not done before, my blue Tie here sits on top of my notes

I placed this rhythm dot, again where it works with the artwork, and not with the music.

Of course my original idea, that I woke to in late 2005, was to some how paint music using sheet music. From its beginning I kept some aspects of sheet music in my artwork to make it work.  I also knew than that I did not want to just paint sheet music, nor did I want to create an abstract splish splash,  and call it music. Instead I decided to paint music that connects.

To that end I want my best works to relive that lost trill of removing the cellophane from a new CD or Album, placing it on the spindle, and for the first time to actually hear music, only listened too before,  through speakers bigger than a toaster.

I want Like a Rock to be part of that goal of connection. I want to stand between the music and the artwork,  in the sweet spot of sight and sound,  cellophane toss aside.  I want it personal.

Scott Von Holzen