ny central supply becomes a horizontal composition / November 25, 2018 by Philip Tarlow

2:13 PM: i resumed work on ny central supply, turning it 90 degrees and making it a horizontal. it has a strong presence now, with rock inspired shapes alternating with white shapes drawn from my memory of the ice that forms around this time of year and remains till spring. every time we walk up the creek, it has changed form. this may be the first time i’ve shared my source photographs on my blog. don’t know why, since my goal is complete transparency. it’s a reaction….kind of a delayed teenage rebellious reaction to the secrecy that often surrounds an artist’s process. of course, in many cases that’s out the window now.

this painting, assuming i don’t alter it tomorrow, is a likely candidate for my may, 2019 space gallery show, with 2 other artists. always interesting to see how your work holds up…or not when hung with the work of your contemporaries.

2014 collage re-worked and more work on ny central supply / November 24, 2018 by Philip Tarlow

*rachet:* 32x32” mixed media & collage on canvas, 2014 and today

*ny central supply*, 38x32” mixed media on linen

3:36 PM: this morning i was at a loss as to where to go next. ny central supply was in such a delicate state and i was so hesitant about doing anything to it, that i just jumped in &, as i am wont to do, wiped out all that i had done and instead worked feverishly into it, after which i wiped that out too.so now it looks like what you see here on the right; a totally different look and feel, while remaining true to the meta-motion aesthetic it’s becoming part of, as well as the 10th century chinese masters i’m inspired by. we’ll see what tomorrow brings.

more tweaks to ny central supply and a 180 flip to the original / November 21, 2018 by Philip Tarlow

12:37 PM: upon entering the studio this morning, i wasn’t moved to continue work on tree resting, the painting i started yesterday. more accurately, i didn’t dare. maybe after thanksgiving.

instead, i did more work on ny central supply, flipping it back to its original direction. i broke up the blue rock on top & added more blue marks to the right & left of it, added some smaller rocks on the lower left, 2 branches on the lower right & some white in the space surrounding the central image.

these meta-motion landscapes are, indeed abstracted. so rather than getting stuck on a beautiful rock or an especially successful depiction of flowing water, the eye the totality in an instant. at the same time, subtler aspects emerge over time. there are many suggestive passages constructed with a flurry of gestures. each could itself be a small painting, such as the detail you see here on the right.

and because they are a step removed from the reality of what we see when looking at the creek itself, they are open to reference and metaphor. are those female breasts; is that a dogs head or a snake? are we looking from above? is that a bear’s foot, or snout? the lessons i have learned, and continue to learn form the 10th century chinese calligrapher/painters i so often reference, and whom i often refer to as my buddies, have matured and become 21st century presences.

*ny central supply* 38x38” following this mornings tweak & 180 flip.

tweaking& flipping ny central supply / starting tree resting / November 20, 2018 by Philip Tarlow

*ny central supply* 38x38” after having been flipped upside down & tweaked

at work this morning on the new *tree resting*, 32x38”

as anticipated, when i entered the studio this morning i sensed that ny central supply need tweaking. but i wanted to wait, so i started a new one, titled tree resting which is stretched linen 32 x 38” as i got into the drawing, i cast glances at ny central supply. as i prepared to clean up for the day, i grabbed a fan brush and added while marks suggesting water flowing on what was the bottom quadrant of the painting, and is now the top. moments ago i felt the urge to flip the canvas 180 degrees. thus far, i think it was a good move. we’ll see.

*tree resting*, 32 x 38” as it looked one day 1

ny central supply, 38 x 38 inches / November 19, 2018 by Philip Tarlow

*ny central supply* following a 4:30 pm intervention

5:39 PM: mikela and i drove into town at 3;15 to do some food shopping and go to the post office. on the way in, we stopped briefly at the studio so she could see what i did today on ny central supply. as always, her feedback was spot on. while she saw what a strong piece it is, she noted that it had become too busy. after we got back, i walked over to the studio & took advantage of the fact that the paint is fresh & easy to manipulate, i scraped and rubbed out the bits i had added towards the end of the day when i was tired & not at my best. tomorrow morning, i’ll see whether it needs more work.

2:59 PM: here’s how the painting looks at the end of my painting day. i’ll wait till morning to evaluate; i’m too close to it right now.

noon: yesterday was devoted to completing a secret…for now…project. what i can reveal right now is that it’s a gift for friends whose home we stayed at last month while on our big campaign tour of southern colorado. it’s a small painting based upon photographs i shot while we were there. once they receive it & it;s no longer a secret, i’ll post pics of the whole process, which i documented.

so after completing the packaging this morning, i launched into a motion series painting which i had scraped & painted over. i can’t really recall which one it was, so i’m acting as if it’s a new painting, which i’ve titled n.y. central. as i was walking over to see if there was a title on the back, i spotted a jar of brushes labled n.y. central ‘09. a legendary art supply store in nyc, it closed it’s doors forever once it’s founder/owner died. steve was an amazing being, but more about him another time.

here i’m at work on ny central about 20 minutes ago. the previous layers of the painting showing through lend a richness and mystery.

/revising katarachtes: 50x48” & new rules continued / November 16, 2018 by Philip Tarlow

3:11 PM: and here she is at 3 pm. gotta run; we’re walking up the trail soon. those grey marks may need to be lighter….

revising katarachtes, 50x48” at around 2 pm

2 PM: decided to leave new rules alone for a day or two and work on revising the way-too-busy katarachtes. as work continues for another hour or so, i’ll post updated pics.

11:51 AM: feeling a tad better today. fuzziness gone but still can’t chew on the root canal tooth without pain. mikela made a delicious pumpkin soup for me last night, with enough left over to have in the studio for lunch.

so i got to work earlier & made some important changes to new rules. BELOW is a comparative view, with what i did this morning on top & yesterdays version below. the second canvas from the left has been significantly de-cluttered, and a band of light grey has appeared above & below, allowing the eye to perceive all 4 canvasses, for the first time, as one painting. rock forms have been sketched in across all 4 canvasses, using my fan brushes as a hats off to my ever present 10th century chinese masters of calligraphy & landscape. motion, which is the title of this series, is introduced & the viewer is invited to fill in the blanks, so to speak. it’s what you might call, if you like to invent & play with words as i do, a kinetic-frizz-about-

*new rules* 16x80 “ as it looked moments ago after this mornings changes

fooling around with new rules / November 15, 2018 by Philip Tarlow

*new rules*, 16x80” (4 canvasses 16x20” each)

2:41 PM: post root canal i’m feeling kind of shaky, and can’t chew on the molar that had the root canal. doc says it might take a few days for the traumatized ligaments holding the tooth in place to calm down. so, since i can’t chew on the other side either because 2 molars are missing & awaiting an implant, it’s yoghurt & soups all the way, baby.

i did want very much to re-engage with new rules however, so i fooled around with the placement of the canvasses, going from a square to a long & narrow solution. a couple were turned upside down; a move i seem to like, and some connective tissue, one might call it, was added sparingly to create some continuity. when it was too obvious, i scraped it out, which, on this artfix portrait linen, creates some delicious smears not possible on other canvasses.

i know this is not the final state, but it’s interesting to look at. maybe even slightly compelling, creating more questions than it provides answers for. hopefully, i’ll feel better tomorrow & be able to have a more productive day.

new rules gets bigger / November 12, 2018 by Philip Tarlow

2:21 PM: i tried an experiement & placed all 4 16x20” canvases precariously on the easel. if the experiment continues, i’ll probably have to attach the stretcher bars together to make it easier to work on them. on the other hand, i want the freedom to shuffle the deck & move them around. originally, my intention was to make 12 paintings, all 16x20” and show them at my may exhibition 4 across & 3 down, like a puzzle with interchangeable pieces.

right now these 4 are moving in the direction of one image divided into 4. that’s not really what i want, so i won’t be back in my studio till thursday, since we’re at the school working with the kids tomorrow, then driving to boulder for yet another root canal on wednesday. lets see how i feel about this on thursday.

new rules, 16x20" / November 10, 2018 by Philip Tarlow

2:27 PM: yesterday i couldn’t do a thing. exhausted from all the travel. lack of a good sleep, etc. today i stretched a smaller canvas: 16x20” with the thought of doing a bunch this size which will be shown as a mosaic, along with the larger pieces in the may show. possibly 12 of them in 3 rows of 4. in keeping with my abstract random (according to gregorc’s mind style model) nature, this painting is titled new rules. when i randomly opened henry geldzahler’s “ looking at pictures, “ that was one of the first phrases my eye landed on.

in the future, some wise-ass will likely find a hidden meaning in this title. there is none, so you can relax & enjoy the painting.

more drawings made at bonfire café in carbondale / November 5, 2018 by Philip Tarlow

7:57 AM: yesterday we spent another few hours at the bonfire café in carbondale, where mikela helped orient new volunteers, giving instructions on how and where to canvas. it was a snowy day, so many of them will be going out today (including us) in clearer, relatively warmer weather to knock on doors & pass out literature. it’s interesting to observe life at the bonfire. there are almsot always small groups playing games; either chess or card games or other board games i never heard of. some are reading, some doing homework or other kinds of work and some are just having old fashioned conversations! on the right is a friend’s daughter on her computer.

there was only one mother who, when she noticed i was making a drawing of her daughter, requested that i stop. you see the beginnings of the drawing on the lower left, with a new drawing of a kid in a cool hat superimposed on top.

so these trips we’ve been making to parts of colorado we’ve never seen, to support candidate for cd3 diane mitch bush, will be ending tomorrow, when the election takes place. will she win