a change is coming /  by Philip Tarlow

3:29 PM: grey 12 at the end of my painting day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2:16 PM: grey 12 as it looked about 20 minutes ago. i'm drawing from a small detail of a painting by goya. this will be the first time in this grey series of paintings that goya is my inspiration. as you might imagine, i get an entirely different feeling from him than i did from vermeer. blazing; impassioned; fiery. this is kind of an odd way to begin, but i felt like challenging myself with this image, which is drawn from such a tiny detail of a much larger painting, that it tips into abstraction. very few reference points to go by in the real world. we'll see where it goes from here.

i just now realized that, unconsciously, i have continued the hat theme begun in vermeer's the girl with the red hat.

 

 

12:46 PM: painting over grey 12, introducing a new image.

 

 

 

 

 

11:16 AM: grey 12 post-scrumble. always tempting to leave it this way. in person, it's quite compelling, and could keep your eye and your consciousness busy for quite a while. maybe i'll start one on a 32x32" canvas that's stretched & ready to go, while i gaze at this one and see how i feel.

10:44 AM: following a scrumble of grey 12, a new image will emerge shortly. stay tuned!

 

7:32 AM: ever since last night, i've been feeling restless. i feel a change coming in the grey series, but i can't yet tell you what it might look like. one thing is certain: the girl in the red hat is history. i no longer feel the juice for that painting. so my first act when i get to the studio may be to obliterate the image. more than that, i can't really say right now.

on the right: a detail of a painting by goya that interests me.

deciding whether grey 20 needs more work; starting a new one /  by Philip Tarlow

3:48 PM: i painted over the previous version of grey 12, which i was not happy with. actually, it may be i'm not thrilled with the face of vermeer"s the girl with the red hat. i may shift gears totally tomorrow. i can't think streight right now, because i have intestinal tuurus. so i'm just going to rest, and see how i feel in the morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 PM: after going back to the house and lying down for 1/2 hour with mikela, i returned to the studio, looked at what i had done & decided i didn't like it at all. right now it's on the cement floor under the big ceiling fan, drying, to prevent too much dripping. i thought it was too easy of a solution, and there was too much vermeer, not enough tarlow. nothing will be resolved today, but i don't regret what i've done. increasingly, i demand that each of these grey series paintings go deeper in discovering their identity. i have yet to trash one, but that could happen.

1 PM: i made some more revisions to grey 12, mainly to the girl's right eye and to the areas to the right & left of the figure, which were competing for attention with the face. I think it's improved, but i'll have to carry it to the house for the acid test. i'm working up the courage to contact the gallery in germany i have an introduction to. i really want to show the grey series in germany! i have no idea why, but i have a lot of certainty about that.

 

 

 

10:33 AM: i'm re-stretching grey 12 to hang in the house and casting furtive glances at grey 20 to determine if it needs more work. it's a bit too bright and flashy for my taste, but i'll sit with it while i prepare a new canvas.

on the right, a detail of grey 20, which i just re-stretched & hung in the living room.

i've just decided to go back into grey 12 and make some important adjustments. pics when available.

grey 20 resolved & inspiring revisions to others in the series /  by Philip Tarlow

3:52 PM: here's the revised grey 11 at the end of my painting day. significantly different from the previous version, i think. i'll know better in the morning. i think, based upon today's escapade, that action painting was a better name for abstract expressionism. more later; preparing to clean up & walk up the creek.

 

 

 

 

 

1:25 PM: this is the first round of revisions to grey 11. it's already looking more interesting, and has clearly benefitted from all that i learned doing the marathon 12 iterations of grey 20, which i just resolved yesterday. it takes a while to evolve a new way of working. when you look back, you see how all the others could become more interesting, more vibrant and how the space could be broken up in ways that lead the eye towards creating it's own integration of space, rather than passively accepting a representational meme.

 

 

 

10:26 AM: grey 11, which i'll begin revisions on today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7:13 AM: grey 20 has passed the gaze test, having been on our north living room wall overnight. so today it's going back to my studio, where it will be removed from it's wood backed stretcher bar and re-stretched. it's presence in the house has highlighted weaknesses in some of the other grey series paintings, which i'll start revising, starting with grey 12, inspired by the girl with the red hat. at the same time, i'll be starting a new one, 32x32." on the right, grey 20 leaning against the railing, about to be brought over to the studio for re-stretching after passing the gaze test. 

yesterday's sunset / fnal version of grey 20?/ the hat shop /  by Philip Tarlow

1:30 PM: this may be the final version of grey 20, contingent upon a 24 hour review once i bring it to the house this afternoon. so it may be time to start a new one. just that little bit of blue on the lower left seems to have snapped everything into place. one way i can tell it's working is by the fact that that little bit of red peeking out just to the right of her lips has now found it's place in the composition, and seems like one of those elements without which the entire paiinting would suffer.

DETAIL of grey 20 at 1:30 PM

DETAIL of grey 20 at 1:30 PM

12:03 PM: i did some more work on grey 20 just now, reducing the intensity of the brownish elements on the left to create more balance and allow the right portion, with the face, to pop a bit more. as always, what i'm aiming for is a painting that sings as a painterly even, without any one feature dominating, allowing the eye to roam over the surface resting periodically on a particular stroke or constellation of strokes.

before australian aboriginal art became fashionable, the aborigine artists would never hang their work, and it was not unusual for them to use a painting on the canvas provided them by dealers in sydney as a blanket at night. that makes me smile.

BELOW: LEFT-yesterday's version RIGHT: today

10:19 AM: in 1967, my former mother-in-law, the great greek painter niki karagatsi and i often sallied forth to piraeus looking for subjects to paint. at that time in it's history, piraeus was still a city with it's own inimitable flavor and character. much of the neoclassical architecture was intact. the port, with it's open market was living poetry. on this particular morning, we found a hat makers shop. it was an environment where vuillard would have felt completely at home. and that's how this painting came about. only 3 years into my 15 year experience in greece, i was thrilled to be in this indescribably alive environment having as my companion and guide niki karagatsi.

there were to be many days like this. piraeus; athens; andros; chania in crete were all rich environments for our celebration of the beauty in the everyday.

7:43 AM: yesterday, as the system that's been affecting our weather for the last week began moving out, sunset was special. the atmosphere, cleansed by says of snow & rain, was crystal clear, even more so than usual.

more work on "grey 20" today /  by Philip Tarlow

2:48 PM: i was cold and somewhat discombobulated when i arrived in my studio this morning. with the heat & hot water not coming back on till tomorrow afternoon over in the house, i had to take my shower here, after doing a castor oil wrap with a heating pad as a result of eating too much of the delicious costo, kirkland  brand of herring in wine sauce; a very fatty fish that sometimes provokes a gall bladder attack. love that stuff. lotsa sugar, and that taste of herring just sends me into ecstasy.

ten years ago, a denver doc told me i had to have my gall bladder out within the week. when the surgeon saw my test results, he said "you know, you need your gall bladder! don't believe what you read about it being a non-essential organ." he outright refused to take it out, and intimated that the doc, who he knew, was just in it for the bucks. thank god for that surgeon. i kept my gall bladder & have only very occasional problems, which the castor oil wrap takes care of every time.

so, back to grey 20. i did good work today, even though i got such a late start, and am considering bringing it over to the house to see how it looks in the company of the others. see what you think.

BELOW: 5 details of grey 20

today will be the 12th iteration of grey 20 /  by Philip Tarlow

6:22 PM: our internet was down all afternoon. here's how the 12th iteration of grey 20 looked as i wrapped up my painting day. this version actually has a chance of surviving! it needs more work, but the bones are strong, and it may have finally found it's identity. it's inspired by vermeer's girl with a flute.

snow continues for the 3rd day in a row, and is predicted again tonight and tomorrow. our heat and hot water aren't working, and won't be repaired till wednesday, so we're using my studio shower until then.

                                                                                       here are 11 of the stages grey 20 has gone through thus far; the most recent are at the top, working backwards in time as you move down.

today will make an even dozen. stay tuned for pics.

not quite yet, philip..... /  by Philip Tarlow

4:31 PM: our heat & hot water stopped working over at the house, so i had to interrupt & go see what's going on. it requires a plumber, and there's only one good one in crestone so i have a call in to him.

this is about the 5th incarnation of grey 20. most of the series have gone through 2-3, but none as radical or frequent as this. here's where it's at as i clean my brushes & go home, probably with no hot shower tonight, unless we drive over to the studio. this image is based upon a vermeer painting i haven't yet translated. more later, gotta run now...

 

 

 

 

1:56 PM: current state of grey 20. other images were overlayed, with which i was not satisfied, and a scrumble took place. time for a lunch break now.

grey 20 at about 12:40 pm

 

 

 

 

 

 

12:40 PM: and the muse asked, "will somebody please introduce a note of aliveness into this painting?....it may be headed for oblivion, but it has to shift

 

 

 

 

 

12:11 PM: beginning work on revising grey 20

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11:17 AM: walking to my studio through the wet snow and mud, i had a sense of of elation. for no good reason. maybe it had to do with the sun emerging after an unusual, for the Baca Grande, 24 hours without seeing her whatsoever....

my all important first glance at grey 20 came up a clear "no, not there yet." so, once i prepare my matcha tea and pour it into my friend dan's excellent bowl, i'll dive back in and see what emerges. so in love am i with the process of making a painting, sometimes i think i'm just delaying completion for the sheer pleasure of engaging in the process! seriously!

here is an example of high art. great art. yes, it's coming from a deep religious belief, painted by a monk who was immersed in his meditative practice, perched high in a monestary. but, above all, this for me is high art. it sings! it's a detail of a fresco in the st. mathaiou sinaïtôn church in crete, made in the 16th c. by the hand of m. damaskinou. 

since today is, in the greek orthodox tradition, megalo savato, or the saturday before easter sunday, this is a gesture in that direction.

heavy snow falling /  by Philip Tarlow

2:38 PM: i just now re-wrote the text on my grey page, making it simpler, more direct. fewer words, always better. the link to the grey page is below; just click on it:

1:22 PM: after an hour or so of dancing around grey 20, unsure of whether or not i wanted to paint into it or leave it, i squeezed my colors onto the palette and dove in. as luck would have it, my fears of poor lighting due to the snowstorm were unfounded. as a matter of fact, the bright white of the falling snow, and the snow accumulating on the piñon pines outside my north window created an ideal painting light! no glare. just a consistent bright, even light, allowing my perception of color to become sharper.

the face now has an identity, but walks that fine line between portrait and painting; i believe i've succeeded in not allowing specific description to overshadow the painterliness of the whole. i always ask myself: "is this a painting we could live with?" i'll find out soon enough, when i un-stretch it from it's masonite backed stretcher bar and re-stretch it onto one without backing, then transport it to the house. but not before i let a day or two go by & see what my first glance is like tomorrow morning.

 

 

9:13 AM: we are under a winter storm warning, and heavy snow is falling here in the baca grande, and i don't know if i'll have enough light to paint when i finish meditating & go to the studio. this will be very good for our snow pack, but might not be so great for working on grey 20. here's a detail of how it looked yesterday afternoon; the collaged map on the lower right shows an area in british columbia.

grey 20 undergoes a scrumble /re-arranged studio pics /  by Philip Tarlow

4:42 PM: end of painting day. i did another minor scrumble, since the light became better for a bit. to be continued tomorrow morning.

i was almost at the point of painting over this image altogether and starting fresh, but i feel like there's something here i want to explore further before giving up,

 

 

 

 

 

2:49 PM: i worked into the scrumble & it started becoming, yet again, too specifically a portrait, which is not what i want. i want a painting.

the skies are once again darkening & the wind picking up, as waves of moisture push up from the southwest. so it might be time to take a little break & resume editing video clips until our actionlab360 related conference call in about an hour.

11:58 AM: the post scrumble grey 20. i have to gaze at it for a while before making a move or not.

 

 

 

9:53 AM: i'm about to scrumble grey 20, to reduce specificity and introduce mystery.

 

 

 

 

 

BELOW: pics of my re-arranged studio. this new arrangement makes painting way easier; everything is located to my right instead of my left as before. and the height of these 2 metal tables on wheels makes mixing my colors and reaching for a brush far more convenient. gone is the rickety white wooden table, always threatening to fall over.

grey 20 continues+ unexpected work space re-org /  by Philip Tarlow

grey 20 at 2 PM

2:30 PM: i'm stopping for the day. grey 20 has come a long way. i think it will just need a few minor tweaks tomorrow. it has a strong presence. the images you see from now on will be finer, as well as having been shot in raw mode. although i've had this nikon D7200 since december, i just now realized i hadn't been shooting in raw mode, set to fine jpeg as well.you can see the results in this shot as well as the details below and all future pics. now i'll have to go back and re-shoot the entire grey series, which are still fortunately in my possession.

right now i'm exhausted, and i think once i post this and before i do some video editing, i'll lie down in my "black chair," which is a leather recliner specifically designed to relax your back. when you tilt it all the way, your feet are slightly higher than your head. 

grey 20 at noon today.

 

 

 

12:38 PM: after doing a complete re-org of my work area & moving my colors, brushes & palettes to totally new & far more convenient tables, i thought i wouldn't have the energy to resume work on grey 20. WRONG! i launched into it like a bull fighter in the arena; like a violinist or cellist taking his/her instrument and playing for all he/she is worth. like a madman. like a man in love. the pathos evoked by this dwarf's visage is palpable. i thought for a moment i was barking up the wrong tree, departing from my beloved vermeer to interpret this detail from a velasquez painting. but no. this dwarf and i are buddies now. i feel his pain. his glory at being in the royal court and his knowledge of his fate, sealed the moment he was born a little person.

so here's the current state of affairs. i've got one more orund in me before cleaning my brushes and transitioning into editing. i have about 3 more weeks to edit the footage i shot on our last trip to edwards. some clips will be for investors; some for schools we want to pilot in and one will be shown at the showcase the kids have been preparing for in late may.

then, weather permitting, we'll take our walk up n. crestone creek .

BELOW: 3 details of grey 20