starting 9/22/2021 painting/collage /  by Philip Tarlow

9/22/2021 painting/collage at the end of my painting day today.

4:03 PM: I progressed a bit on 9/22/2021 painting/collage. still lots of beautiful white space, and a purple shadow of myself painting, on the right.

as well, I made modifications to the small (9 1/4 x 11 1/4”) 9/20/2021 watercolor/collage. it has become rather festive, with a band of collaged colored paper from a magazine framing it, and the, by now, familiar checkered shorts. something toulouse about it. but, rather than the figures being set in a cabaret, they are ecstatically dancing at the final celebration of the tokyo olympics.

we took our trail walk somewhat later than usual this morning, and the temperature was only about 38F. so I got a later than normal start, and spent a good part of my late morning handling logistics for construction of my imminent new studio space, which may start as early as next week!

STAGE 1 of 9/22/2021 painting/collage 42x54” on french extra fine portrait linen

2:54 PM: there’s nothing quite like a freshly stretched white portrait linen canvas. I stretched one yesterday which is a different size and shape than the ones i’ve been using for the past couple of months; it’s 42x54 in.

I started drawing and collaging a few hours ago and am now on a break. what you see here is a very early stage. I haven’t used oil paint yet; just oil pastels and crayons, with one piece of map collaged on.

i’ll continue for about another hour before stopping for the day, and post updates when available.

stretching a new 54x42 inch canvas /  by Philip Tarlow

7:08 pm: i didn’t do any painting today. i had a mid-morning appointment in moffat to remove a splinter in my finger tip from handling stretcher bars. i tried unsuccesfully to get it out myself with no luck, and it was getting worse. she got it out in about a minute.

but that did interrupt my rhythm, so i decided it would be better to spend the remaining time in my studio stretching a new canvas. i was getting a little tired of the 26x62” format i’ve been using the past few months. so iswitched to a rectangle: 54 x 42 in.

BELOW: on the left, the newly stretched 42 x 54” portrait linen beneath the 26x78” painting i completed yesterday. and on the right, the stretching table with my tools:stretching pliars, staple gun, etc.

in just a week, my studio will have a new 10x18 ft. storage space, which will be accessed from a wide door cut into my south facing studio wall.

this will allow me to empty the studio of the piles of completed canavses, some stretched, some unstretched and rolled, as well as the many stretcher bars taking up lots of space. very exciting!

this is where the new 18x10 ft. storage space will be built next week.

continued modifications of 6/10/2021 painting/collage & a new watercolor/collage /  by Philip Tarlow

4:30 PM: just before walking out the door, I collaged a piece of a cut up drawing to the right of the redhead.

continued updates to 6/10/2021 painting/collage, with the main area of modification on the right

3:26 PM: revisions on the right quadrant: I worked/played exclusively on the red headed paddler on the right quadrant of the composition. the black band running across the top of the composition has been broken up with a collaged page form a vermeer catalogue. thus, the red lettering we see on the upper left is now repeated next to the red head, while vermeer’s “the love letter” can be seen turned on it’s side in the very upper right corner. ecstatic tokyo olympics dancers mingle with a colorado paddler and a vermeer masterpiece.

our experience of space/time is rapidly coming full circle. where, loren mcIntyre, asked cambio in one of my favorite books: amazon beaming, are we going? where is the beginning of time? HERE!, said he. loren has just begun experiencing the non-verbal communication practiced by the mayoruna. he suggests that this was how communication happened before “civilization” entered the picture.

I like to imagine that the discreet events and persons who are players in this painting are swimming in a sea of now.

of course first and foremost, always, this is a painting: marks on a 2 dimensional surface creating a play of forms and color in space.

2:06 PM: didn’t sleep too well & wasn’t sure i could get anything done. but, here I am!

i’m modifying the red haired paddler on the right & took a break to make this 9x11” watercolor/collage on paper. the figures are familiar: the tokyo olympics dancers.

continued modifications to 6/10/2021 painting/collage

continued modifications of 6/10/2021 painting /collage /  by Philip Tarlow

9/10/2021 painting/collage at the end of my painting day

3:54 PM: so here’s where we’re at at the end of my painting day. a 3rd and 4th figure have begun to take form, including a river paddler, and shadows have shown up beneath their feet, adding vibrance to the composition and richness for the eye to take in.

DETAIL

1:51 PM: as I suggested yesterday, figures have begun to appear in this painting. they are from a selection of photos mostly of the final celebration for the tokyo olympics, with figures in colorful costumes dancing joyfully and energetically. as yet to be introduced is one of the two river paddlers I photographed some years ago from a bridge overlooking the river in alamosa, co.

this addition of figures brings the painting more into alignment with it’s brothers & sisters in the series, which you can see in the drop down menu in the upper right corner of this page , under SERIES, then click on RECENT WORK.

i’m continuing these modifications on this very windy, pleasantly cool afternoon in the baca grande. will post updates as they occur.

modifying 6/10/2021 creek oil/collage /  by Philip Tarlow

4:25 PM: upon further reflection, i think what i may do tomorrow is to create a couple of figures painted on paper, probably the dancing figures from the final celebration at the tokyo olympics, and try them out in this painting, moving them about until they work compositionally. then i’ll collage the one or two i choose, bringing 6/10/2021 creek oil/collage more in alignment with the rest of the series.

6/10/2021 creek oil/collage 26 x 78” as it looked moments ago, as a horizontal rather than a vertical compositiona

6/10/2021 creek oil/collage on 9/14/21, as a vertical

2:04 PM: with a little bit of extra effort, it did work to collage onto the painting without the plywood underneath to press into. there were a few expected wavy bits, where the paper hadn’t adhered to the surface, but I was able to smooth those out pretty easily.

I had never been completely satisfied with that walking figure viewed from above, with his black top and scruffy hair. so I collaged over most of him. admittedly, I took a kind of childish delight in disappearing such a pivotal, central figure in the composition. but, truth be told, I much prefer this painting in it’s current state, as a horizontal. it now, I believe, finally works as a coherent composition. can it be called an abstracted figurative painting any longer? well, no. but I do believe it belongs in this current series of paintings, which is more about the flexibility of time itself than any of the figures most of the paintings do exhibit. so it’s kind of perfect that what were once legs now call to mind fish more than they do legs. and that my old buddy vermeer has once again wormed his way into the composition. this may be my most successful transformation of a painting.

matisse, always my role model & measuring stick, would likely have appreciated this composition far more readily than the previous state. he would have appreciated both the relationship of forms in space. and, although not part of his immediate reality, the juggling of space/time in a painterly, playful way.

12:08 PM: after having lived with this painting for over a month, hanging at the top of our stairs in the house, it became obvious to us both that the upper 2/3 needed simplification big time. so here you see me working on cutting up some drawings and newspaper articles to collage onto that portion of the painting.

the only problem is, I removed the underlying piece of plywood, which makes collaging so much easier, and to put it back would take too long. so let’s see if I can collage without it. i’ll know right away. stay tuned!

cutting paper moments ago to be collaged onto the upper portion of the painting

final tweaks to 9/10/2021 painting/collage and updates to 6/10/2021 creek oil /  by Philip Tarlow

12:53 PM: so here are the two minor tweaks I made to 9/10/2021 painting/collage. I explain what’s going on in the paragraph I wrote below.

if you look at the two versions BELOW, notice how, in the passage above the dancing girl on the left, the black edge of the collaged newspaper makes a straight line, and in the tweaked version that line is softened by bringing the reddish color over it. and in the second area on the upper right, something similar has taken place on the pink bit of collaged newspaper with the cut off word sotheby's; the sharp edge of the collaged paper has been softened on both the right and the left, integrating it more into the composition. likewise with the edges of the collaged piece which has the name jason brooks.

after the tweaks

yesterday’s version, before the tweaks

11:30 AM: today i’ll be making some final tweaks to the one i’ve been working on for the past week: 9/10/2021 painting/collage . I may make some changes to 6/10/2021 creek oil as well. it’s been hanging in our house for the past few months, and the upper portions need work. here I am this morning with both of them.

6:31 PM: here’s a painting from 2017 titled lucien, which was then painted over. just discovered it in my files. you can see the signs of things to come. looking at it now, it’s not a bad painting. i may borrow a few things from it in my next painting, which i may prepare for tomorrow.

looking back at ano kato / continuing work on 9/10/2021 painting/collage /  by Philip Tarlow

9/10/2021 painting/collage at 3:35 PM

3:25 PM: continuing modifications to 9/10/2021 painting/collage, i simplified the composition, making it easier for the eye to move around the composition. the blue is now dominant, and a narrow red stripe at the top helps create a more coherent whole. I do think that the blue has become a bit too dominant, as was the previous overall black. so it needs more work, but if you compare the two, your eye can scan the surface without getting stuck on some of those whites in the previous version.

2PM: I added quite a few collaged elements to this painting, which I felt was becoming too predictable. now it’s like a 3 ring circus. i’m going to continue working for another hour or two, and will post any changes I make.

this is one area where I think the collage works well.

DETAIL of one of the newly collaged areas

7:07 AM: in 2015 i made a series of paintings titled ano kato, which in greek means literally topsy turvy. they’re all based on photos i had shot over time, many in museums, some in schools. so here’s one of the 16x16” paintings in that series. it inspires me to simplify what i’m currently up to.

BELOW: the link to my ano kato series.

https://www.philiptarlow.com/anokato

getting to work now & will post periodically during the day.

taking 9/10/2021 painting/collage to the next level /  by Philip Tarlow

9/10/2021 painting/collage as it looked today a few moments ago

9/10/2021 painting/collage at the end of the day yesterday

2:50 PM: i’m taking it very slow with this painting. I posted photos of both versions so that you could compare. I worked on all the figures; mores on the one on the right, raducanu, who has just won the women’s tennis championship and fallen to the ground in shock and amazement.

the dancing girl on the left now has checkerboard shorts & the body & bathing suit of the paddler have beennworked on extensively. but i prefer his shoulders in the previous version, so i’ll likely adjust that tomorrow.

DETAIL

our pueblo trip yesterday continuing 9/10/2021 painting/collage /  by Philip Tarlow

9/10/2021 painting/collage at 3:45 pm

3:52 PM: 2 dancing figures from the tokyo olympics final celebration have entered the composition on the left. and some pink marks now join the new black area on the upper right, breaking it up.

we finally got a break in the heat, unusual for this time of year. clouds have moved in, the wind has picked up, the temperature has dropped into the mid 70’s and there is rain falling in various locations around the valley.

9/10/2021 painting/collage as it looked at 2:43pm

2:43 PM: more modification, most noticeably the black area in the upper right, as work/play continues….

9/10/2021 painting/collage as it looked moments ago

1:48 PM: once back in my studio, I cut my left hand pretty deeply in 2 places, while attempting to slice a bagel. I just ordered a bagel slicer, so that’s not going to happen again.

continuing work/play on 9/10/2021 painting/collage, it now has a pinkish tone and some of the harsher passages have softened. a third figure may be imminent; so stay tuned!

the family celebrating their son’s birthday last night

the eastern sky at suset as we drove home from pueblo

8:08 AM: yesterday we mede the 2:45 min. drive to pueblo so that mikela could attend meetings related to our educational platform. i accompanied her, both because it’s a long drive round trip and to keep her company. but breaks like this in my studio routine are always productive in unexpected ways. so i had plenty of time to dream about next steps in my paintings and ways of creting new sales.

the temperature in pueblo, by the way, reached 98 F by mid afternoon, which made me so grateful for our relatively cool summers in crestone, at 8,000 ft.

of course i made some drawings along the way, 4 of which i’m posting here, and i’ll continue this post once i get to the studio. the one on the upper right was made last night at a pizza restaurant in alamosa, whre we stopped for dinner before heading home; a 50 mile drive from alamosa. the kid whose profile you see in the middle of the drawing, was born deformed, so he can’t use his hands, which are all curled up. his parents & grandparents were taking him to diner for his birthday.

but all the outdoor tables that were big enough for them all were full. so we stood up and figured we’d move to a smaller table which was just becoming available and let them have our table. they were so grateful, they paid for our dinner, which in fact was a pretty lousy pizza. the joint was full and the kitchen was overwhelmed, so ours finally emerged undercooked with some of the veggies still cold from the fridge. but we were starving so we gobbled it down. it’s not a great location, right on the main drag, with traffic noise very high. but i loved watching the family lovingly interact as i made my drawing. i didn’t show it to them because i think i made the woman on the left less attractive than she was in real life.

the bottom two drawings were made at a breakafast place in pueblo, where i met a cool guy who makes murals. i gave him my card to check out my site, and he’ll send me his info so that we can continue our conversation.

all the while i was ruminating and dreaming about my future paintings, so i’m, anxious to get showered and to the studio, where i’ll have breakfast & get to work. i got some of my favorite smoked salmon at the natutral grocers in pueblo, which i’ll put on a local bagel and have for breakfast, along with my matcha tea.

next stage of 9/10/2021 painting/collage /  by Philip Tarlow

2:40 PM: well, another figure did enter the composition, but it wasn’t the red head I referred to in my earlier post. instead it’s the image of Emma raducanu, the 20 year old tennis player who defeated leila fernandez in the ny open seimi finals yesterday and will go on to play in the finals. here she has fallen to the ground in amazement, just after her winning volley. I shot a bunch of photos from the tv screen, when mikela paused the playback at moments she knew might be of interest to me.

I find what has happened to the composition as a result of this new development to be very exciting. with some palette knife scraping, swirls of paint render the image dynamic, taut, even explosive. I may be winding down for today, so i’ll clean the many brushes i’ve used & prepare to return to the house, where l’ll get my way overdue haircut from mikela, who does a better job than any professional barber, in less time and at no charge!

then i’ll prepare for our trip to pueblo. mikela will be introducing actionlab360 to the school kids there while I do some errands, have a nice brunch and, undoubtedly, make some drawings at whatever restaurant I choose.

DETAIL of the tennis player I added just now

9/10/2021 painting/collage , 26x62” as it looked moments ago, following a round of work/play earlier today

12:51 PM: I got a late start; we walked up the trail, where I made the little drawing you see below.

then I launched back in to 9/10/2021 painting/collage. the skiff with it’s paddler viewed from above, which have appeared in previous paintings in this series, has re-emerged. he is the calm in a sea of activity, which gives him a new perspective. the bit of blue I introduced around his head is enough of a clue to read as water. there’s a second paddler in the photo I shot from a bridge in alamosa. the red headed guy.

let’s see if in the next few hours he makes an appearance as well! I kind of like how the red shape to his left looks a bit like a wacked out dragon. compositionally, I like how he breaks up the black on top, which was a little too much, and dominated the composition.

you may recall me sharing my excitement at the gift mikela got me back in January. it’s a gorgeous ball train master chronometer. since then it hasn’t left my wrist. but there’s one thing that was bugging me: the hour indicator of the chronometer won’t re-set to zero. rather, it goes to the 1, which you can see in this photo. the hour indicator for the chronometer is the lower dial, at 6 o’clock.

so i’m biting the bullet and sending it in for repair to a highly respected watch repair place in Illinois. I hate being without it, but the perfectionist in me needs to have it work perfectly. so i’ll probably be without it for 2-3 weeks, maybe a month.