May 16, 2022 by Philip Tarlow

3pm: I started 5-16-22 anschutz interior 3 this afternoon. it’s inspired by the same series of photos from above I used for 1 & 2. so this is an early stage, and 1&2 are not necessarily resolved.

*5-13-22 anschutz interior 1* following todays modifications

1:38 PM: flooring the modifications I made to 5-14-22 anschutz interior 2, I boldly tackled 5-13-22 anschutz interior 1; not an easy decision, since there was a beautiful simplicity to it. however, descriptive figurative painting is not really where i’m currently at. composition, space, painterly marks unexpected harmonies, that’s where i’m at. a collaged map was added on the right, and the architectural elements served as a jumping off point for the spatial play of line & color. the central orange/red and yellow serve as anchors for the blues and pinks.

BELOW: before & after todays modifications

*5-14-22 anschutz interior 2* following todays changes

10:42 AM: this morning, thanks to mikela’s early departure for one of the schools she’s working with, I arrived early at my studio.

my intention was to turn 5-14-22 anschutz interior 2 to the wall and let it sit for a few days before deciding where to go with it. but I couldn’t wait, so I worked into it, letting go of any attachments I may have had to the details of the composition, which was inspired by photos from above I shot at anschutz medical center recently.

I find the result refreshing. BELOW: before & after

5-14-22 anschutz interior 2 continued / May 15, 2022 by Philip Tarlow

*5-14-22 anschutz interior 2* as it looked at the end of my painting day today

3:07 PM: I unexpectedly continued work on 5-14-22 anschutz interior 2 . I say unexpectedly because at the end of the day yesterday, I thought it was complete. but when I entered my studio this morning, , there were a few things that bothered me. i’m still feeling so so about it, so i’ll wait to see how it strikes me in the morning.

BELOW: yesterdays version is on the left. I worked a bit on the seated figure on the right, removing his blue mask & giving more definition to his jacket. the entire lower half of the painting has been made darker, in my attempt to distinguish it from the architectural element that crosses the composition diagonally, which has also been more clearly defined.. but it may have gotten too dark; we’ll see tomorrow. as well, a bit more yellow has entered the composition on the left, where a ray of sun is falling.

5-14-22 anschutz interior 2 / May 14, 2022 by Philip Tarlow

*5-14-22 anschutz interior 2* as it looked moments ago, at the end of my painting day today

2:41 PM: I did a bit more to 5-14-22 anschutz interior 2 and am stopping for the day. had a good talk with my grandson philip in greece, who I studying for exams, which start may 24.

an important part of the architectural details of this building are some thin wires going form top to bottom, but i’ll have to wait till the oil paint dries so that the white shows up. right now you can sort of see them, but they’ll be more obvious when I can make them in pure white.

the patient sitting in the middle is wearing a blue mask and holding a red thermos between his legs. the woman to his right is bending over looking at her phone.

I think the intention of whoever the architect was has been fulfilled, in that this is not at all what you might expect from a hospital setting! looks, on the contrary, celebratory!

my palette seems to have shifted with this new series: lighter, brighter…

1:35 PM: I started 5-14-22 anschutz interior 2 this morning. like the previous painting, this one is inspired by photos I shot from an upper floor at anschutz, where I go for my appointments with my eye surgeon. as I make these new paintings, all of which are 16x20,” i’m noticing how interesting the architectural design of the building is from any angle. it’s so cool that you can be standing on any floor and look down at the patients moving about in a space with constantly shifting light, against a backdrop of subtle lines and patterns playing off against each other.

5-13-22 anschutz interior 1 / May 13, 2022 by Philip Tarlow

11:36 AM: I started…and completed a new one in this series. this one is inspired by photos I shot on our last visit to Anschutz medical center in denver. i shot from above, patients sitting and waiting for their appointments. i’l probably spend the rest of my day stretching more 16x20” primed portrait linen, which i’ll be using for this series. what I learned today is: 1) go with what really turns you on so there’s no space for thinking. and 2) know when to stop! like right now.

breaking out the easel / May 12, 2022 by Philip Tarlow

12:50 PM: this is where i’m stopping for the day. I tried talking it further, but I was in my head so I had to wipe it out. this composition wants to be just as you see it: few colors, lots of white space, all the action in the center, and the viewer does the rest.

10:55 AM: my intention, when I gathered my recent photos of the interior of a friend’s home with 2 cello players playing for us, was to stretch some small canvasses and make a series of paintings.

this morning I broke out my trusty collapsable wooden easel; one of the few things I brought back with me when I returned from my 15 years in greece, in 1978-9. I had purchased it in Paris in the early ‘70’s and used it extensively when I painted plain air, mostly on the cycladic island of andros.

I haven’t used it in a while, so it was in my newly built storage space. I started painting about an hour ago, and will continue as long as I have juice.

a clip from my 5/6 talk at space gallery will be available on youtube starting tomorrow / stretching 10 16x20” canvases / May 11, 2022 by Philip Tarlow

7:49 AM: here’s the link to the video clip of my “I fly” exhibition talk, which you can watch starting tomorrow: https://youtu.be/sWm_ypkBjuQ

1:10 PM: I rolled up the canvas i’ve been working on & put it in my storage room. I didn’t like where it was going, and didn’t see a viable future for it.

this morning i spent time reviewing recent photos i’ve shot, and discovered that, unconsciously perhaps, I’ve been documenting intimate scenes from our everyday life that could lead to a series of paintings. i’m excited at the prospect, and decided to assemble some 16x20” stretcher bars that I ordered months ago, who knows why, which have been sitting in their cardboard boxes ever since. i’m hoping I have time today to assemble them all and then start stretching canvases for this new project. if my intuition about these photos is correct, this project could last for quite some time.

assembling the 16x20” stretcher bars today

still image from my may 6th talk at spce gallery. the video will be available starting tomottow: https://youtu.be/sWm_ypkBjuQ

collaging onto 5-1-22 oil/collage / May 10, 2022 by Philip Tarlow

3:51 PM: I did more work on this painting. i’m done for the day. a thin brownish wash was passed over the entire surface, then wiped & scraped off. as a result, the transitions are not as abrupt and the minoan vase pops less. it still seems to me like there’s too much going on , with no central focus. let’s let it rest tonight and come back fresh tomorrow morning with new energy.

here’s how it looked moments ago:

*5-1-22 oil/collage* as it looked moments ago, at the end of my painting day

*5-1-22 oil/collage* as it looked at noon today

12:12 PM: I felt the need to apply collaged pieces of paper this morning. I used some of my cut up drawings, a piece of map (which proved very tricky to collage without tearing) and a reproduction of a minoan vase, left form the period when I was exploring minoan art. thus far, what i’ve done has broken up the predictability of the landscape inspired marks and created a far more compelling image. it’s not singing yet, but some faint sounds are emerging. the red piece in the lower left is playing an important role.

transforming 5-1-22 oil/collage / May 9, 2022 by Philip Tarlow

4:32 PM: I made a few additions to the work I did earlier today, so this is it for the day, my friends.

it’s kind of a relief to be able to move on from the i fly series to something else. as soon as the strrong winds die down, i’ll go out to the creek and make some plein air drawings and paintings; it’s been far too long since i’ve been out there, drinking in the energy of the rocks and water, smelling the freshness, watching the leaves burst into their fullness and hearing the water rush over rocks.

BELOW: a couple of details

3:37 PM:yesterday I had introduced figures into this painting, inspired by pompeian frescos. today I painted over them and introduced landscape elements; tree trunks & rocks. my morning walk to the studio was delayed by a visit to the house of 2 guys from the window company who will be replacing many of our windows, which have reached the end of their 25-28 year lives. we should have them replaced by sometime in august if all goes well.

so anyway, back to the painting. i’m having somewhat of a difficult time getting back to work following the opening of my exhibition in denver. so what i’m doing on this current canvas may well end up in the trash. realism and abstraction are having an epic battle in a war nobody will win.

*5-1-22 oil/collage* as it looked towards the end of my painting day today

what's up today? / May 9, 2022 by Philip Tarlow

6:33 am: i’ll continue work on 5-1-22 oil/collage once i get to the studio. in the mean time, here’s a look back at one of the little birds i painted for my new grand daughter’s room in greece. she should receive it in the next few weeks.

this morning visibility is poor after yesterday’s hjigh winds and late afternoon dust storm. we’re expecting mor eof the same today right through the end of the week.

back in the studio, continuing work on the whited over 5-1-22 oil/collage / May 8, 2022 by Philip Tarlow

*5-1-22 oil/collage* as it looked moments ago

2:12 PM: as I said in my last blog post, before leaving for denver, I painted over 5-1-22 oil/collage with a thin layer of titanium/zinc white so that it would be dry when I returned. it was! so I started working over it with loosely painted figures inspired by an ancient pompeian fresco. i’m feeling pretty exhausted from our intensive 48 hours in denver, so I think i’ll be in a better space to take it further tomorrow morning.

quite a few of the paintings in the show have layers, like this one, with under-layers peeking trough and creating a visual puzzle of sorts.