returning to 2021 creek oil 2 /  by Philip Tarlow

6:03 PM: back from our walk, i wanted to report one final change to 2021 creek oil 2. as frequently happens, i made a significant change to 2021 creek oil 2 just moments before leaving the studio for our trail walk. here’s the latest version, which will be revised tomorrow morning. for one thing, i will get rid of that unnessary V shaped passage in the upper central area.

1:55 PM: a windy day, which started out very grey & dark. but the sun came out and the temperature is relatively high, so i think we’ll take our stupa trail walk at about 3:15.

today i was in an oil mood, so i decided to continue work on 2021 creek oil 2, which i haven’t worked on since january 14th. at that point in the process, it looked like this. interesting, but not yet resolved. i’ll post a pic of the current state in a little bit; i’m going to do some more work on it before cleaning up and leaving to meet mikela and go for our walk.

2:37 PM: i did some more work on it. i was feeling that the passage on the left with the leaves was too pretty and predictable. and the middle section was almost there, but needed more activity, more marks, more bridging elements connecting right and left.

this is a good step in that direction, but i don’t think it’s there yet. it still needs work. a fandangle or a quark might do it, but i don’t yet know what those are.maybe sunday will reveal the answer.

2021 creek oil 2 26x66” as it looked at the end of my painting day today

continued work on 2021 watercolor 5 /  by Philip Tarlow

2021 watercolor 5 11x15”

12:14 PM: i’m continuing work on the new watercolor i started yesterday: 2021 watercolor 5. i worked on much of the surface, using a medium grey and, on the middle left, 2 greens. in addition, i painted over the dark blues in the creek water, which i felt were way too strong. i’m going to sit with this for a while, and follow up on some outreach to australia,

i feel a fresh energy today, and i’m thinking i may strike out in a new direction, which may involve figures in the landscape. once i complete this one, i’m going to play around with some ideas i have.

BELOW is a comparative view of the first stage of 2021 watercolor 5 and todays version

continued work on 2021 watercolor 3 starting 2021 watercolor 5 / francis bacon /  by Philip Tarlow

5:51 PM: this is francis bacon in his studio in 1974.

2021 watercolor 5 11x15”

2:46 PM: i started work on 2021 watercolor 5. my favorite passage is the rock in the center with the red shadow. i also think the violet shadows are cool. and the dark blue marks signaling wavy water are a somewhat new departure from the concentric marks in previous watercolors, and more akin to huang tingjian’s (1045-1105) assertion that calligraphy should be a spontaneous and self-expressive “picture of the mind…”

1:40 PM: 2021 watercolor 3 needed more work on the right segment of the composition. always tricky to go back into a watercolor and maintain the sprit of the first stage.

BELOW: stage 1 is on the left.

i have about an hour to work before we head up the trail, so i may start a new one right now.

doctor day / monastiraki oil 40x50" /  by Philip Tarlow

monastiraki 40x50” oil on linen

6:08 PM: today was doctor day. the dentist took out my cracked crown, took an impression for a new one and put in a temporary. the dermatologist biopsied something on my arm. i went by myself so mikela could watch and record the inauguration. a historic day. and a relief to all.

so no painting today.

instead, i’ll share this 2010 oil, titled monastiraki, which is 40x50” and was included in my solo show in athens.

the subject is the historic monastiraki square in athens. it was painted in my crestone studio and based on drawings and photos made over the years i lived in greece. this is not colorado light. it’s the unique light of attica.

2021 watercolors 3 and 4 /  by Philip Tarlow

2021 watercolor 3 11x15”

2:05 PM: we only got a little over an inch of snow last night, whereas other parts of the valley got 8”, with gusty winds creating drifts of 2 feet. right now it’s clear with temperatures in the upper 20’s, so in about an hour we’ll take our stupa trail walk.

2021 watercolor 4 11x15”

i’m still in a watercolor mood, so i made 2021 watercolor 3 and 2021 watercolor 4. they both echo the discoveries i made over the last week, with # 1 & 2.

two new red watercolors i received a few days ago from dickblick are playing a significant role in these new watercolors. and my ongoing perusing of the decorative period paintings of vuillard & bonnard are evident in some of the patterning. it’s taken me this long: over a year, to get to this point. lately my morning meditations are going a lot deeper and lasting longer. i think this too is playing a role in the roll i’m on. no pun intended!

a willowy maxicraxis day /  by Philip Tarlow

3:40 PM: an unusual day. a grey day. an maxicraxis day. and what, pray tell, is maxicraxis? just a word i made up to see if you’re paying attention. i’ve had the intention of creating some printouts of my recent watercolors and sending them to galleries that might be interested in representing my work.

so, seeing as it’s a very grey day, with snow predicted for tonight, i didn’t do any painting. instead i looked critically at my recent watercolors made an initial selection of the ones i felt would be best to use for the printouts.

2021 watercolor 2 /  by Philip Tarlow

2021 watercolor 2 11x15”

2:39 PM: following the delivery of a large 1984 oil of downtown houston, which had been out on loan, and a wonderful viber call with my grand daughter manio in athens, i started work on 2021 watercolor 2. the effects of looking at bonnard paintings while having my morning matcha tea are evident here.

bonnard: children playing with a goat 1895/99 168x130 cm.

i’ve taken some of the discoveries i made in yesterdays 2021 watercolor 1 a bit further. i like how the two blues play off one another, as well as the yellow marks on the lower portion of the composition. i think these nwe discoveries are bound to show up in the next series of oils i do. but for now, i feel like i’m still into making watercolors.

here’s one of the bonnard paintings i was looking at this morning.

first watercolor of 2021 /  by Philip Tarlow

2021 watercolor 1 11x15”

1:24 PM: i have to leave early today for some stuff we need to do in salida (1:15 min. each way). so i didn’t feel i had time to start working in oil, and chose instead to make an 11x15” watercolor, loosly based on photos i’ve shot over the past week on our stupa trail walks; mostly of the frozen creek waters at the head of the trail.

not having made a watercolor for a while, it felt fresh, as does the result.

BELOW: i had mentioned the amazing new years gift mikela got me, and promised pics. well, here they are. it had tritum tubes, which glow brightly in the dark and last about 12-15 years before needing replacement. that feature is dear to my heart because when i was a kid, one of my dad’s clients was the watch manufacturer croton. he got me one, which glowed for a few hours after being exposed to the light, and i used to wear it to bed and look at it under the covers. the main reason we’re driving to salida in a little while is to have the stainless steel bracelet re-sized to fit my wrist. i don’t dare try doing it myself for fear of scratching the watch or otherwise screwing it up.

changes to 2021 creek oil 1 /  by Philip Tarlow

6:29 PM: well, this may be it. we stopped off at my studio on our way back from our stupa walk a few hours ago. we both agreed that this appears to be a completed painting, and is far better than the previous version. so maybe it is singing and i just didn’t get it! would it hold up hanging in a beautiful space adjacent to other beautiful paintings? more importantly, is this a painting that the new owner could look at every morning and see something new, something fresh? looking back at the arc of my creations over the past 2 decades, when i was increasingly consumed with the beauty and mystery of our creeks, these recent creek oils reflect that deepening connection to their forms, colors, sounds.

before (left) and after todays changes to 2021 creek oil 1

2021 creek oil 1 26x78” as it looked moments ago

DETAIL

2:42 PM: here’s the current state of 2021 creek oil 1 as of a few moments ago, at the end of my painting day, as i prepare to go back over to the house & drive up to the tashi gomang stupa trail for another delightful and energizing afternoon walk. i’ll resume tomorrow morning. it will be an abbreviated painting day due to an afternoon appointment. right now i prefer it to how ot looked when i walked into the studio this morning, but it’s not singing yet. when it starts singing, you don’t have to think about it; you know it!

1:53 PM: i did a bit more over the past hour, and here’s what it looks like now. still working, and will likely continue modifications tomorrow morning.

2021 creek oil 1 26x78” as it looked moments ago

12:55 PM: my first glance at recent work usually lets me know what needs work. today it was 2021 creek oil 1. the left portion looked ok, but the center and right areas of the composition seemed too busy, and my eye got confused about where to look. so i started working on it. it’s in process, but it’s interesting to watch the progression. BELOW right is how it looks at the moment; about to launch back in.

further work today on 2021 creek oils 1 & 3 /  by Philip Tarlow

2021 creek oil 1 26x78” as it looked at 1pm

i continued to simplify 2021 creek oil 1, focusing mainly onthe right half of the painting. in the same way those 2 trees were bothering me and seemed less and less essential, i felt similarly about the grey rock on the lower right. so i painted over that whole right side, leaving only what felt essential and adding a few blue rock forms. paintings need to breathe, just like the rest of us. it’s close but i’m not sure it’s there yet. BELOW: how the painting looked before (left) and after todays intervention. click on each image to make it full screen.

2021 creek oil 2 26 x 66” as it looked at the end of my work day.

once i stopped work on 2021 creek oil 1, i moved on to 2. i had painted over the initial very colorful first stage and now that it’s dry, i went back in, brushing a bit more titanium buff color over what had already been brushed over, and began working into it again, adding some leaf shapes on the left and rocks on the right.the song this one is singing is a rather delicate one, and i’m conscious of moving my brush and my arm and my whole body to that rhythm. BELOW starting from the left are the 3 stages of 2021 creek oil 2 thus far. i’ll continue work on this one tomorrow. right now i’m going to clean up & go meet mikela at the house so we can leave for our afternoon walk up to the stupa.

a bettert photo of 2021 creek oil 3 32x32”