ABOVE: 4 recent watercolor/collages. clearly, a new direction is emerging, which integrates paths i’ve taken over the arc of my career. although i’ve made abstarct paintings, i’m not an abstract painter. i briefly flirted with abstraction in 1962-3, when i was living in my studio in little italy, nyc. and i was influenced by deKooning, who was at his peak. then, in greece, i found my true path in painterly realism, inspired and guided by my mentor, yannis tsarouchis and my then mother-in-law, niki karagatsi.
later, in my ano kato series, i followed my lifelong passion for views of figures from above, while continuing to express my love for the landscape by making plein air paintings at our creeks. what you see above is an integration of this lifelong journey.
3:08 PM: before making the changes to yesterday’s piece, which i talk about below, i was working most of the day on the new 4/15/21 watercolor/collage. it’s elegantly simple right now, and i’m too tired to do anything more today. we got up at 5 so mikela could leave at 6:45 for a meeting in alamosa which started at 8am.
in today’s work, the theme of the tree trunk dissecting the watercolor continues, as do a slection of figures viewed from above, all of which have made appearances in previous paintings, particularly in my ano kato series: https://www.philiptarlow.com/best-left-unsaid
the more i employ these figures as part of the composition, the more they feel like old friends i know and love. there’s one i inserted today that i’ve only used once before. she is a girl i photographed with her family at an outdoor event in alamosa a few years ago. there’s a baby in her carriage which you can barely make out, to the right of the girl. in the original photo, an older woman i assume to be her grandmother stands to her right, along with other family members. the couple on the bottom are from a series of photos i shot from above in the acropolis museum in athens about 10 years ago. and the cactus leaves, which can also be found in yesterday’s work, are from plants in our bedroom. the suggestions, in the center and on the top right, of rippling water are from photos i’ve shot of our creek.
4/15/21 watercolor/collage at the end of my painting day
both these pieces consist of 2 joined pieces of arches watercolor paper mounted on archival foam core. in both these pieces, some of the cactus plant leaves consist of collaged pieces of old paper oil palettes and maps.
2:43 PM: as i started work on the new 4/15/21 watercolor/collage, i kept glancing over at yesterday’s 4/14/21 watercolor/collage. something seemd off, so i went back into it and made a few small changes that i think helped. BELOW is a comparative view before (left) and after my changes. the main areas of change are: the figure on the upper right and the lower portion of the dark brown tree trunk, which starts in the lower left and trevels up towards the upper figure in blue. a few leaf forms break up the brown, allowing it to become less dominant. what i did with the upper figure in blue i’m not so sure of, and i may return her to her previous, simpler state, where her dress and blouse were not filled in. as well, i may return the area to the left of her head to it’s original, lighter blue state.
5:11 PM: as usual, i worked until the very last minute, this time on yesterday’s 4/14/21 watercolor/collage.i’m too tired right now to give an accurate read on the adjustments i made to this, yesterday’s watercolor/collage.
ABOVE: 4/14/21 watercolor/collage went through 3 stages today, as i began work on 4/15/21 watercolor/collage. at first, it may be difficult to make out exactly what changed. but if you click on the image on the left, then the right arrow, which will bring you to the next stage of development, it will become clear. then, if you like, scroll down to the bottom of this page and leave a comment.
