5/22/21 watercolor/collage /  by Philip Tarlow

3:51 PM: this is the final stage for today: stage 4.

those central black lines with the number 30 were, i felt, dominating the composition. all that’s left now is the number “0".” if you compare the two, i think you’ll find your eye moves more naturall around the composition which, while filled with interesting details, gives the viewer what i always strive for: a lively image filled with magic and painterly in it’s execution. thank you creek gods & goddesses for giving me such a strong and lasting infusion of inspiration! i know you demand nothing less than majik.

5/22/21 watercolor/collage stage 4 11 x 15”

2:59 PM: here’s stage 3. an improvement? let me sit with it for half an hour. the collaged horizontal mark did break up the compartmentalization of the composition into four roughly equal segments, but i fear rather than resolving the issue, it simply introduces another one. your eye can’t keep away from that just introduced element. so back i go!

2:03 PM: after a very productive one hour review of my 2021 creek oils (click on the dropdown menu at the top right of this page to view them) i continued work on this new watercolor/collage. here’s where it’s at now. i need to address how the composition seems to be split into 4 quadrants. that’s next; stay tuned!

5/22/21 watercolor/collage 11x15” stage 2

12:02 PM: another cloudy, windy day, with thunderstorms possible later in the day.

i started 5/22/21 watercolor/collage, using my larger watercolor brushes to make broad sweeps indicating rocks, and my fan brush to suggest the swirling creek water. a piece from an old oil palette indicates a diagonal log. i’ll update as this one progresses over the next few hours.

modifications to yesterday's 5/20/2021 watercolor/collage /  by Philip Tarlow

12:44 PM: a partly cloudy, windy day, but no rain forecast. we had a chance to look more critically at yesterday’s 5/20/21 watercolor/collage last night & this morning. i brought it back to the studio & did quite a bit of collaging, so that only traces remain of what i did during the tsarouchis exhibition zoom yesterday morning. it has a presence now that i don’t want to mess with. it’s one of those small works that could easily scale.

a flutter of leaves reminds us that we’re looking at something inspired by nature, as does the small swirl of blue creek water. the snippet of map of paris dead center, next to the number 12 leave us wondering, as does the breast on the upper right. the overall feeling is one of joy.

5/20/21 watercolor/collage 11x15” on arches paper

5/20/21 watercolor/collage continued / evening sky /  by Philip Tarlow

6:15 PM: no rain today, so we resumed our outdoor dinners. there was a beautiful late afternoon sky, and we could see the new additions to our snowpack from recent rains, which fell as snow above 11,000 ft.

2:12 PM: i was invited to participate in a zoom, which was a tour through the current chicago exhibition of my late mentor/friend/teacher yannis tsarouchis, this morning at 10 am. it lasted for 2 1/2 hours, after which i was exhausted but very grateful to have been included.

the session was brilliantly hosted by adam szymczyk. during the first hour, as i watched and listened, i continued work on yesterday’s 5/19/21 watercolor/collage, with the thought that this is what yannis would have wanted.

i was surprised at how much i learned during the zoom. things i had never known, and i know a lot about him. my belief that he is a world class artist was reinforced.

BELOW: 3 examples of tsarouchis paintings, in the center is a detail of a still life

yesterday’s 5/19/21watercolor/collage was influenced by the vibe of this tour of the exhibition. i made marks and used colors i wouldn’t normally use.

we’ll see in the morning whether more needs to be done, and i’ll likely strta a new one as well. still waiting for my roll of canvas to arrive so i can start a large rectangualr composition to fit into one of the two large, beautiful but heavy wood frames that have recently had the paintings they held removed.

mikela and did quite a bit of studio organizing yesterday, and will continue tomorrow afternoon.

there’s still a lot to do, but it’s looking better already.

5/19/21 watercolor/collage

starting 5/19/21 watercolor/collage /  by Philip Tarlow

2:43 PM: i started work on 5/19/21 watercolor/collage shortly after completing the drawing. so this is an early stage, which i’ll resume work on tomorrow, since i have a zoom at 3. it’s interesting to leave a new painting at this early stage.

12:26 AM: today, mikela’s birthday, i’m starting a new watercolor/collage. i’ve been making one almost every other day, so there are quite a few of them. the rule of thumb is that for every 10 paintings, there may be one or two good ones. and for every 100, maybe 1 great one. so i suppose i’m on track. here’s the drawing for the newest one.

5/18/21 watercolor/collage / 5/17/21 watercolor/collage as a vertical / snow this morning /  by Philip Tarlow

2:44 PM: after making a drawing, i started work on 5/18/21 watercolor/collage. it already has quite a few collaged elements, but it’s still in an early stage and will develop more tomorrow morning. right now i’m all outta juice, and mikela will be coming over soon so we can both spend a few hours organizing my studio.

making the initial drawing for 5/18/21 watercolor/collage

BELOW: 5/17/21 watercolor/collage

5/17/21 watercolor/collage at 11:37 am today

11:39 AM: 5/17/21 watercolor/collage has once again become a horizontal. after a number of collaged modifications this morning, and after turning it this way and that, i settled, a least for the moment on the original horizontal format as the most satisfying visually. while rooted in creek imagery, it has many many suggestive forms.

and now i’m moving on to today’s watercolor/collage; i’ll update as the day progresses. the snow has stopped, by the way, but it’s still overcast and chilly, at 37F.

10:03 AM: the sound of heavy rain kept me up at 1 am. it turned to snow and when we got up there was about 2” of fresh wet snow and the temperature was 29F.

when i arrived at the studio and was having my breakfast, it ocurred to me that this new watercolor/collage is much more interesting compositionally when viewed vertically. Since it’s not strictly representational, the eye accepts it.

5/17/21 watercolor/collage /  by Philip Tarlow

5/17/21 watercolor/collage

3:18 PM: having decided that the previous two were resolved, i started a new one: 5/17/21 watercolor/collage. once again, i’m not quite certain it’s complete, so back to the house it will go and we’ll peruse tonight & tomorrow morning. it’s different in that there’s now creek water; just a large fallen tree trunk, which has become more playful with the introduction of collaged elements such as maps, a pen drawing and a snippet from a magazine ad. does it work?

i’ll let you know tomorrow. in the meantime, of you have any comments or feedback, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on comments.

starting 5/16/21 watercolor-collage while brewing ginger-tumeric tea / parade 17 /  by Philip Tarlow

6:31 PM: parade 17, oil and collage on linen, 16x16” was painted in 2010. it hangs in our entryway.

ano kato is a series of paintings made in 2010, which can be viewed on this page:

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

2:36 PM: i started working on 5/16/21 watercolor/collage earlier, and switched off with making modifications to yesterday’s 5/15/21 watercolor/collage.

yesterday’s is on the right, BELOW, and today’s on the left. neither are resolved, so i might do a bit more work now before calling it a day. the ever present horizontal log has appeared in both, giving each a compositional boost.

thus far, i’d say today’s is more coherent, & reads quite well from a distance. framed, it might even be a knockout. it’s a good lesson in the use of white space, because if you look at one then the other, what may strike you is how, in today’s watercolor/collage, the so called negative spaces have a life of their own, while simultaneously playing a critical role in the entire composition. i like how the number 8 becomes a focal point to which your eye can return after traveling through the blues, greens, grays and orange-pinks.

12:06 PM: i’m strating 5/16/21 watercolor/collage while making ginger-tumeric tea. read up on the benefits of both & you’ll become a fan. ask me if you need help with the ingredients, other than fresh grated ginger & tumeric.

i was considering going out to paint plein air at the creek, which i haven’t done in months, but it’s going to cloud over again this afternoon, with possible thunderstorms, so i’ll stay here & work.

2020 self portraits discovered / dinner on the deck yesterday evening / starting a new watercolor /  by Philip Tarlow

3:22 PM: and here’s stage 3. seem a bit scattered? in person, it hangs together more than on the screen. a delicate fellow. i think i may stop here; i’m kind of running out of juice & i’d like to sit with this overnight & see what happens sunday morning.

2:57 PM: this is stage 2.

2:07 PM: this is the first stage of today’s watercolor/collage. spare, wouldn’t you say?keep it this way & start a new one?

stay tuned!

5/15/21 watercolor/collage at 2 pm

12:55 PM: about to start 5/15/21 watercolor/collage which i suppose could be considered a birthday watercolor. on the other hand, mikela and i both declared birthdays ridiculous and vowed to stop acknowledging or celebrating them. most indigenous tribal members have no idea when they were born, and have a very different concept of what we know as time.

i’ll post pics, as usual, once i get to stage 1 of the new painting.

11:38 AM: at the request of a greek friend who is compiling artists portraits i discovered a couple of small self portraits from 2020.

our deck dinner yesterday was delightful!

starting a new watercolor / 5/3/21 creek oil in the living room sunlight /  by Philip Tarlow

3:43 PM: so if you look at my post from 20 minutes ago, i was going to wait till tomorrow to decide whether to collage. i didn’t wait, and just now added 3 collaged pieces which i think relieve the congestion and add a note of mystery, as well as the love i have for crestone/baca, which is what the map is. the pen and ink drawing is what’s left of what i did yesterday and added to one of my creek oil series of paintings.

once again, the unplanned, unexpected seemingly random interruption/enrichment of the composition wins the day, and harmony raises it’s flag of victory.

5/14/21 watercolor stage 3

3:20 PM: i’m just about cooked for the day, so i’m stopping here. not certain whether it’s complete. i might introduce a little collage tomorrow.

2:35 PM: stage 2 of 5/14/21 watercolor. a variety of greens, oranges and blues have enriched the composition. there’s more movement than there was in stage 1. i’ll keep working for about another hour, while i still have the juice.

BELOW: 2 details

1:40 PM: here’s stage 1 of 5/14/21 watercolor. it’s inspired by a trail walk we took about a week ago.

more a bit later, as it evolves…

11:52 AM: i brought 5/3/21 creek oil over to the house yesterday and plan on hanging it this afternoon. for now, it sits on the floor beneath our east living room north window. i like the light & shadow falling on the painting. i’m starting a new watercolor in a few minutes & will update as it progresses.

so what did you do today, philip? /  by Philip Tarlow

5:49 PM: an odd day, it was. i had absolutely no juice to paint. nada. so i did some stretching & unstretching, preparing for my next paintings. i did look at my books on 18th century painter taiga.

as you can see from the paint stained book cover, i’ve spent lots of time studying this remarkable artist. i made a series of studies in 2011, ABOVE, which dramatically influenced my path from then on.

i contemplated how my current series of creek oils reflect the lessons i learned from my old buddy.

4/29/21 creek oil, BELOW, may give you an idea. this creek-scape contains many of the same elements as taiga’s landscape based compositions. i’m beginning to think maybe i’ve finally found a way to integrate his discoveries.

this is how art happens; over decades, we slowly wind our way back to our core identity, the one we were all born with then forgot. the freedom of a particular mark in a particular moment bursts forth, defining new territory as it sniffs the aroma of now.

5/3/21 creek oil 26 x 78”

DETAIL of 5/3/21 creek oil 26 x 78”