delicious breakfast / continuing work on 6/24/2021 creek drawing/collage /2 newly discovered 2014 drawings , and 7 self portrait drawings /  by Philip Tarlow

just today discovered these 7 self portrait drawings I made in February, 2014

I recall deciding to make one every morning before leaving for my studio. they’re all pen & ink, except for this one you see on the right, which is colored pencil. I used our bathroom mirror to capture my reflection.

looking at these inspires me to do another round, 8 years later, which i’ll post if I actually follow through on this threat.

6/24/2021 creek drawing/collage. 49.5x49.5 in. at 1pm today

1:29 PM: this morning I had the intention of taking 6/24/2021 creek drawing/collage further. but I didn’t want to overdo it. I think I accomplished that, adding something, reflecting, adding another little bit, etc. during studio cleanup a few weeks ago, I came across 5 pieces, each 30x22.5” on arches paper that are very much in the same spirit, although they are smaller and on paper, and don’t contain any collaged elements. it’s interesting to note that, in the one on the left, below, I inserted a figure, just beneath the rock. 6/24/2021 creek drawing/collage also contains a small figure, of our friend David installing new lighting oil our closet, and it’s in almost the exact same area of the painting.

as i’m gazing at it, I think i’m going to declare it complete, stretch it and bring it to the house, where it can be inserted in it’s substantial wood frame. as i’ve mentioned in an earlier post, we removed the 2001 creek oil that resided in that frame for the past 20 years, to make way for this new one. that’s the reason the dimensions are so unusual: 49.5x49.5”, which are the dimensions of the old stretcher bar. as soon as it’s stretched, all the wrinkles you may have noticed will dissapear.

it’s interesting to compare the 2017/2017 works on paper with this new one , so I posted 2 of them below.

at work this morning on 6/24/2021 creek drawing/collage

BELOW: 2 just discovered 2014 drawings

6:38 AM: you probably think i’m nuts, but i love sharing my delicious breakfasts, and what i’m reading as i eat them.

here you see my little breakfast table in the studio. at the top is the latest atlantic magazine. the cover article is about british pm boris johnson. i’ve been reading it with my breakfast over the past few days, and learning more about johnson, who is a much more complex & interetsing character than i imagined. and on the plate: toasted pumpernickle from trader joe’s, slathered with french boursin, topped with greek capers, then a layer of wild caught alaskan smoked salmon topped with slices of fresh tomatoes. and next to the plate, my morning cup of organic matcha tea with a teaspoon of manuka honey. great way to start my day of painting!

continuing work on 6/24/2021 creek drawing/collage /  by Philip Tarlow

6/24/2021 creek drawing/collage 49.5x49.5in. at 3pm today

3:32 PM:since I started drawing & collaging this morning, the storm clouds moved in, there were periods of rain & wind, and the temperature dropped from 72 to 54. chuilly!

I continued drawing 6/24/2021 creek drawing/collage and collaged a few more areas. one of the collaged pieces of paper contains a quick drawing I made about half an hour ago, of our friend David installing new lights in our closet, which are much brighter than what we had previously.

it’s to dark right now to evaluate what I did, so i’ll wait till the morning, after the trail walk we plan on taking at 7.

installing the new closet light

starting 6/24/2021 creek drawing/collage /  by Philip Tarlow

6/24/2021 creek drawing/collage 49.5x49.5”. as it looked moments ago after doing more work

4:22 PM: so I did end up doing more work on what is now 6/24/2021 drawing/collage. I added 3 bits of collage: a fragment for an ink drawing, a fragment of a map and a piece of newspaper from 2018 with the image of a bunch of carrots. as well, I made more marks with colored pencils. the composition is beginning to take shape, but is still very spare. i’d like to keep it that way! and, by the way, i’m finding the wall a good surface to support collaging; I had been concerned maybe the texture of the wall might present a problem, but it was fine.

BELOW: details showing where I applied collage

6/24/2021 creek drawing 49 1/2 x49 1/2”. at 3pm

2:44 PM: i’m calling this one 6/24/2021 creek drawing, instead of creek oil because, at least for the moment, that’s what it is.thus far i’m just using colored pencils, which is interesting & a bit unusual for a 49.5x49.5” piece on portrait linen. last year I did something similar, but on 36” paper. it’s a slow process, which I love, but you do get tired after few hours. so i’ve stopped for the day and will resume tomorrow morning.

I have a feeling there will be some collaging down the line; we’ll see what happens tomorrow. placing masonite behind the canvas to facilitate collaging made this size painting too heavy to move around easily, so I tacked the canvas to the wall so as to have a solid surface if I need it. if the texture of the wall makes collaging difficult, i’ll just but a couple of pieces of foam core on the wall beneath the canvas.

BELOW: 2 details

a bit more work on 6/17/2021 creek oil /  by Philip Tarlow

at work on 6/17/2021 creek oil today

2:54 PM: it takes a while to re-enter the painting space, even after only 2 days away. all our doctors visits went well, we stocked up on food supplies and got home yesterday at 5:45 pm. this morning the guys arrived at my studio just as I was preparing to launch into my work. they were hammering, screwing things in and it was somewhat distracting. that said, the two doors into the studio now, once again, have the curved protective metal pieces, which are an important part of the architectural design as well as shielding you from rain and snow as you’re opening the door. they were in disrepair after 25 years of exposure to the elements, and it’s so great to see them up there again. they still need some work, which will happen later this week.

I was able to do a bit of work on 6/17/2021 creek oil in the midst of all this, including work he’s doing right now on the light switches in our house. I didn’t do any painting with brushes or collaging. just oil pastel on the tree trunk on the left & some lichen patterns on the rich at the bottom.

the center solstice event yesterday / frontier drive in; a hospitality experiment / more work on 6/17/2021 creek oil /  by Philip Tarlow

at work on 6/17/2021 creek oil a few moments ago

2:50 PM: after adjusting & posting the photos & videos I shot at the solstice festival in center yesterday, I decided to do a bit more work on the many layered 6/17/2021 creek oil, which I painted over yesterday with a thin coat of titanium white. I collaged a piece of colorado map and put my brush on a long pole to avoid having too much control; a trick I learned from reading about matisse and how he worked.

right now, the white dominates, with touches of blue, brown, pink and orange, which are offset by the predominant pale green of the map. although nothing is spelled out, it’s clear we’re looking at elements in nature: water, rocks & trees. thus far, it’s not like anything else i’ve done.

6/17/2021 creek oil as it looked at the end of my painting day

2:07 PM: I’m doing a little work on the whited over 6/17/2021 creek oil, using a brush on a long pole to avoid getting too precious.

11:42 AM: yesterday afternoon we drove to center, colorado, a 45 minute drive. we attended the solstice event and, amongst other performances, experienced the taiko drummers, from sum institute here in crestone. they were extraordinary! I put the video on YouTube, and it will become accessible tomorrow.

the taiko drummers performing in center yesterday

ABOVE: 2 drawings I made at the festival in center yesterday afternoon

I made a few drawing while we were watching a presentation of frontier drive in: an experiment. it’s located a few miles from downtown center in what was once a drive-in theatre, which closed in the mid-80’s. a funder is providing funds for the creation of the frontier experiment. here are a few pics from the presentation, which will give you some idea of what’s being created, as well as some photos I shot of the construction in process.

we were blown away by what promises to be a great, unexpected addition to the cultural life in our valley, and will surely draw people from all over the country once it opens sometime this fall. stay tuned for more about this.

the big WHITEOVER / the concept of pentimento /  by Philip Tarlow

10:25 PM: the whatever has been done, as well as the scraping. the wrinkles you see will disappear once the paint dries in a few days and I un-stretch and re-stretch the canvas after removing the masonite screwed onto the stretcher bars. at that point, there will be no more collaging, and i’ll add some marks in oil paint that will complete this painting. it will then be placed in it’s frame, which you see below sitting in our living room.

what has now become the underpainting, is a ghost image beneath the newly applied white paint. if you look back in the history of art, you’ll find many examples of artists who have partially or completely painted over what they’ve just done; matisse and van gogh being two of the most well known. here’s the dictionary definition:

“A pentimento (plural pentimenti), in painting, is "the presence or emergence of earlier images, forms, or strokes that have been changed and painted over". The word is Italian for 'repentance', from the verb pentirsi, meaning 'to repent'.”

9:02 AM: today is a short day. we’re driving 45 minutes south to center fro the solstice celebration, with music & other entertainment. mikela is anxious for me to get to know this little mid-valley town, as she’s been going there introducing kids & teachers to our educational platform, actionlab360.

i’ll let you know how it goes. in the meantime, this morning i’m doing a big whiteover & scraping of 6/17/2021 creek oil . here’s today’s self portrait, which may become a painting.

self portrait at 8:55 am, 6/19/2021

follow the juice, is the juice, is the juice /  by Philip Tarlow

6/17/2021 creek oil 49.5x49.5 in. as she looked at 2pm today,

2:07 PM: well, so much for following the juice. it got out of hand and is now, as you will observe, is very busy! I kind of enjoy looking at it, but i’m out of steam, so i’ll clean up & go back to the house, and wait till the morning to go back into it with fresh energy.

and by the way, look at this unexpected figure of a whale in the upper quadrant!

6/17/2021 creek oil 49.5x49.5 in. as she looked at 10am today, after extensive work

10:53 AM: this morning I had the juice. the flow. when it comes, drop everything and let it take over. learn to recognize it and surrender.

that’s my thought for today. something most of you already know. I collaged a number of cut up watercolor/collages i’ve done over the past few years. they have beautiful passages but didn’t quite hang together as a whole. so I felt little compunction cutting them up & repurposing them. that way, those beautiful passages can shine, while contributing to the greater composition of this 49 1/2 x 49 1/2” painting.

the yellow I painted in on top adds immeasurably, aqs do a few more cut up ink on paper drawings i’ve made over the past few days specifically to be cut up & collaged onto this painting.

starting 6/17/2021 creek oil / continuing work repairing flood damage to studio /  by Philip Tarlow

3:29 PM: I was able to do one more round on 6/17/2021 creek oil after jumping in the shower. tomorrow will be a short day, if i’m able to work at all, because we’ll be attending the solstice celebration in center, which is a 45 minute drive south.

I think I made some headway with this last round, but it’s still pretty far from singing. this is kind of a cool detail.

DETAIL of 6/17/2021 creek oil. 49.5x49.5 inches

6/17/2021 creek oil 49.5x49.5” as it looked moments ago after adding some collaged pieces

1:11 PM: I did more work on 6/17/2021 creek oil and tuckered myself out, so I think i’ll go over to the house & lie down for a while. I began collaging pieces of a drawing I made earlier and cut up, as well as a piece of an older creek oil canvas.

11:39 AM: this is stage 3 of the new 49.5x49.5” creek oil no collaging yet..

10:11 AM:now that the painter is done and has cleaned up, although he’ll do more next month, I was able to start work on 6/17/2021 creek oil. here’s the fist two stages as photographed from the loft.

STAGE 2 STAGE 1