at work on 2021 creek oil 9 /  by Philip Tarlow

2021 creek oil 9 16 x 64” at the end of my painting day today. the zinger in a new painting is always unexpected. in this one, i feel that it’s the warm orange-ish pink shape at the center of the composition. it’s actually a wooden floor at MOMA, behind the figure leaning against the railing and contemplating the view below, of sculpture and monet’s very large waterlilies painting in the museum’s permanent collection. the stuccato transitions from the green cactus to the scattered figures seen from above give us a rhythm, a beat. it engages us, leading our eye on a trip across the space of the composition and leaving us wondering, as john russell said in his ny times review of my 1982 nyc show, “….what his people get up to when they aren’t in the picture.”

3:32 PM: i’m stopping here for the day. and i may not do any more on this one. i think i’ve taken it to the brim, and anything more would ruin the integrity of the space, the marks, the colors.

1:10 PM: i did one round this morning, and am about to start a second round. here’s how 2021 creek oil 9 looked 10 minutes ago.

everything i did this morning was on this right portion of the painting, and includes some figures from my MOMA photos from above.

11:11 AM: inspired by vermeer, i took some shots of myself working on 2021 creek oil 9 this morning before getting to work painting. i’m about to get to work & will post pics as they become available.

self portrait at work on 2021 creek oil 9

next stage of 2021 creek oil 9 /  by Philip Tarlow

2021 creek oil 9 as it looked moments ago, at the end of my painting day

3:18 PM: branches have entered the picture, and i did a bit more work on the girl with the pink top, on the right. i like where it’s headed; to be continued tomorrow.

2021 creek oil 9 as it looked moments ago

1:48 PM: i’m moving ahead with 2021 creek oil 9, introducing new figures on the right canvas. i’m going to continue working, and will post new pics as they become available.

2021 creek oil 9, this is the area i worked on this morning

continuing 2021 creek oil 9 / studio wall detail / vermeer's the art of painting /  by Philip Tarlow

2021 creek oil 9 as it looked at the end of my painting day.

3:57 PM: 2021 creek oil 9, stage 3 and 4/3/21 2021 creek oil 9 modifications.

this is a good example of why i love working on more than 1 painting at a time. as i was continuing work on the new 2021 creek oil 9, i saw some changes i needed to make on 2021 creek oil 4, which has been hanging on my studio wall for a couple of weeks. discoveries i made on #9 allowed me to update #4, and as a result, i think it had improved significantly.

scroll down to the bottom of this page to view the latest modification to 2021 creek oil 4.

2021 creek oil 9, stage 2 16x64” oil on 4 linen canvases

12:45 PM: i’m continuing work on 2021 creek oil 9. this is stage 2, with a detail of the first 16x16” canvas.

i’m continuing work on this one, and will post updates.

11:30 AM: i took a photo of one of the walls in my studio this morning. here’s what you’re looking at, starting at the top left & going clockwise: a sketch for a painting of my grandson philip, when he was about 4 years old; a 1980 photo i shot of david hockney on his deck with his pup; my dad at his bar mitzvoh; a sign in houston announcing a talk we gave on mikela’s book, navigating the future; a little watercolor of mikela with her coffee mug; a page of a byzantine manuscript given to me in the ‘70’s by a friend in athens; a strip from one of my oil palettes, ca. 2014.

BELOW: a comparative view of 2021 creek oil 4 before (left) and after todays modifications.

starting the drawing for 2021 creek oil 9 /  by Philip Tarlow

2021 creek oil 9 16x64” (4 canvases) stage 1

2:55 PM: i spent time finding wood strips & screwing them to the back of the 4 canvasses, while checking the progress of the latest photoshop update. it got stuck at 54%, and when i googled that issue, it was something others had a problem with. so i simply stopped loading it & started fresh, which is what others suggested. it worked, & now i have the latest greatest photoshop & bridge apps.

the figure on the left, which is so far the only one to have been painted in oil, is from one of the original series of photos i shot for the first ano kato paintings. (click painting series in the drop down menu above, then go to ano kato) he’s one of the figures on the sidewalk of skoufa street in athens, where there was a parade i photographed and painted. and that was the first in the ano kato series.

i made the drawing using photos shot from above, and included a shot i took recently of the cacti in our bedroom. after attaching them from behind with the sood strips, i discovered that, when i turned them over to put the screws in, i put the one that should go on the right on the left, and visa versa; a “mistake” which, naturally, i’ll make good use of. i’m excited to continue tomorrow, when i should be able to get to work as soon as i have finished my breakfast.

the first ano kato painting, 2010, private collection, athens

1:09 PM: i had wanted to print out some images to use in the new 2021 creek oil 9, ˆ16x64, consisting of 4 16” square canvases side by side. but photoshop wouldn’t behave, and i realized i needed to update to the latest version, which takes hours. so i started the drawing, using other images instead. the update is stuck at 54% and if it doesnt progress soon, i may have to start all over.

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”