rad-rework of motion 10 and thank you! / March 29, 2018 by Philip Tarlow

6:16 PM: i'd like to thank those of you who are continuing to read my daily blog posts now that i've deactivated my facebook membership. i know many of you have gone to this site as a result o fmy daily posts, where i would provide a link to my blog. i was delighted & amazed to find that my unique visitors haven't dropped off at all. so thanks guys!!

1:40 PM: i worked on motion 10 until a few minutes ago, and will leave it in this state until tomorrow morning.

there's a similarity between the last two rad-revisions i made, on motion 12 & 14, so i need to sit with this one & see tomorrow morning if it has it's own identity.

11:43 AM: motion 10 was last worked on february 17, 2018. it felt resolved, but it's one of those paintings in my motion series that just didn't hold up over time. that branch: too prominant. compositionally: not really. so i'm diving back in.

so what have i been up to / March 28, 2018 by Philip Tarlow

8:23 AM: the last few days i've been creating a new page on the site titled fluid landscapes. it all started during a conversation with the owner of a denver gallery who wanted to find "loose realist landscapes."

so 2 days ago i began a search through my works, both digital files (which are a mess) and actual work. in all modesty, i was impressed with the volume and quality of the work. so i began organizing the page, which is still in it's early stages. in keeping with my belief that my process as an artist should be as transparant s possible, the new page is visible to the public as a work in progress, and you can find it in the drop down menu.

it's early and i'm still in coffee making mode, so i'll continue the conversation once i get to the studio, and post some interesting things i discovered while going through older work.

rad-rework of motion 14 / March 25, 2018 by Philip Tarlow

3:31 PM: this is where i'm stopping work for the day.

the 11/7/14 plein air oil which was the inspiration for my rad-rework of motion 14, as well as for *motion 8*

motion 14 has inherited some of the discoveries i made in motion 15, while presenting a much more spare, sketchy quality reminiscent of the plein air oil it was inspired by, which you see reproduced BELOW.

i didn't get a good nights sleep & i'm exhausted, so i'll head back to the house and lie down.

BELOW: motion 14 before (left) and after my rad-rework

plein air with k. / March 24, 2018 by Philip Tarlow

5:37 PM: this morning i prepared for k's weekly visit to my studio & our creek adventure. it was a tight schedule; i had to drop mikela off in moffat at 7 am so she could meet other women going to caucus in pueblo. so we had to get up at 5. at 1:15 k & i set out for north crestone creek. we carried 2 tables, a stool, a chair and all the painting supplies up the trail & down to one of the creekside sites.

k is 12, and this was only his 2nd time painting plein air. what he created is, i believe remarkably accomplished. he does not agree!

a matisse quote, & some motion 15 tweaks / March 23, 2018 by Philip Tarlow

7:24 PM: good night crestone/baca!!

3:12 PM: rad-rework of motion 12, stage 2.it's obviously inspired by a completely different plein air, this one painted 9/16/14 in the heart of crestone/baca fall. now that i've released the branches, once considered a necessary ingredient, the rock forms revel in their newfound freedom.

this morning, i looked once again at matisse: rhythm & line, by jacqueline & maruice guillard. it's filled with delicious matisse quotes like the one in the photo i posted earlier. he holds a lantern in this dark cave, turns & waves me along. although i never heard his voice, it resonates in my brain. somewhat raspy. filled with emotion. quivering like the lines in his drawings. "viens philippe; viens!"

a very different sort of teacher than deKooning he is.

*motion 12* in early stage of rad-rework

1 PM: i made some modifications to motion 15, and also began a rad-rework of motion 12, which was annoying both of us after living with it for a month or so.

11:57 AM: here's a quote form matisse. about to evaluate motion 15 & make some possible tweaks. updates as they occur.

motion 15, stage 4 / March 22, 2018 by Philip Tarlow

snacking on baked potatoes with butter, raspberry sauce & himalayan pink salt while perusing matisse

1:19 PM: my vey first impression upon entering the studio this morning was that the painting was too dark & contrasty. i lightened it and in the process made quite a few other modifications. right now i'm having a mid-day snack & checking it out from a distance of about 20 feet. some of the changes work, others not. not yet sure about the addition of blue in the upper quadrant.

the big scrape / March 21, 2018 by Philip Tarlow

3:23 PM: i shifted gears & chose to return to one of my more successful plein air oils for inspiration. i was looking at deKooning & then picasso this morning, and realized that it's ok to repeat a theme or composition as many times as it feels fresh. variations on a theme are common in visual art as well as music, architecture, and so on. i kind of had to justify this to myself, but where it started was with a critical look at the entire series of 11 motion paintings mikela & i did this morning.only 5 survived rigorous examination, and the rest will be re-worked.

this 16x16" *11/1/12 plein air* oil is what i'm referring to

there are archetypal forms and relationships emerging from this years long focus on rocks & water, and as long as it continues to turn me on, i'll move ahead with my exploration and refinement of forms. it's not really me to completely turn them into abstractions. paring them down to their essence is where i need to go.

left: so the 11/1/12 plein air oil is what i'm using for inspiration. it was also used for motion 6, which you'll see if you click on motion in the drop down menu at the top of this page,

11:37 AM: motion 15 was far too busy, so i did a BIG scrape & wipe, leaving the painting looking like this. while what i did was, in my mind, and still is, a prep for going back in and working over it, what is left after the scraping has some very endearing qualities. as a whole, it still doesn't hang together, but i can see certain passages remaining visible following whatever it is i do today.

working into yesterdays motion 15 oil over-painting / March 20, 2018 by Philip Tarlow

2:19 PM: stage 4 of motion 15, at 2pm.

the painting now has an identity: a jumbled whizz- razz of motion, suggesting but not describing the creek, it's movement & vibrancy. an eventful day it has been, and it's only 2:30! but i got an early start & worked almost non-stop. mikela strolled over about an hour ago, gave some predictably spot on feedback and headed back.

deKooning certainly looms large these days, as the MOMA catalogue has been my morning matcha tea & toast reading material.and now for my clean up followed by a political meeting. my first glance tomorrow morning will give me the answer as to whether more work is required.

12:26 PM: stage 3 of motion 15 at 12:30pm

*motion 15*, 38x36" as it looked at 11 am

11:21 AM: stage 2 of motion 15, at about 11am.

10:31 AM: in working into stage 1 of the oil over-painting for motion 15, i'm referring to this 10/12/13 plein air creek study in oil on canvas. updates will be posted as they occur.

completing motion 15 under-drawing, starting oil over-painting, looking at deKooning / March 19, 2018 by Philip Tarlow

2:30 PM: so i did stage 1 of the motion 15 over-painting. so far, following the discoveries i made in motion 14, it's much lighter in tone and more atmospheric than the earlier paintings in the series. this undoubtedly has something to do with my daily delve into deKooning, but it's also how i'm feeling these days. greys and pale yellows dominate, and shapes emerge from the clouds of off-whites with no sharp edges. my 10th c. chinese landscape buddies also come to mind. and my recent plein air experience with K. also enters in. i kind of saw the creek through his eyes, and it was pure energy.

1:13 PM: motion 15 under-drawing at 1pm:

11:58 AM: as i move towards completion of motion 15 under-drawing, ideas for directions i might take when i start the over-painting are flooding my awareness.

i'll post updates as the work continues.

deKooning in the 4th ave.. studio, november, 1946

11:34 AM: i expect to get a lot done today. mikela & i are usually on the same track, and she's having a grreat day. i was looking once again at the deKooning catalogue this morning and am posting a couple of shots from that beautiful volume.

continuing the motion 15 under-drawing / March 18, 2018 by Philip Tarlow

10:52 AM: i was able to get more done than i thought before having to leave for political meetings. this is the current state, to be continued tomorrow morning.

8:09 AM: i have a very small window to work on the motion 15 under-drawing this morning, since we have political obligations most of today. i'll post any new changes to the drawing, which now looks like this.