drawing for oil interior 4/ starting to paint o.i.3 & 4 /  by Philip Tarlow

todays palette

3:15 PM: if you read my 2:39 post below, you'll see that i wanted to correct a problem for ending my painting day. i just did, but there's more to do, which i'll address tomorrow morning after our trail walk. read the post below for my analysis, and see if you agree. there's a tab on the bottom where you can make comments, which could be very helpful if you're up for it.

2:39 PM: here's how oil interior 3 looks at the end of my painting day. in the end, i didn't work on oil interior 4 in tandem, as i had planned. but that could happen tomorrow, now that oil interior 3 has legs.the results of my experiment: painting with the canvas lying flat on a cardboard bod about 6 inches o\above the cement floor of my studio are,at least to me very apparent. there's a greater freedom in the brush strokes; not so much control. exactly what happened with the drawings when my graphite was attached to a long pole. this doesn't necessarily mean i'll be painting this way in the future. for now, i like it. it's creating a look that is new for me. one where, arguably, it's more natural to keep in mind the entire surface as large areas of color are blocked in and the space is divided up.

right now, i'd say the weakness in the composition is that the right and left halves look exactly like that: they appear to be 2 halves of different paintings. as a matter of face, i think before cleaning my brushes i'll try & do something about that! thanks, those of you following this blog!

1 PM:making progress on oil interior 3

11 am: just started painting O.I.3, and will move to O.I.4 when i'm a bit further along. good morning energy & not too hot yet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

9:58 AM: just completed the drawing for oil interior 4, which as predicted is looser & more economical than yesterday's drawing for O.I. 3. i'm going to proceed to preparing my palette & begin painting shortly, up dates as available. BELOW yesterday's drawing for O.I.3 (left) & todays.

cutting & stretching canvas for oil interior 3 /  by Philip Tarlow

3:13 PM: i made the drawing for canvas 1 (of 2) for oil interior 3 & 4. i'm doing two as an experiment, to see if working on two in tandem allows more freedom and the ability to immediately transfer the discoveries & solutions i make in one to the second canvas. i attached my graphite crayon to a long pole to make the drawing; something i learned from matisse, who did it to let go of control and facility. so far i like it. it allows me to not get caught up in the details and literally get some distance.

12:18 PM: i'm in the process of cutting & stretching canvas for the 32x32" oil interior 3. i should be able to strat the drawing shortly, & will post pics as they become available.

completion of gouache interior 8 /  by Philip Tarlow

gouache interior 8    14x14"   gouache on archival watercolor paper

painting by vuillard

1:53 PM: i completed gouache interior 8 just now, and am moving ahead with preparations of a larger version in oil on linen. as always, i'm glad i did a small version first, in gouache on paper, as it gave me valuable information on how this composition could be improved. gouache continues to be one of my favorite mediums. after all these decades of using it, i feel a certainty in my mark making that allows for greater freedom and improvisation. i feel i've also gained a lot from doing my gaze series in acrylic & collage, which gavce me the greatest feeling in my career of riffing on a theme; not being attached to a particular look or passage and just plain being playful. my greatest teacher in this series of interiors is most certainly vuillard. the way he integrated pattern into his compositions; the intimacy of his work

11:25 am: picking up where i left off yesterday afternoon, i'm continuing work on gouache interior 8, in preparation for a larger oil version; possibly 2 versions. trying to get as much as possible done before it heats up to the high eighties predicted for today, and my gouache colors begin to solidify on the palette. there's still a ways to go before it jells as a composition; possibly the next time i post, in an hour or so.

looking back / starting new gouache interior in about an hour /  by Philip Tarlow

3PM: i'm stopping for the day. here's where gouache interior 8 was at when i stopped. I can only work on a gouache like this in bursts. with all it's beautiful patterns and very subtle color & tonal transitions, i get burnt out after, say, a 30 minute burst. so i take frequent brakes, until i feel like i'm cooked. 

i think this is going to work especially well as a larger oil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1:30 PM: drawing completed; at work on the gouache painting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

8:57 AM: this gouache on paper was painted in 2005. the subject is pythara, a waterfall on the island of andros, greece. the lone figure in a landscape has always been part of my work.

 

in about an hour, i'll commence work on the drawing for gouache interior 8, 14x14" i may be able to start painting this afternoon, if the drawing has been completed. i'll post pics as they become available.

no painting today /  by Philip Tarlow

at work on one of my gaze paintings earlier this year

today was spent revising and sending out a proposal for an exhibition of gaze paintings accompanied by a talk on vermeer by myself and my friend gary, author of the just published vermeer in detail and world renowned expert on rembrandt and the 17th c. dutch genre painters.

tomorrow i' start the gouache study for the next oil interior: #3.

working on the lower left segment of oil interior 2 today /  by Philip Tarlow

3 PM: i made quite a few changes; all, i believe for the better. so i'm stopping here for the day & will return oil interior 2 to the house, where we can evaluate. above you see yesterdays state on the left; todays on the right. can you determine where i intervened?

BELOW: some details showing todays changes

 

11:40 AM: can't say much yet since i'm working. i think taking out the white in the lower left, which i was kind of attached to, is working....i'll know more in a few hours

evaluating oil interior 2 & making choices /  by Philip Tarlow

oil interior 2 at the end of my painting day today

2:30 PM: i made quite a few modifications today, and i need 24 hours to let the dust settle & have a look in the morning. below is a comparative view of the painting first thing this morning ^ at the end of the day today.

12:40 PM: still painting....making some important changes.....i think!?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a few details...

 

10:39 AM: first thing that struck me when i entered my studio and cast my all important first glance: the dark grey semi circular archway bits on the upper left & right grab way too much attention, right off the bat. next, i examined the sketchy bits on the lower left and liked them a lot. the rest of the composition seems a bit confusing. the blacks indicating the fireplace on the left, for example make a clear, unambiguous statement, whereas the blacks on the right, around the chair, are not sure what they want to be.

yesterdays palette

it also occurred to me, and i've been thinking for a while about this, that i need to have at least 6 to 8 stretched canvasses stretched and ready, so that when i make a discovery in one i'm working on, i can immediately notate it on a blank canvas, which ideally will allow me to capitalize on my discoveries more quickly and in the heat of the moment. so i just need to set aside the time to stretch those canvasses; yet another reason why i need an assistant.

continued work on oil interior 1 today /  by Philip Tarlow

2PM: oil interior 2 at 2 pm. this is where i'm stopping for the day. we took our trail walk this morning at 5, and i've been up since 4. this painting is now starting to sing. maybe not full throated yet, but close. taking liberties with the colors in the actual interior, which is a renovated firehouse in chelsea, nyc, allowed me the freedom to improvise. during a period of a few hours, i hit the sweet spot, where the gut directs your hand, not your mind. it was actually just after i spoke with my grandson philip, to wish him happy birthday, that my spirit soared. he's in france with his mom & his sister manio, and i could tell from his voice that he was having lots of fun. some local kids had come over & they were having a little party. so when i got off the phone, i just felt uplifted. and that's when i gave myself permission to fly.

oil interior 2, 32x32" at 1 pm

12:15 PM: bright colors unexpectedly enter the picture. still working; more soon....

10:37 am: i'll be getting back to work on oil interior 1 in a bit. here it is on my studio wall a few minutes ago.

i'll post pics as the work progresses

back in the studio; stage 2 of oil interior 2 /  by Philip Tarlow

3:16 PM: following a one day trip to edwards, where we had an excellent meeting about our future plans with the school there, i'm back in my studio. i did a full days work today. the painting won't sing until i'm close to completion, probably sunday or monday. it still has a kind of fragmented feel. some major shapes need to emerge, the space needs to become more coherent and recognize it's identity. there are some areas of more interest, such as the one in this cropped image, where solutions have emerged giving the eye a direction. slowly, that should start happening with the entire composition.

BELOW: comparison of stages 1 & 2