revision of jazz 11 / May 31, 2023 by Philip Tarlow

*jazz 11* as it looked moments ago, at the end of my painting day today.

2:54 PM: i wasn’t satisfied with the 1:30 pm changes, so i continued working, and here’s the result.

ON THE RIGHT are the areas i most worked on: the figur eof the female singer and, to her right, what was originally a bird has become a japanese figure with an extrvagant hat!

1:27 PM: the original blue bird, from day 1 of jazz 11, as beautiful as it was, was no longer an effective part of this composition. so today, after our first morning creek walk of the season, i painted over it. still not certain of the result, so i may go back into it now. here’s the before & after, BELOW

continued work on "jazz 11" / May 30, 2023 by Philip Tarlow

1PM: those lines i added an hour ago weren’t working. they were from my head and not my gut. so i took most of them out, extended the yellow a bit further up & i’m calling it a day. seems crazy to me, but after a few hours i’m feeling almost as bad as i did right after i bit my cheek & caused the wound. i’m just going to have to be patient, rest a lot, take tylenol & apply ice, which does help quite a bit. so i cleaned my brushes, which i forgot to do yesterday, and will head back to the house as soon as i post this.

on a positive note, i’m finding this one interesting. first off, for now at least, it has transcended the previous 10 versions of the jazz series. it’s neither a grouping of figues on a white ground, or a grey ground. the patterns on the singer’s dress; the yellow area at the top; the green surrounding the bird; the pink to the right of the walking figure; the purple shadow he’s casting and the blue on the far right combine to help create a composition that is both less austere and contains more movement and musicality. we watched the bee gee documentary last night, and this is more like the unique harmony they created together, that could only emerge from such a tight knit family.

BELOW: 4 stages of jazz 11

*jazz 11* as it looked moments ago, after about an hour of work

BELOW: the painting at about 11:15 is on the left, and on the right, moments ago

12:15 PM: i’m still experiencing the after effects of my cheek bite, so i had to stop and apply ice. here’s where it’s currently at, and i’ll know in a little while whether i can continue or have to go back to the house & lie down.

*jazz 11* 35x37”/89x94 cm. oil on linen, as it looked following my first round of painting this morning

10:50 AM: mikela had to leave for school this morning at 8, which means i needed to be ready by then, and as a result i got a welcome early start in the studio. i was able to do a bit more on the new jazz 11, which at the end of my painting day yesterday had only a blue patterned bird. i wasn’t sure i’d be able to keep it without painting over it, but so far, there he/she is, looking about confused by all that he/she is surrounded with!

"jazz 7" revisions continued / STARTING “jazz 11” / May 29, 2023 by Philip Tarlow

*3:41 PM*, this is the very first stage of *jazz 11.* oil on linen, 35x37”/94x89cm.

3:36 PM: after completing revisions on jazz 10, i started work on…guess what? jazz 11!!

as with the previous jazz 10, it’s starting out with image of a bird; one of the 214 i currently have in my birds album on my iphone. this one’s a pretty little guy/girl, but that doesn’t mean he/she won’t eventually be painted over.

*jazz 7,* 37x35”/94x89 cm. oil and collage on linen, as it looked following further revisions made earlier today.

1:15 PM: i was not happy with how this painting looked yesterday at the end of my painting day. today i added lots of that grey you can find in many of the other jazz series paintings. it might seem to you that they’re repetative, but actually they are in my world simply variations on a theme, much as you find in music. seen all together, which i envision happening in the not too distant future, the viewer will ideally have an experience not unlike Rachmaninoff: Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op.22 (Chochieva)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiDtLscGnn8

the theme, in this case, is the walking figure seen from above, with the blue plaid shirt. he is, actually, inspired by a shot from above i captured on our tv, of the main character in the tv serial, the good doctor.

BELOW: the history of jazz 7

revisions to "jazz 7" inspired by "jazz 9" / May 28, 2023 by Philip Tarlow

*jazz 7* following today’s revisions, which will continue tomorrow

2:36 PM: yesterday’s revisions to jazz 9 made me take another look at jazz 7 , and i began feeling there was too much white, which was preventing the composition as a whole from declaring itself.

going to take our creek walk in 15 minutes, so i’ll continue my comments when we’re back.

BELOW: jazz 7 before & after today’s revisions

"jazz 9" revised / May 27, 2023 by Philip Tarlow

*jazz 9* 37x35”/94x89 cm., following today’s revisions. the before and after can be viewed beneath the text, below.

2:00 PM: today, it was jazz 9’s turn to be revised. i’m happy with the changes, except perhaps for the remainig blue shape on the lower left. but i’ll leave it for now and see how i feel tomorrow.

as i write this, i have ice on my right jaw, to try and calm down the pain and swelling from when i bit my cheek on wednesday following my dentist visit. the lower right side of my face was numbed up so that 2 temporary crowns could be placed and some caveties removed. so as we were driving home i was unaware that i bit my inner cheek so hard it caused a deep wound, which has been very painful ever since. i’m holding the thought that it’s not infected, doing salt water rinses as suggested by the dentist and applying ice.

but that hasn’t stopped me from painting! i treasure the time i have in my studio, and it would take a lot more than a painful cheek to keep me away.

BELOW: jazz 9 before and after today’s revisions

"jazz 10" painted over / May 26, 2023 by Philip Tarlow

2:51 PM: just as i was getting ready to leave the studio, i decide to simplify. so here’s where it’s at right now.

*jazz 10* as it looked at the end of my painting day today.

2:10 PM: i worked into jazz 10, making it all but unrecogizable from where it was yesterday. i like where it’s at right now, so i’m stopping here for the day. looking at it tacked to the wall next to previous paintings in the jazz series, it holds its own. that bit of yellow on the right takes it to a new place.

here’s yesterdays version on the LEFT, compared with todays

12:10 PM: i wasn’t satisfied with jazz 10 when i cast my first glance this morning, so i’m entering no man’s land and following my gut as to where to go next. i’m listening to what the painting wants and putting what i think i want on the back burner.

we plan on walking at 3, but the weather is looking threatening, so we’ll see. don’t want a repeat of what happened a few days ago, when we got caught in a heavy hail storm!

at work on *jazz 10* earlier this morning

continued work on "jazz 10" / May 25, 2023 by Philip Tarlow

1:43 PM: so as i predicted, i just ran out of steam and am stopping for the day, in part due to my dental experience yesterday. the painting is at a transitional point & doesn’t yet hold together. but i do like what happened with the bird being surrounded by the grey of the tree trunk, as well as the upside down figure of the dancing boy in blue. tomorrow may be a turning point day.

12:20 PM: it was a rough day at the dentist yesterday. i was so numbed up that on the way home with mikela, i was unaware that i bit into my cheek while talking, so i have a pretty good wound there, which may take a week or so to heal.

today, after my usual futzing around & continuing cleanup after yesterdays olive oil spill onto the studio floor & table, i continued work on jazz 10. the bird is no longer the only act in town, and now has a background of a grey tree trunk & a few rose colored shapes. i’m continuing work till i run out of steam in a few hours.

starting "jazz 10" following a big olive oil spill / May 24, 2023 by Philip Tarlow

noon: we ordered a 5 gallon tub of our favorite extra virgin olive oil from the italian company we love in california. it’s very heavy, as you might imagine, and this morning when i was attempting to pour some of it into a glass half gallon bottle, the bottle slipped, fell onto the cement floor and olive oil went everywhere. i spent about 2 hours doing a premininary cleanup, but i wanted to get at least a little painting done before we have to leave for our dental appointemnts in alamosa, to i heroically launched into jazz 10.

re-work of "Climbing Figure, Piso Yialia"/ “jazz 9” is complete / May 23, 2023 by Philip Tarlow

when i entered the studio this morning & cast my First Glance at jazz 9, it seemed resolved. that was the end of my plan to paint over most of it, as i’ve done with previous paintings in this series. gotta go with your gut!

11:40 AM: this morning i unexpectedly reworked the sky in this 2022 oil titled climbing figure, piso yialia.

the rework involved the sky, which originally showed a sunset. with my current aesthetic sensibility, there was way too much going on, taking away from the rocks and from the figure itself.here in my studio it now reads much better from a distance of about 20 feet.

for those visitors who are andriots or familiar with andros, you will recognize that this guy is climbing over the rocks separating piso yialia from bros yialia. piso, at least when i was last there, was a more deserted beach, where a lot of the time you might be the only one there. there was a clear view of the capitol, chora, and usually a delightful cool breeze, even in the mid-summer heat.

*jazz 9* completed, as it looked at the end of my paniting day yesterday.

*climbing figure, piso yialia* 12x17”/43x53 cm. 2022-23

now what? i’ll tell you what: starting “jazz 9” today / May 22, 2023 by Philip Tarlow

*jazz 9* 35 x 37” / 94x89 cm. oil on linen, stage 1

3:55 PM: i started jazz 9 today, and here’s where it’s at. gotta run now, but i’ll continue posting later.

8:19 AM: for you loyal followers of my blog, you will know that 7:50am is the absolute earliest i ever got to my studio. this is due of course to the fact that mikela had to leave to get to school, but this morning she had to leave even earlier so she could stop by the studio, where the printer is located & have me print out a tax doc she needed. she also got to take a look at jazz 8, which she totally loved. and i immediately theough, oh shit, how am i ever going to do something this good again?

so she’s off now and i’m finishing my breakfast, with the remains of the fresh roasted yemeni coffee i prepare for her every morning. delicious!

as soon as i’m done having breakfast, i’ll assess the situation and start something new.

what i’m seeing more and more is the value of starting with what always turns out to be an underpainting, but must be done as if it were the final painting. in other words, i have to trick myself into believing that what i’m doing the first couple of days is going to remain that way & not almost totally dissapear. it’s the bits that are left & peek through that create the magic.