back from denver / watercolor 105? /making brownies / 90+ /  by Philip Tarlow

watercolor 105 at the end of my painting day today

at work on watercolor 105 today

4:39 PM: great call with carbondale arts, and it looks like, if we get it approved, i’ll be doing an outdoor talk and attendees will be able to see images corresponding to the points i’m making. that should also be available to anyone entering the gallery during my show. the announcement of the exhibition should be up on the gallery site by the end of the week; i’ll let you know.

i progressed with watercolor 105, which feels like it may be resolved. as usual, i’ll bring it back to the house & know in the morning if it needs more work…maybe a few touches here and there, which always make all the difference. didn’t think this morning, after yesterdays adventure, that i’d be up for any work at all.

watercolor 105 stage 1

12:56 PM: i was able to do more than anticipated. made brownies & started watercolor 105, which i’ll continue following my zoom in half hour.

plein air painting, october, 2017

8:14 AM: returned from denver last night; a round trip which started at 6:30am and ended at 8:40pm. picked up the rest of my frames at ikea, picked up more motion paintings from my denver gallery for the carbondale show, had a great lunch with our friend dan and his wonderful girlfriend, had my knee shots at stedman, almost picked up our car from acura, but they ran into windshield problems so we once again drove the loaner home and have to return to denver next week, did some food shopping (amazing strawberries!) and returned exhausted. with all that activity, my groin pain is back, so i’ll be icing this morning.

i’m going to get to my studio late & have a zoom at 1:30 with the director of carbondale arts re: the show. so i may or may not have time to start a new watercolor. stay tuned!

RIGHT: shot in october 2017….that’s where i hope to be again this fall.

re:90+ i envision being active as a painter past the age of 90. don’t know why i’m posting this today. perhaps because i’ve been reading every morning about the lives of some of my japanese and chinese role models. they were agelss.

a splendid trail walk! / watercolor 104 /  by Philip Tarlow

the creek at about 7:30 this morning

at work on watercolor 104 at 12:30PM

11:31 AM: i was 50/50 on whether i would join mikela on a trail walk at 6:30am this morning, because i didn’t want to put unnecessary strain on my pulled groin muscle. i decided to go at the last minute. GOOD DECISION! instead of going up cottonwood trail, as we have been for the apst fe wmonths, we opted for north crestone creek trail, which used to be our main trail for walking.

it was like revisiting a dear old friend, so familiar are the rocks, the twists and turns of that creek. the views of the creek were so stunningly beautiful, especially when the sun rose above the mountains i din’t know what to photograph first!

everywhere i looked was a potential painting.

watercolor 104 at 12:30 PM

so i’m getting started right now on watercolor 104, which is 10x13” and will post picks as i progress.

12:38 PM: with the fresh energy generated by our morning walk, i began work on watercolor 104 about 90 minutes ago. it’s obvious looking at it that there is a new energy present. my first bold move was to use red in an area that in reality was a green patch of grasses. i’m stopping here and may start another one.

a bigger little guy... /  by Philip Tarlow

watercolor 103, 8x8” in it’s frame

yesterdays watercolor 102, 6x6”

3:20 PM: watercolor 103 is 8x8” and fills this little frame, which for me indicates that yesterdays, which was 6x6” was just too small, and (see image BELOW) got lost. i may do a few more tomorrow, with more open, breathing spaces. but there’s something i love about this direction, where the swirling creek water comes alive with warm colors, and the yellows, oranges and blues dance together.

11:45 AM: yesterday i experimented with a 6x6” watercolor for the little frames mikela found while shopping for the larger frames. after gazing at it last night and this morning, i decided that the watercolor needed to be larger, almost filling the frame. so now i’m about to make one that’s 8x8”. lets see what that looks like. i’ll post pics as they become available.

framing watercolors /  by Philip Tarlow

3:26 PM: testing out a little guy:

watercolor 102 6x6” in a 10x10” frame

yesterday as we were purchasing 7 of the white wood frames, mikela found some small ones, measuring just 10” square. i didn’t have anything that small. the watercolor would have to be about 6” square to work in that format. so i cut some arches paper and made a 6x6” watercolor, which is #102, to see what it might look like in this little frame. kinda cool actually. what do you think? she got a few of them, so maybe i’ll make more tomorrow. right now i can’t even believe i’m working at all, i’m so tired from yesterdays adventure.

watercolor 14 in it’s new white frame

12:42 PM: we returned from denver yesterday evening following an exhausting 8 hour round trip drive. we accomplished a lot in denver, where we dropped off our acura for service & repairs, had our teeth cleaned and evaluated and purchased some of the frames i’ll be using for the 16 or so watercolors i plan to include in my carbondale show next month.

so this morning i experimented, placing one of the 13x20” watercolors: watercolor 14, in one of the white frames we purchased. i have to order some board and tape, but i think i’m on track and can have the 16 (8 13x20” and 8 10x13”) watercolors ready to go at the end of this month, when they need to be delivered to carbondale arts.

what a difference a frame makes! i’m very happy with how they look framed. my friend/mentor, the great greek painter tsarouchis used to refer to the frame as “the john or trick (who services prostitutes) of the painting.”

so i’m in the process of ordering the necessary mounting board and tape to mount the watercolors and place them in their frames; a good way to spend my time today, as i’m too wiped our from yesterday to make a painting.

watercolor 101 /  by Philip Tarlow

watercolor 101 stage 1

2:14 PM: in a first for the two of us, mikela took our morning trail walk by herself. i’m resting my groin area, where i have what i hope is just a sprain and not a tear. drag. as a result i arrived early at the studio and was able to start work on a new one: watercolor 101. really, a hundred watercolors completed? of course they vary in terms of how successful each one is, but there are certainly enough to make a good selection for my carbondale show, which opens in just over 5 weeks. tomorrow we’ll pick up some canvasses at my denver gallery also for carbondale.

today i returned to an image i’ve used two or three times over the past few months, from a photo i had shot a while back at the base of the stupa trail. one reason i keep returning to it is the reflections in the creek that day of the tibetan red and blue flags flying above the water. their reflections caused some delicate stripes of light in the creek water, which almost look like monet painted them there. as well, the rocks in that area of the creek have some white bands running across them, which also look they might have been painted there. the green leaves on the right are taken from a different view of another creek.

i don’t have any more juice for working, so i’ll wait till after we’re back, friday morning, and see how i feel about this one.

WATCH this YouTube video of a chinese grandfather dancing to stayin’ alive with his 2 grand daughters

https://youtu.be/oU276K74zuk

watercolor 100 /  by Philip Tarlow

12:52 PM: i started watercolor 100, but got interrupted by a friend with a medical emergency, and now we have to leave fo an unexpected trip to salida, so that’s it for today. more when we’re back.

6:15 PM: just back from salida, where we picked up the new studio door molding which will be installed tomorrow afternoon. it’s been a cooler than usual day, so salida, generally much warmer than crestone/baca, was pleasant. it may have been a good thing that i was interrupted in my process of painting watercolor 100. it has an interesting boldness/freshness. and a rather daring, for me, combination of colors.

tomorrow morning i’m giving my strained groin a rest to let it heal, and mikela will walk by herself while i bring my watercolors, little table and stool to a spot at the very beginning of the trail, where i’ll paint until she returns. that will give me about 1 1/2 hours; perfect for making a few watercolors. in case the mosquitoes are bothering me, i’ll bring my netted mosqioto jacket. it’s a little awkward, but i’ve done it before.

watercolor 99 continued /  by Philip Tarlow

1:31 PM: tricky day: a 6:45 am trail walk, arrived at the studio 10:30, all kinds of logistics…arranging appointments for our denver trip….and finally, resumed work on watercolor 99. or should it be called watercolor almost 100? the changes are all to the rock and water forms in the middle and on the bottom portion of the composition. i wouldn’t dare touch any of the rest of this watercolor, which emerged yesterday in one breath. the marks indicating leaves were the biggest discovery, i’d say. they are a new way of making leaf shapes which may not be immediately obvious to you. but if you go back and look at how they were made in previous watercolors, you’ll see what i mean.

yesterdays version is BELOW left; todays on the right.

framed watercolor 92 / tweak to watercolor 97 / rediscovered flower watercolor / STARTING WATERCOLOR 99 /  by Philip Tarlow

watercolor 99 10 x 13” stage 1

2:42 PM: in an unusual pt move, i started a new watercolor mid-afternoon; a time when my energy is usually on the downhill and i don’t feel the freshness needed to start dreaming something new. today, for whatever reason, was different. so i started work on stage 1 of watercolor 99, which is almost 100! 100 watercolors? well, i’ve been making one or two a day ever since i began having problems with my shoulder back in march. i’ve made many watercolors in my career, but only now have i discovered the magic of the medium. it allows, as i’ve said many times in this blog, for me to walk the line between representation and abstraction and to observe with increasing accuracy, when my mind is taking over and wanting to pull me down the rabbit hole of slavish adherence to description. in watercolor, the brushstroke is everything. which includes how “loaded” the brush is, meaning how much or little water. the little pans of the medium dry up the next day, and need coaxing with a full brush of water to regain the ideal consistency for painting.

darker shadowy bits need to take place over a lighter wash of color, and that must dry completely before working into it. a good time for a little snack or a look at the future radar to see if thunderstorms are on their way.

some level of planning is required, in other words. but that too is very fluid. an unexpected whim to use a color not normally employed can enter the picture. as can a new way of singing leaf. or rock. and, much like a thunderstorm that was predicted to strike 10 miles further north at 4pm, a bright yellow can unexpectedly appear at that same hour, and with equal power.

2010 watercolor, private collection, denver

1:22 PM: moments ago i was going texting back & forth with a friend in denver. she sent me this image of one of my 2010 watercolors in her collection, which i had completely forgotten about. time to organize my files?

watercolor 98 at 1pm, following a further tweak

12:55 PM: one more tweak to integrate the new rock on the lower right into the composition, and i think we’re there!

it’s all very subjective, but i think i can safely say i didn’t fuck it up! time to start a new one.

12:14 PM: a tweaked watercolor 97, adding a rock on the lower right. jury’s still out on whether or not it was better without that addition. i may need to make a few more changes for it to work. stay tuned….

so about an hour later, i was able to make those final marks, which you see here in the 1pm version and, indeed, the new rock on the lower right is now fully integrated into the whole, and sings along with its brothers and sisters. same tune. same rhythm. not an easy accomplishment, dipping back into that same energy without thinking about it. doing, doing, doing. and that, by the way, is the philosophy underlying our educational product, soon to be introduced into a number of schools here in our valley.

11:48 AM: here’s what the framed watercolor 92 looks like, as it will appear in the carbondale august exhibition.

additions to yesterdays watercolor 98 /  by Philip Tarlow

watercolor 98 at the end of my painting day today

1:35 PM: after gazing at watercolor 98 at the house last night and this morning, i decided it needed more work. staying true to the spirit of the piece, i didn’t do a whole lot. but i do think that the additions i made have resulted in a better painting.

the accents of darker blue and green as well as the outline of a rock on the upper right provide more complexity and variety, without sinking into busyness.

BELOW: yesterdays version is on the left; todays on the right.

watercolors 97 and 98 /  by Philip Tarlow

at work an hour ago on watercolor 98

3:22 PM: nothing like some herring in dill marinade to get you psyched for a second watercolor! so after two or three fork-fulls on crackers, including of course those fabulous onions, i proceeded to watercolor 98.

it started out woth some leaf shapes, and then came the blues and greens. they were initially intended as a base, to be painted into with some richer, stronger colors. but i fell in love with the simplicity of it as it was. and lo, i stopped!

watercolor 98 10 x 13”

before my mind had a chance to get it’s dirty fingers on it, i stopped.

i believe that reading victoria finlay’s the brilliant history of color in art (see the page below) is in part responsible, as is the comment my friend in nyc made (below)

watercolor 97 10x13”

watercolor 97 10x13”

1:12 PM: quote from an email from a dear friend in nyc yesterday:”Today I have one rude question.  Why are you devoted to that long branch- stick thing when it's fucking up your life?”

kinda set me thinking. why, indeed.

so what i just did has no branch-stick things….i like the subtle variety of blues and greens, and where would we be without those bits of yellow and orange?