"Chora" /  by Philip Tarlow

2:33 PM: i started a new 13.5x10.75” collage/gouache this morning and have been working on it ever since. it’s titled chora because it started out inspired by a photo i shot in the ‘80’s of chora, andros, greece. it’s come a very long way and right now is an abstraction inspired by my current favorite artist, the late archile gorky.

it may be resolved…we’ll look at it over at the house and see.

Chora, 13.5x10.75” collage & gouache on bristol paper

"head over heals," day 3 /  by Philip Tarlow

head over heals, 11x17” colored pencil, gouache & pastels on bristol paper

12:15 PM: as mikela accurately pointed out yesterday, the walking central figure needed to POP more. so this morning, after making coffee & smoothie, i went back in. i traced over the figure so that i could cut out a piece of bristol that would follow the contours of the right side of his body. then, before cutting it out i painted it a faded yellow and mounted it next to his body. then, using a black marker i divided it into cubes, indicating that he’s walking on a sidewalk. and finally, i lightened the black to the left side of his body.

much better, but it still needs something, so i think i’ll start something new and return to this one when the time is right.

"HEAD OVER HEALS" day 2 / 2003 drawing /  by Philip Tarlow

3 PM: i did more work on head over heals, 17x11” i may stop here for the day and see where, if anywhere, she chooses to go tomorrow.

head over heals, 11x17” colored pencil & pastels on bristol

2003 drawing of woman with hat, 5.5x7” ink on paper

12:43 PM: i’ve been going through old sketchbooks and came across this 2003 drawing, which stood out form the rest. i didn’t make not of where it was made; probably one of the coffee shops i used to sit in while mikela was leading a session.

day one of "head over heals" /  by Philip Tarlow

12:50 PM: we were both kinda tired when we went to the studio this morning following a long and intensive day of driving to colorado springs yesterday for medical appointments. but i did ramp up around 11 am and started head over heals.

it’s 4pm and i’ve decided to stop looking at facebook because it’s addictive and draws me in, so that i spend valuable time scrolling through. i’ve done this before in the past, so let’s see if this time i can maintain.

head over heals, 11x17” coloredd pencil on bristol paper

"mirror" continued today /  by Philip Tarlow

11:39 AM: the female figure in yesterday’s mirror needed to pop, so i did some more work on it this morning.

at first i used way to much black as well as creating a ridiculous red vagina. (image on left), then i worked into it for a few hours and now she looks like this. the female figure is more like a bust, the black is greatly reduced, and a table with 2 cups of coffee has appeared. i kinda like her now. cool!

a drawing of 2 heads from 2016 / 7/12/26 drawing/collage, 12x14” becomes "BATHING" / /  by Philip Tarlow

11:15 AM: as i was flipping through an old sketchbook i came across this interesting drawing dated 12/10/16. not sure who the subject is.

BATHING, 12X14” colored pencil & collage on bristol paper

9:14 AM: fresh from a good nights sleep, i went back in to the collage/drawing i’ve been working on with a high level of certainty and did what i needed to transform 7/12/26 drawing/collage into BATHING, 12x14” and thus she will remain, taking her place as one of my favorite recent NON figurative small works on paper.

one of my main role models for this series and the direction it’s taking is, obviously, the great armenian-american archile gorky, a survivor of the armenian genocide who died by suicide in 1948. his work, along with pollock, rothko & de Kooning, presaged & exerted a seminal influence on abstract expressionism.

archile gorky in 1936 Ոստանիկ Մանուկ Ատոյեան

7/12/26 drawing/collage 2pm / 9/16/2025 drawing of mikela /  by Philip Tarlow

1:30 PM: i started a new 12x14” vertical drawing/collage on bristol paper this morning. she has some interesting bits, but hasn’t yet coalesced into a coherent composition. i stood behind and to the side of my studio fridge to get a view of her from behind, working on her laptop, with my camera on a tripod in the background, my coffee bean grinder in the foreground. and a jar of colored pencils on the right. it has lots of potential, but still needs work. i’m too tired right now, so i’ll pick it up again in the morning.

stage one of: 7/12/26 drawing/collage, 12x14” collage & colored pencil on bristol paper,

10:01 AM: this morning while rummaging around in the studio i came across this 2025 drawing of mikela at work.

mikela at work, 12.5x9.5” colored pencil on paper

"reep-wat-U-sow" continued /  by Philip Tarlow

reep-wat-U-sow, 12x14” collage, colored pencil and fountain pen on bristol paper

11:47 AM: i’ve been up since 5 am. we arrived at the studio at about 6:10 and took our walk up the trail about 7:15. i spent a few hours making mikela’s coffee and our smoothie and then returned to the collage/drawing i’ve been working on the past few days. collaging is interesting in this context; it allows me to review what i did a day earlier and make major or not so major changes easily. usually it’s a blank piece of paper cut into a curviliniar shape, with or without marks on it; sometimes fountain pen swirls. the artisis who came before me, like gorky, gave me permission to do what i’m doing and know when it’s too easy, too safe, too repetitive, too predictable. when i gaze at what i just did, as i’m now doing, my eye travels across the forms and colors and i either become excited or bored. if the latter happens, of course, it’s back to the drawing board.

guy on scooter, 2025, 13.5×11” collage & colored pencil on paper

if you compare yesterday’s (left) with today’s, a major difference is exclusion of the two female figures, allowing the eye to focus on the marks, colors and composition. that’s the point, really. on the other hand, when there’s a successful integration of both and a figure or figures is included, as you see in this one, with a guy on a scooter, the eye doesn’t go straight to the figure.