continued work on 2021 creek oil 4 /  by Philip Tarlow

4:06 PM: just one more round before leaving for the house. BELOW: the latest revisions are on the right. looking at now, it does seem a bit crowded, doesn’t it? grand central station before covid.

i do like this section of the revised painting, inspired by my MOMA photos from above.

it’s always best to see what my first morning glance tells me, and it’s probably wisest to stretch a new one and start work on that one while casting furtive glances at this one and making whatever moves seem necessary in the moment, without being committed to spending more than a few minutes making whatever tweaks i’m moved to make.

i do like the newly created yellow triangle on top, and the orange bit beneath it.

click on the two BELOW and see which one you prefer. leave comments in the box at the bottom of this page, if you like.

DETAIL of 2021 creek oil 4 after my latest additions

3:05 PM: i continued working on revisions to 2021 creek oil 4, encouraged by a bonnard painting that he created in 1890 and revised in 1920-21!

as our vision evolves, older work may need revision to match where we’re at. BELOW are 4 stages of 2021 creek oil 4, with todays version on the bottom right. but it’s only just past 3, and in looking over at it, i can see where more work is needed.

painting over 2021 creek oil 8 / returning to 2021 creek oil 4 /  by Philip Tarlow

2:31 PM: i was not satisfied with 2021 creek oil 8, which i’ve been working on the past few days, so this morning i painted over it with a pink-ish tone. while it dries, i returned to 2021 creek oil 4. the more i looked at it here on my east studio wall, the more i felt the upper portion wasn’t working.

so i’m going back into it, maintainig the delicate balances i’ve achieved while boldly adding new figures. right now only one is apparent, but there will be one or two more, including perhaps an ancient female marble statue.

if you click on them & go back & forth between the two,

2021 creek oil 8 /  by Philip Tarlow

6:11 PM: now that a few hours have passed, i’m seeing this new one as a breakthrough of sorts. it works as an abstraction, and it also works as a representational image, with the faces and hands interacting with the rocks and tree branches. as an abstraction, archille gorky comes to mind, with his roving, bouncy geomorphic shapes. turning it from a vertical to a horizontal composition played a significant role in allowing it to shake free of the constraints imposed by following a plan, consciously or not.

can you relate this to something in your life?

3:03 PM: i know i’m driving you nuts with these changes, but in my 3/26 post i titled the 66x16” painting i started that day new ano kato oil 66x16”. at that point i thought i was launching into a series based on my ano kato paintings. as it turns out, it’s more accurate to continue with new series titled 2021 creek oils. this one started out as a vertical, with elements of photos shot from above in MOMA and space gallery, denver.

today it became a horizontal composition, with more creek inspired features than ano kato inspired. if i simply follow my gut and let my plotting mind have a rest, it all comes together. usually.

i think this one has some passages, such as the ones on the right & left, that work really well, and other areas that are still forming. i think i’ll call it a day & go back to the house, so i’ll resume work tomorrow morning. it should be a brighter day, which always helps my work.

DETAIL

carbondale /  by Philip Tarlow

7:40 PM: we returned home this afternoon and are still getting settled following the 4+hour drive, with stops at costco and sweeties in salida, where we got some fresh baked bread. here’s another of my paintings: gaze 12, 38x38, hanging in our friends in carbondale.

gaze 12, 38x38” oil & collage on linen

carbondale /  by Philip Tarlow

8:17 AM: here are a few photos i shot at the home of the friends we’re visiting in carbondale, co.

i’ll be back in my studio tuesday morning, when i’ll continue work on the painting i strarted on friday, which you can see in my last post.

BELOW:

top: left-3 of dan’s ceramic pieces right-view of the river from the house

bottom: 2 of my paintings in their collection

motion series painting in their collection

new ano kato oil 66x16" /  by Philip Tarlow

2:56 PM: today i started work on one of the 2 canvases i stretched. this one is 66x16.” right now it’s inspired by a series of photos i re-discovered while searching though my 2009 files. many were shot from above at MOMA. visitors to the museum are browsing, sitting, walking about . in it’s current state it may be hard for you to make out what’s going on. but this will become clearer as the painting evolves. architectural elements will begin appearing, as they have in the last 3 or 4 new paintings.

i may start work on the second one i stretched: 32x32.” as you know if you follow my blog posts, i like working on two paintings simultaneously. it’s more fun, and it’s less likely i’ll get stuck on one or the other.

you may notice that i’ve changed the title of this series from 2021 creek oils to 2021 new ano kato. it’s turning out that this series is more of a continuation of my ano kato series. you can view this series by clicking on the painting series drop down menu or you can copy & paste the link below.

https://www.philiptarlow.com/best-left-unsaid

2021 new ano kato 8 66x16”

organizing watercolor/collages, continuing to stretch canvases /  by Philip Tarlow

2/28/21 watercolor/collage

1:23 PM: just after i had my breakfast i had a long and fruitful conversation with the director of gremillion, the gallery houston that has been representing my work for over 20 years. my plan today was to finsih stretching the canvases i started working on yesterday. but after my conversation, the tail end of which was a face-time, i began organizing an ever growing stack of recent watercolor/collages piled on top of my flat files.

in the process, i came across works, such as the one you see here, that i’d like to see shown together at some point.

a stack of watercolor/collages in a growing pile on my flat files

stretching canvas /  by Philip Tarlow

singing creek hanging over the stairs in my studio

singing creek hanging over the stairs in my studio

3:13 PM: i stretched a 66x16” canvas and prepared to stretch 2 more squarish ones. i was going back & forth about un-stretching a large yellow painting made over 3 years: singing creek. it’s 38 x 78” and i just couldn’t bring myself to un-stretch it & roll it up, likely not to be seen again for years. so, with some difficulty because it’s pretty heavy, i hung it on the wall adjacent to the stairs leading up to my loft area.

it’s meant to be a horizontal, but i could only hang it vertically in this location.

my motion series paintings can be viewed on these two pages:

https://www.philiptarlow.com/recent-1

https://www.philiptarlow.com/motion

a selection can be seen at space gallery in denver and gremillion & co. fine art in houston

singing creek 38x78” 2016-19 oil, oil stick, collage & colored pencil on canvas

12:10 PM: after days of pushing it off (because it means spending one or two days without painting), i’m finally stretching some new canvases. i’ll probably do 2-3 today, then start something new before stretching more. i’ll also have to UN-stretch a few, which is a big pain in the ass because it involves removing all those staples.it’s a cloudy day with possible flurries predicted through tonight & tomorrow.

stretching a 66x16” canvas moments ago

snow approaching / continuing yesterdays watercolor/collage /  by Philip Tarlow

3:41 PM: i did more work on the two watercolors. i think today’s is Ok, but yesterday’s is better. i’ll know better when i bring them to the house. did you catch the two small ano kato figures at the bottom left of 3.22.21 watercolor/collage?

BELOW: left: 3/22/21 watercolor/collage right: 3/23/21 watercolor/collage

why i’m proud of these two watercolor/collages

if you could pay a visit to my studio, you’d see how chaotic it is. but i pretty much know where everything is. there’s a pile of recent watercolor/collages on top of my flat files that i keep going through. i find ones i had under-appreciated and, for a while, put them up against the wall so i can glance at them during the day, and review what it is i love about each one.

there’s definitely an evolution, which i’ve spoke about in these posts. lately it involves the integration of a few directions over the past decade or so. actually i say decade because it’s convenient; i have no idea whether it was 10 or 15 or maybe 20 years ago i took a particular direction.

what i see in these two watercolor/collages is something that simply could not have occured 3, 5, 10, 20 years ago. take those two little figures at the bottom of 3/22/21 watercolor collage. it’s subtle, but how they integrate into the space, into the composition, is kind of magical. the actual creek-scape that inspired these two pieces was photographed just a few days ago, at the start of our walk up to the stupa. i’ve made quite a few plein air paintings of the creek at a spot just opposite this one, so it’s familair territory. but never this particular view, with the big horizontal trunk upon which late afternoon shadows fall.

the way i’ve been able to take what we saw a few days ago and transform it into a dance of form, color and movement is admirable, if i do say so myself!! there are references here to many of the great artists i admire. but what i’ve created is entirely my own vision.

11:38 AM: a series of storms are approaching crestone/baca and should arrive about 7pm. i photographed the eastern sky about 10am.

i’m about to continue work on yesterdays 3/22/21 watercolor/collage, adding a sister piece: 3/23/21 watercolor/collage

1:13 PM BELOW: how they looked moments ago

morning drawing / 3/22/21 creek watercolor stage 1 /  by Philip Tarlow

stage 1: 3/22/21 creek watercolor 15 1/2x 3 3/4”

3:34 PM: today i was prepared to continue my prep work for new canvasses, but i was in a watercolor mood. i started 3/22/21 creek watercolor, moving a lot slower than i have with previous watercolors.

i’m using new watercolors i bought a few weeks back.

more when we return from our walk up the trail.

12:19 PM: i made a new morning drawing, looking down towards our entryway. i’m late to the studio because we had a zoom with our friends in germany. i’ll post more once i’ve had my late breakfast & done some work