starting a new 27x78" oil /  by Philip Tarlow

8/17/20 creek oil painting 27 x 78” stage 2

8/17/20 watercolor

3:50 PM: i did a bit more on the oil i started this morning, using oil pastels. if you compare with stage 1, below, you’ll notice some blues that were not there as well as a bit of orange and a new rock on the left, as well as a deeper orange in the oranges already on the right. interesting how much of an impact those blues have in this spare composition, isn’t it?

i had a longing to make some watercolor strokes, so i made a very small one, and cut it in two so it would fit in this little white frame. nutty thing to do? well, maybe. but it sort of makes it like a collage, with an unplanned transition in the blues that actually works. one day, the owner will wonder why i did that. but they won’t love it any less.

8-17-20 creek oil painting 1 27 x 78”

1:05 PM: i’ve been dreaming for months, since i injured my shoulder and started my 2020 watercolor series, of squeezing those oil colors out on my palette. today i did just that, trying in the process to keep my shoulder movements to a minimum. this first one, on a virgin white primed linen canvas, is a riff on the gouache and watercolor creek paintings i’ve been making.

i’ve been dreaming as well of being able to paint into those wet oil colors, scrape into them in a way only possible with oil. so this is stage 1, which i’m going to leave until tomorrow. first of all, the heat is starting to build and become uncomfortable. but, as well, i do feel some stress in my shoulder. i’ve been so careful so long to allow it to heal, that i don’t want to screw up that process.

perhaps in reaction to the layered, scraped sometimes muddy quality of last years motion series of oils, some of which are now hanging in my show at carbondale arts, i envision this series, if indeed it becomes a series, to be a lighter, more playful, less time-bound take on the swirling waters of our creek. there may be, in this first one, some influences from a book i’ve been looking at every morning over coffee: the guggenheim collection. this is one quote that has stayed with me:” simultaneity was an attempt to embody a change of consciousness in response to a belief that sequential modes of thought and expression were inadequate to realize the fullness and complexity of modern urban life” from kearn, shattuck and virginia spate’s book”orphism: the evolution of non figurative painting in paris 1910-1914.

the san luis valley seen from the trail at 9am yesterday

in that vein, something new i’m doing is to draw from a variety of images i’ve shot with my phone while walking up or painting plein air at the creek. a sense of rock-ness; branch-ness; flowing, rushing-water-ness without describing or focusing on a particular moment. and trusting that, simply having this intention, along with my skill at drawing, will let my brush know where to go.

and beyond all that, just putting oil to canvas after having make 112 watercolors in a row, is a trip.

mikela resting on our trail walk yesterday

normally, the san juan mountains, which in this photo you can just make out on the far west side of the valley, are clear. the haze that’s blocking them is a result of smoke from 2 major wildfires burning right now in colorado. this view is from a spot on the trail about 20 minutes further up than the one hour early morning walks we’ve been taking every other day.

as we walked, i began getting a sense of this first oil. i knew i had one stretched 78x27” canvas. these are the dimensions of with paintings in my sound of a flute series of paintings. i had one that was ready to paint on when my shoulder happened. so today, i didn’t need to go through the stress of stretching a large canvas in order to begin painting.

the CARBONDALE talk pushed back one week:

there’s heavy smoke in carbondale right now because of the wildfires so we’re pushing back the talk marc bruell and i had planned on giving this friday 8/21 to the following friday, 8/28, which is the final day of my exhibition at carbondale arts. we’re hoping conditions improve by then.i’m re-doing the brochure with the new date.

plein air at the creek /  by Philip Tarlow

8/15/20 watercolor 1

6:52 PM: yesterday i got the urge to go to the creek and paint plein air, which i haven’t done in months. you could tell i was out of practice, from trying unsuccessfully to stabilize the collapsible tableto finding a place for my 3 legged stool (i ended up sitting on a log) to trying to put my brushes somewhere where they wouldn’t tumble onto the ground or worse yet into the creek! if you could have seen me, you would have laughed. or tried to help me.

8/15/20 watercolor 2

i was so rattled, when i started painting on what i thought was a piece of paper taped to the foam core, i didn’t realize until i was about to leave that i had it flipped the wrong way, and was actually painting on the foam core itself! an interesting experience. that gouache painting won’t last too long, since the foam core is not acid free, as is the paper i use.

i don’t think these are particularly interesting paintings, but it got me back into the plein air mode. if i go back soon, i’ll leave earlier, because it was impossible to get out of the sun, which was straight overhead.

plus, i forgot some basic colors, like green and brown.

the western sky yesterday evening from our deck

the eastern sky at sunset yesterday

yesterday late afternoon we had 2 friends for a deck dinner. it had been a record breaking hot day, so it was refreshing to sit out in the breeze. as dark clouds gathered in the east, the wind picked up and, after finishing our desert, a fantastic chocolate cake they had baked, it began raining & we moved indoors. with the haze from the smoke wafting into the valley from the huge grizzly fire burning out of control near glenwood springs,

just 20 minutes from carbondale, where marc and i are scheduled to give our talk on friday afternoon.

The grizzly creek fire /  by Philip Tarlow

7:38 AM: yesterdays headline:”The Grizzly Creek fire burns in rugged terrain just north of Glenwood Springs Friday August 14, 2020.” this out of control blaze has closed the i-70 indefintely in the area of the fire, and independence pass just re-opened yesterday on a limited basis. we go over that pass to get to carbondale, where our friday talk is scheduled. so we’ll have to keep an eye on the situation and how it will impact our travel that day.

today is egg day, so i’ll be going to pick up 4 dozen fresh eggs from our friend judy at the kiosk in crestone at 10am, then proceeding to my studio. i’ll post more once i’m settled.

completing the carbondale brochure /  by Philip Tarlow

4:27PM: i spent most of the day improving and fine tuning our brochure for the carbondale talk marc and i will deliver a week from today. carbondale arts is sending out an email blast, and i’m awaiting a call from the local radio station for an interview, which will draw more people in. we haven’t rehearsed, which is part of the deal. we each know what we want to convey, and we’ll wing it, with marc breaking into song with his guitar as the mood strikes him. i’ve been blogging about my process for a long time, so there’s more than enough to speak about. the trick will be to convey the immediacy and spirit, and for the attendees to be able effectively to relate what we convey to their everyday lives in a way that makes a difference.

starting watercolor 112 in the midst of chaos / /  by Philip Tarlow

6:53 PM: this morning thomas came to install the moulding around the new studio door, which was installed after the old one was destroyed in the studio flood back in june. i was intent on strating a new watercolor, so, in the midst of sawing, hammering, staple gunning i boldly printed one of the the creek photos i shot this morning on our walk. then i taped a new piece of arches watercolor paper to a piece of foam core and started painting. i instructed myself to use the racket i was hearing as an inspiration to make a beautiful watercolor. “i can’t believe your age!” said the doctor i saw this afternoon to revew mikela’s inhaler scrip. “how do you do it ??” i paint, said i.

so, although i don’t consider this a great first stage, and it may end up in the trash, i did put brush to paper. it felt like months, not days, had gone by since i last made a watercolor. in the small spaces of available time i had this morning, i went back and forth with carbondale arts about getting the ok for an outdoor talk musician mark bruell and i plan on doing on august 21. we did get the go-ahead, so now we’re creating a title for our talk, which will be about the process of making art, making music.

on our morning walk, i shot a few photos of, by now, familiar views looking down from the trail towards the creek below. but the light changes daily, and this is a fresh look, which inspired my newest watercolor.

those red plants, especially, seemed brighter, an almost unbelievable, shocking deep red vermillion in the midst of all those more subdued browns, greens greys and blues. like brushstrokes flicking over the surface, they are strategically yet randomely placed so that the eye keeps coming back. and the mind keeps wondering:” are they real or were they placed there by some wily nature-gremlin-spirit?

looking back to 2018 / preparing to re-engage /  by Philip Tarlow

6:44 PM: two years ago, in april, 2018, i stood on this stepstool moving my still healthy right arm and shoulder in large, sweeping movements effortlessly. this was a series that was more non-objective than my motion series, or the watercolors i’ve been creating over the past few months. this morning i took all approximately 100 of them, aside from the 16 that are hanging in carbondale, and placed them in a large cardboard box, to clear the decks for whatever comes next.

so what does come next? no clue.i’ve been dreaming of returning to oil on linen, but without the big, stressful scrapes and rubs. more like a larger version of the watercolors. spare.

more in the vein of what you see below: watercolor 98, painted june 27th. lighter, brighter colors, indications of water rocks, leaves, branches….space.

1980 painting in egg tempera / dinner on the deck /  by Philip Tarlow

4:24 PM: just back yesterday evening from carbondale. first day in my studio. i felt a bit dizzy and generally out of it, but very happy to be back in my big, beautifully lit studio, where silence rules. a dear friend in nyc sent me this photo of an egg tempera painting of mine she purchased probably in 1981, when i was living and exhibiting in nyc, at fischbach gallery. this was painted in my central park west 10th floor studio/apartment overlooking central park west. i was still painitng in egg tempera, the ancient medium i learned to use during my 15 years living in greece. it’s painted on board, which is the best and safest surface for this medium, which can easily crack on a flexible surface like canvas.

this was a period when i was almost exclusively painting nyc architecture. i was especially inspired by the reflections in the huge panes of glass that are everywhere in the city. this particular one is in my friend w’s neighborhood. egg tempera is the perfect medium for painting these subtle reflections, and i have deep gratituse for the athens painters who helped me discover egg tempera: yorgos manousakis, niki karagatsi (my then mother-in-law) and yiannis tsarouchis. you couldn’t ask for better guides, teachers, mentors.

8:43 PM: this afternoon at 5 we sat down on our deck for dinner & drinks with friends. as it grew later, the skies turned red/purple/warm grey and we were blessed.

yesterdays carbondale opening / dan’s new home /  by Philip Tarlow

12:44 PM: yesterday at 5:30 pm i gave a short outdoor talk at Carbondale Arts.the director was surprised at the large turnout, and it was for me a great pleasure, especially after being sequestered for so many months in our house in crestone. many great questions were asked, and i met some wonderful people. as i had hoped, the exhibition and the talk gave me an opportunity to see what i’ve been up to in my studio and at the creek. we return to crestone monday and i’m filled with new ideas, so i can’t wait to return to my studio.

detail of dp creek III, 42 x 66” one of my painintgs in in dan’s collection

we’ve been staying with our friend dan, who just purchased an amazing new house right on the river. last night we ate outdoors and it was magic. below are more photos from the exhibition, as well as some shot of the house exterior & interior. dan collects my work, some of which you’ll see leaning against the walls, ready to be hung.

carbondale / my short talk tomorrow /  by Philip Tarlow

5:38 PM: on the not so positive side, when, i wonder, will i be able to see and paint the creek again. on the up side,

i’m bringing these 4 paintings with me to use during my talk. even though it’s going to be outdoors & people will be social distancing, the’ll be close enough to see these when i hold them up.

the purpose is to give my audience a window on the source of inspiration for the gave and motion series. the two landscapes are plein air oils, painted at the creek in 2014, and are great examples of how i’ve been able to simplify the rocks and water in advance of what happens in my studio, where i take that process even further. not intentionally; it’s just what happens. the two fayum studies on the left were painted in the british museum in the mid ‘70’s. the one on the far left was purchased  in 1980 by joseph h. hirschhorn, founder of the hirschhorn museum & sculpture garden in washington, d.c. when he passed, his wife olga gave it to my dad. and when my dad passed, it returned to me.

watercolor 111 / what is "painterly?" / paintings hung in the gallery today /  by Philip Tarlow

watercolor 111, 4.5 x 4.5 “

6:51 PM: today, with only 2 days until my talk and opening, i made a small, 4.5 x 4,5” watercolor for a dear friend. i placed it in a small white frame, in which it works well.. it’s a continuation the previous watercolors in this series, but with the characteristics of a miniature.

as well, i completed the final page of the 10 intended for the gallery walls. in the end, the director pointed out that putting the printouts on the wall would create clutter. i agree, so the pages will be on a document that will be available to everyone.

BELOW: the gallery rooms with the painitngs newly hung.