oil interior 5 /  by Philip Tarlow

2:15 PM: i'm done for the day, and the painting may be resolved, depending on how it looks when i take it to the house & we both peruse. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

noon: i've had a good morning so far, making critical tweaks to oil interior 5 that are pushing it to the edge of singing.

the addition of horizontal white stripes and accompanying offsetting of the cup, the arm, the shaving brush are all contributing to this painting gaining a sense of it's identity

i'm going to get back to work. the skies are darkening early today, and a monsoonal storm may put an end to my painting day....

we went for a 5am trail walk, hoping not to get soaked, but we did, glad we went, though.

continued work on oil interior 5 / a look back at a rare oil collage experiment /  by Philip Tarlow

2:14 PM: end of my painting day.it may need some tweaks, but it's pretty far along i think. the tight cropping may be a direction i take in future interiors.

tomorrow will be critical in making the image pop as well as resolving a few ambiguous spaces. it's interesting that it's taken this long for me to rediscover and begin mining these photo collages. the one this is based on was shot in india in '89-90 and later mounted as a collage in my studio. 

for a painter, visiting rajistan is probably akin to what some 19th c. artists like matisse experienced upon visiting morocco; brilliant color and patterns everywhere.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12:35 PM: oil interior 5 at 12:30 PM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11:15 AM: oil interior 5 at 11:15 am.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10:06 AM: this is one of two collages in oil on linen i made towards the end of my ano kato series. because it's tricky to use collage in an oil painting, i stopped after doing two. as you can see, they are based on photos i shot from above at a denver mall. which explains the baby carriage seen from above & the other figures strolling through the mall. unlike the rest of the ano kato series however, there are abstract elements coexisting with the realist figures. in the lower right is a fragment of a watch. watches were prominent in the series of abstract collages i made, such as the one you see below, 12x5"/31x12cm. 1/29/14 

i'm about to resume work on oil interior 5, and will post pics as they become available.

new plein air series? starting oil interior 5 /  by Philip Tarlow

3:43 PM: i erased yesterday's drawing for oil interior 5, 22x22"/56x56cm. & made a new one, based upon a photo collage i made in the late '80's of a partially outdoor barber shop in rajistan, india, known for it's vibrant use of color everywhere you look. i spent a long time deciding upon a composition, after realizing this has been a weak point in the past. not that my compositions are bad, but they are sometimes kind of hit or miss. so i decided to spend more time than usual determining the exact boundaries of my composition, putting form, pattern and color first in importance.

work will resume in the morning, following our 5am trail walk.

9:02 AM: i'm considering a new plein air series, now that mosquito season is over. i may try making some larger oils, which is more of a logistical challenge. here's a plein air gouache painted back in march.

3/19/17 plein air gouache

in the mean time, i plan on starting oil interior 5, once the drawing is completed.

drawing today for new oil interior, 22x22" / works from 1980 found in old portfolio /  by Philip Tarlow

4:28: after spending all day yesterday completing the oil on canvas: aspen art fair, 20x18," i stretched a new canvas today and began the drawing for oil interior 5, 22x22." during my breaks, i looked through an old portfolio of drawings and watercolors from 1980. below is a selection.

continued work today on aspen art fair, 20x18" /  by Philip Tarlow

6:25 PM: ater hanging the painting in our entryway, i decided it's complete. we'll see how i feel in the morning. the photograph you see here was shot with my iphone, of the painting hanginhe one you see below, which was shot in my studio with my expensive nikon.g in our house. i think it's actually more accurate than than the one you see below, which was shot in my studio with my expensive nikon.

3:10 PM: here's the painting at the end of my painting day. i have to spend time with it to integrate & digest what i've done. it's rather different than past paintings, and right now it seems the colors are a bit strong.it'sthe juxtaposition of the dramatic landscape rising above the city streets with the figures viewing the art fair below that attracted me....

aspen art fair, 20x18" on the easel

11:35 AM: getting a late start today; about to resume work on aspen art fair. this represents an unexpected departure from the interior series. i love switching it up!

some thoughts on the aspen art museum's current exhibition /  by Philip Tarlow

a few days ago, I visited the aspen art museum's current exhibition: wade guyton, peter fischli, david weiss, running through november 26th.

when i walked into the first room, i did a double take, thinking the exhibition was not yet up and instead was in the process of being hung. 

within minutes, and with the help of the very knowledgable guide standing in the center of the first space, i understood this was not the case.

i have always been in love with process, regardless of whether it's the process of making coffee or making paintings. frequently when i'm in my studio i experience some corner of the space, say my work table with it's trays of colors & mason jars filled with brushes, or canvasses stacked against the wall, as treasured artifacts in my process of making art, things of beauty in this moment in this light, never to be repeated.

in this exhibition we see odd pieces of paint-splattered wood surfaces stacked against the wall, with a pair of paint stained shoes nearby. some tools lying on a scrap of wood. a radio was playing the same song over and over in an adjoining room.

but is this art? 

I say YES… a resounding yes!

why do 3 groupings of paintings stacked against the wall qualify as art? the very fact you may be prompted to ask this question is significant. you could, as i'm sure happens on a regular basis, just turn around and walk out of the museum, feeling you're wasting your time or being toyed with. 

by exposing the process of making art and sharing it with the world, we are at the same time de-mystifying art and making it even more meaningful and moving for the viewer, providing a path for him or her to begin experiencing art as something that goes beyond the confines of the gallery or the museum and is, in fact, ever present in our daily lives. 

i shot this photograph of some forks on our friend dan's kitchen counter. these forks lying on the wood counter, so beautiful in their shapes and the shadows they create, will never again be together in this particular configuration and in this particular light. it was a fleeting window into the unsuspected richness of the vast beauty surrounding us.  I don’t think I would have noticed and photographed these forks without being inspired by this exhibition.  Is that not the purpose of art?

if you decide to visit this show: it’s best if you can forget everything I’ve said, and enter the museum with no preconceived notion of what you’re about to experience.

I give this show 2 thumbs up!!!

the aspen art fair, 20x18" oil on portrait linen /  by Philip Tarlow

3:15 PM: this afternoon i unexpectedly began a small, 20x18" oil on portrait linen inspired by one of the photos i shot a few days ago at the aspen art fair. what grabbed me was the cool juxtaposition of the landscape in the background, with it's gorgeously patterned hills, and the art fair itself, with it's white tents and colorfully dressed attendees. i soon ran out of steam, since this is our first day back and we did a lot of driving yesterday. so i'll resume tomorrow morning.

coming tomorrow or tuesday: my review of the current aspen art museum exhibition /  by Philip Tarlow

an hour ago we visited a stellar exhibition at the aspen art museum: , Wade Guyton Peter Fischli David Weiss, up through november 26.

i'll write the review, accompanied by photos of the show, once we're back in crestone/baca tomorrow.

returning to oil interior 4 /  by Philip Tarlow

3 PM: so far, this is where i'm at with revisions, BELOW right is an hour ago, left: 7/15. in general, there are fewer whites that are pure white, the ferns in the upper left seemed to be an unnecessary distraction, the bottom figure's blouse is more of a pinkish color, and the area surrounding her is mottled rather than a flat color and the table top has a few reflections from the throw draped over the sofa.

if you look at the revised version in quadrants and compare it in that way, you'll see the impact on the eye of the changes i made. especially, i think, the lower and upper left areas.

oil interior 4 before todays intervention

10:24 AM: after reworking oil interior 3 yesterday, i reviewed oil interior 4 and decided it too needs some work; too many white areas, which end up confusing the eye rather than contributing to a coherent whole picture surface.

re-visiting oil interior 3 /  by Philip Tarlow

DETAIL of oil interior 3 an hour ago

3:45 PM: after being away from my studio for 48 hours, i came in this morning & cast a critical eye at oil interior 3, which i had considered to be resolved. my fist hit was that the white triangular areas mimicking the spaces left in the photo collage i was working from, were too bright and were attracting too much attention, to the detriment of the composition as a while. so i began working on them, as well as a few other areas like the patterned vase of flowers on the left. i think it's improved. BELOW are side by side comparisons of the 7/11 (right) version & todays.