JAZZ 6, 37X35”/94X89 cm. as it looked at the end of my painting day today
3:38 PM: today i turned jazz 5 to the wall & i’ll deal with it at a later date.
i started jazz 6, which is the same dimensions as 1 through 4: 37x35”/94x89cm. it’s starting out in the same vein as the others; with lots going on, and it’s up in the air whether or not it will become as spare as the others.right now, i like all that’s going on.
4:09 PM: in 2018, mikela was introducing our product to a high school here in the san luis valley. when i saw it, i flipped out. it was a masterful drawing! i posted it on fb & forgot about it.
yesterday, i got one of those fb memories. it was the drawing, which looked like something you might see in art forum or on a museum wall.
i sent it to mikela, who said copy it! so i did, making a drawing on top of the greyed over previous version (yesterdays version) of jazz 5.
BELOW: the original kid’s drawing and on the right my version of the drawing, in charcoal on canvas
3:30 PM: i had hung an early jazz series painting in the entryway of our house, thinking it was complete. think again, philip! it’s smaller than the other 4 jazz series paintings, measuring 16x29”/41x73 cm. it had a similar composition, and as i progressed with the evolving jazz series, it started feeling too busy when i looked at it.
so this morning i brought it back to the studio. after working on jazz 3 & 4, i lay it on my painitng table and began working into it, followed by some work i did on the east painting wall. it’s still too crowded, but moving in a good direction.
1 PM: my all important frist glance at my current jazz series paintings led me to make changes to a few of the figures in jazz 3 & 4.
lets start with jazz 4, which i was working on yesterday. i found the figure of the half naked woman in the red top annoying, first of all because she was provacative and, connected to that, tended to dominate the composition and draw the eye away from the music and movement of the whole. so i flipper the canvas 90° & painted over her. in her place is a second walking figure with the blue plaid shirt, who appears in all four paintings in the series thus far. the producers of the good doctor tv series might find this amusing, since he’s the lead character in the show, freddy highmore, who plays dr. shaun murphy. BELOW: yesterdays version on the left. do you agree with my assesment?
in jazz 3, the figure of the little boy in the lower left portion of the composition seemed unecessary to the composition, as did the figure of the girl in red with the shoulder bag, so out they went! see the difference BELOW:
jazz IV 37x35”/94x89 cm. oil & collage on linen as it looked at the end of my painting day today.
2:22 PM: i’ve been working on jazz IV since 11 am. i took out two extraneous figures, simplifying the composition. i flipped it 45° to the right and introduced the walking figure of the good doctor, who appears as well in the other three painitngs in this jazz series. to his right, a half dressed female figure with a red top. beneath these two figures are two more, who were in the original skoufa version, which you can see if you scroll further down.
so what started out as a play on the image of people seen from above walking down skoufa street in athens has become an enigmatic grouping of figures, all viewed from above, moving about the white, 37x35”/94x89cm. space of the canvas. it’s not a dead white; beneath it can be discerned another layer of paint with a barely visible composition, adding warmth and mystery to the painting.
the white drip on the hair of the woman in the red top is a reminder that this is, above all, a painting; evocative, painterly marks on a surface that play with the reality we all know and recognize.
i feel that it passes one of my teests of a resolved painting, in that the space breathes. i think i could gaze at this one every day and find something i hadn’t noticed before.
11:04 AM: usually, at this time of day i’m just getting to work. but today mikela had to leave for school at 8am, so i got ready early & she dropped me at the studio about 8:15. after having my breakfast, i got to work on the 4th painting in this current series, formerly titled skoufa. that title derives from the original photos it was inspired by, shot from a second floor balcony in 2010, when i had a solo show at skoufa gallery. i whited out most everything but the figures, and went over the figure in the upper middle, which i felt was extraneous to the composition.
you can see the orginal skoufa painting BELOW on the left. and on the right is how the painting, now titled jazz 4, looked moments ago.
someone posted this on FB today. so sweet!!
i continued work on jazz 3 today, introducing new figures and a white background. BELOW: on the left, yesterdays version, and on the right: the current version
Our trail walk yesterday afternoon was a delight! The strong winds & temperatures in the mid’60’s made it ideal for hiking, and the first buds were visible everywhere.
5:35 PM: this morning i had a narrow 30 minute window to do some work on jazz 3. we had a call with our dear friends in germany and then i needed to make brownies for a meeting at a friend’s house.
i kinda knew where i wanted to go with jazz 3, so i jumped right in and added two new figures, but this is just the beginning.
BELOW: on the right is the painting with the figure i added today.at the moment, this new walking figure seen from above dwarfs the other, pre-existing 3 figures.
BELOW: from left to right: jazz 2, 1 & 3 as they looked at the end of my painting day today. keep in mind that the wrinkles you see in the canvas will largely dissapear once these paintings have been stretched.
3:02 PM: once i dove in and surrounded the figures with white in jazz 1, i became inspired to do something similar with jazz 2 and jazz 3, as you see ABOVE..
it’s kinda cool how i needed to paint all that stuff surrounding the figures to arrive at this ultimate simplification. seeing the three of them side by side on my painitng wall is giving me inspiration for my next show, which hasn’t yet been planned but is taking shape in my head.
my ano kato series (https://www.philiptarlow.com/anokato) explores various aspects of views from above; mostly figures in museum settings or walking down the street. the figures are part of a story, defined by their surroundings. isolating them in a grey or white space allows them….and you, to transcend traditional space/time and enter an unknown territory. they began their lives as players in a specific story. they’ve been released from that story and bravely wander into space, feeling we know not what at the vastness; the emptyness; the potential.
jazz 1, 37x35”/89x94 cm. as it looked at 11 am this morning. the wrinkles will go away once it’s stretched.
11:03 AM: every day is a new adventure. today when i entered my studio, jazz 1 struck me as way too busy, and for no good reason. so, even though there were areas that hadn’t completely dried, i went over everything but the figures with a layer of titanium white oil. it did pick up a little of the still wet reds & yellows i applied yestereday, but not enough to really matter.
so now, from my 20 foot vantage point, it’s as if the figures; some right side up, others upside down, inhabit an otherworldly space. the wrinkles, by the way are because it’s just tacked to the wall; once i stretch it, they will dissapear. i’m going to leave it for now and work on something else.
BELOW: jazz 1 as it looked yesterday, and, on the right, flipped 180° and whited, as it looks now.
BELOW: a few details from jazz 1.
2:38 PM:i know it’s confusing, but now, since the name of the series has changed from good doc to jazz, the two paintings i’ve been working on today are jazz 1 (formerly good doc V) and jazz 2 (formerly good doc IV).
i had thought they were resolved, but no, they weren’t. both got flipped 360°. right now jazz 1 is further along.
BELOW: yesterdays version of jazz 1is on the left
BELOW: yesterdays version of jazz 2 is on the left
10:14 AM: i’ve been up since 4:30 am, so it feels like mid afternoon to me. it’s a clear day, but we had some rain this morning and are expecting a bit more in a few hours.
this is a detail of the painting i worked on yesterday, and which may be resolved.
and this is a shot of a grouping of photos and paintings on my north wall, adjacent to my studio kitchen. some of you may be familiar with this, but i think it’s worth re-posting.
and now, lets get to work! on what? we’ll see shortly….
jazz 1 following the changes i made just now, at 3pm
3pm: i made a few adjustments to the major changes i made this morning, which allow it to “POP.” so now it reads more clearly from a distance, while maintaining the mystery. new are the blue area on the lower left as well as somewhat stronger whites surrounding the figures.
BELOW: before (left) and after the chnages i just made
jazz 1, 35x37”/89x94 cm. oil & collage on linen, as it looked moments ago
11:38 AM: this morning i had to run into town to go to the p.o & do some food shopping. when i got to the studio, i had only 2 hours to have my breakfast & do some more work on good doc V, which has become jazz 1. as i mentioned in an earlier post, good doc was becoming too specific as a title, and jazz is far more fitting for this series.
so i lay it down on my painting table and, while the energy was still fresh, began working. right now it’s tacked to my painting wall, still wet from all the brush marks and bubble wrap impressions. so it’s dripping. and dripping quite well, i’d say!
the naked female body seen from above is now a pinkish organic shape embedded in a purplish heart shape and surrounded by a white outline.
the two striding doctor figures seen from above could now be srtiding to the left,as they were, or to the right. the blue band of color on the right is broken up by white circular marks, which continue over the pinkish color of the tile floor and echo the shapes of the plates on the table to the right.
the architecture remains; the details are blurred, and the minds and eyes viewing jazz 1 can make it their own, without being grabbed by the neck and led somewhere.
BELOW: good doc V yesterday, and jazz 1 this morning and this afternoon
good doc V, 35x37”/89x94 cm. oil & collage on linen as it looked at the end of my painting day today
3:58 PM: after stretching a few recent canvases & hanging them over at the house, i got back to work on good doc V. the entire right half was painted over yesterday, and in place of all that was going on was a simple tiled floor. that looked pretty barren & pathetic when i entered my studio today, so i began reworking it, restoring some of what had been there and adding a few new elements to the composition; most importantly the good doctor’s wife. since there are two images of the good doctor (it’s a tv serial, look it up) and only one of her, there’s an enigma. will the real good doctor stand up? of course it’s the exact same guy, who has simply advanced a few feet.
composiitonally, the table & chairs on the right, as well as the vertical blue stripe, seem to work. the tiled floor has been painted over with a brighter color, enlivening the entire painting, compared with yesterdays version.
