1/8/20 gouache/collage 20.25 x 8.5” on arches paper
1:10 PM: I arrived at my studio early today & was able to make another in this current series of gouache/collages. each successive one benefits from discoveries I made in the previous ones. and, looking back at older gouache/collages from a year or two ago, my feel for negative space has evolved dramatically. on our walks up to the stupa every other day, I observe how the layer of snow at the creek has created elegantly curved areas of white that interact with the exposed rocks, branches & water in a similar way to what you see here in todays piece.
i’ve been cutting out rock shapes re-purposing old paper palettes used years ago for oil paintings. they provide textures & colors otherwise impossible to create. matisse, always my idol, beautifully illustrated how to keep refining, simplifying and how less can be more.
ultimately, as he often noted, you develop a language of forms that allow you to play at a very high level. so that nothing is extraneous; all is essential.
it’s been a very long road, from the byzantine palette I developed during my 15 years in greece, to this brighter, more joyful palette. I feel that, in many ways, i’m just now finding my voice.
the rocks that were so much a part of my summers at camp in the berkshire hills (read about it here: https://www.philiptarlow.com/chatty-bio) now play a leading role in my imagery.
BELOW: top left: example of the negative spaces created by the snow, observed & photographed on our stupa walk yesterday. top right: example of a gouache collage from this past july. it’s an example of how, in earlier work, the composition has far less white space.
row 2: details of todays gouache/collage, where you can clearly see the rock shapes cut out of an old paper palette, which I discuss above.
