"kosode" 38x20", continued /  by Philip Tarlow

3:47 PM: it was pretty chilly this morning, at 50 F, but it’s climbed up to 78F now so the studio is still comfortable, unlike last week when i had to stop working about 1:30 because of the heat.

today i did a lot more to kosode, so it’s pretty far along but probably not there yet. i also continued my studio cleanup/organization, so i’m doing a little each day.

kosode has a lopt going on now, but in glancing at it from 20 ft. to get a read, there’s a pretty good balance in the composition as well as the distribution and intensity of colors. the plaid shirted walking figure anchors it. and the hint of creek water & rocks on the upper right, above the crouching figure, transport us to crestone/baca and the nearby creeks. i was concerned it might appear too busy; instead all that’s going on creates a visual richness.

kosode 38x20” / 96.5x51 cm. at the end of the day

matisse study transforming /  by Philip Tarlow

1:19 PM: as has been happening on a regular basis, yesterday’s matisse study was whited over this morning and is transforming into a tarlow! i strated with my tried and true guy in the blue plaid shirt, and we’ll see where it wants to go tomorrow. gotta run….i’m driving with mikela to her dental appointment & while she’s getting her crown, i’ll go do some food shopping.

matisse study & continued studio cleanup /  by Philip Tarlow

study of a matisse landscape, 20x18” oil on canvas

3:07 PM: yesterday i came across a matisse landscape i loved, so i decided to break up the tiring process of studio cleanup & reorg by making a small study of it in oil. as usually happens when you look carefully the master and try to replicate his marks, colors, composition… it’s a wonderful learning experience.

it became clear to me why he did certain things, which i might not have otherwise noticed. i’m certain this will enrich and deepen my experience next time i start a new painting. for now, it has given me an even deeper love and appreciation for matisse. so much so that i may make another study, perhaps of an interior.

BELOW: two of the areas i cleaned/neatened up. the top of that file cabinet was piled willy nilly with works on paper, some of which were almost 20 years old. i did a preliminary organization, separating out the ones i consider most successful. the area beneath those cabinets was piled with prints i’ve made over the years, msotly from phots i took of our creeks. i separated them out from the rest of what was in the pile and, as with the works on paper atop the file cabinet, they’ll undergo further organization, but for now at least i know they’re all in one place.

studio cleanup & reorg /  by Philip Tarlow

6:14 PM: yesterday, today and for the next few days i’ll be cleaning up and organizing my studio, which is long overdue.

i’m starting with the big pile of works on paper; gouaches & watercolors from 1997 to the present. i did the first stage of organizing them, separating out the finest. i was surprised at the amount and, in general, the high quality. of course, they vary from #5’s to #10’s, 10 being the best.

i’m a little pressed for time right now, but here are a few of the best ones i set aside.

10/22/22 creek watercolor 8 1/2 x 16”

1/29/07 turtle gouache 7 1/4 x 5 1/2”

2006 living room gouache 15 1/4 x 6”

gouache made in costa rica 1994 /  by Philip Tarlow

TARLOW: the jaguar, gouache & watercolor on paper, 1994, coll. of the artist

5:55 PM: today i started a long overdue studio cleanup. i began going through a big pile of paintings on paper. one of those is this watercolor/gouache on paper portraying mikela and others surrounding a tamed jaguar lying on the ground.

continued work on Kosode" and "Asuita" /  by Philip Tarlow

12:32 PM: not much time to post right now; gotta run to a 1pm meeting. i worked this morning on both asuita and kosode,” moving between the two while having a conversation with my former gallery director in houston. talking with hime made it easier to make good moves on the canvases, as it took me out of my plotting, scheming mind!

whiteover of "Atsuita," and starting "Kosode" / travel drawings /  by Philip Tarlow

kosode & asuita as they looked at the end of the day

2:26 PM: i’m cooked for the day. did quite a bit of work on both paintings. they look like they want to stay together, side by side, forever! speaking of which, you gotta check out this article from the guardian; she really inspires me.

Eileen Kramer on 108 years of extraordinary life: ‘I can dance in the mirror for hours’
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jul/29/eileen-kramer-life-keeps-me-dancing-book?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

going to town to do some food shopping. lotsa good energy today!! see you tomorrow…

11:49 AM: me first glance this morning let me know that atsuita was way to busy & the colors too strong. i whited over it, then scraped into that with a strip of plywood that has just the right amount of uneveness. and now i’m working back into it, going back and forth between a new one, same size, titled kosode. a kosode is the name of a 17th c. japanese garment with small sleeve openings and floral motifs likely imported from china. kosode is at a very early stage; i started the drawing yesterday but didn’t post.

TRAVEL DRAWINGS

3/7/20 TRAVEL DRAWING IN COLORED PENCIL

this morning before coming over to the studio i adjusted a group of travel drawings. when we were traveling more, i made a lot of them in various coffee shops across southern colorado while waiting for mikela to finish whatever event she was facilitating. i think i may post one every day until i get through them all, or at least the ones i know about. there are a lot more in a studio closet full of old drawing books.

tweaks to atsuita /  by Philip Tarlow

2:50 PM: when i cast my first glance at atsuita, it looked a bit too busy and fuzzy. so i went over the yellowish-reddish whites with a brighter white, made adjustments to the unresolved upper right corner, a black diagonal band of color in the upper right and added a few green verticles. when i glance at it now (i say glance because that quick look allows me to evaluate what might me off in the composition or color) it looks a lot better, but as always, i’ll know better in the morning.

atsuita 38x20”/96.5x51 cm. at the end of the day

BELOW: before & after today’s tweaks

atsuita continued /  by Philip Tarlow

2:43 PM: atsuita went through quite a few stages before arriving at what you see here. figures were introduced, and if you look carefully, you’ll see 6 of them. most of them have played a role in paintings i’ve made over the past year or so: the jumping skateboarder on top; the walking plaid shirted figure reaching out to his girfriend below, the skateboarder with the checkered shorts and the kid with the striped green cap (overlapping the checkered shorts) will be familiar to you if you follow my work and this blog.

i had attempted to introduce elements from our creek; branches, rocks, water… but it was coming too much from my head and not supporting the composition at all. so i wiped all that out just before sitting down to post. it was on the lower left, doing nothing more than overloading and confusing the composition and proclaiming: look at me! i can be part of this painting too! so now it’s a white space with visible brushmarks and a ghost image of what’s beneath.

what i most enjoyed and related to in the two diebenkorn videos i watched a few days ago, was just how much, surprisingly, i was able to relate to his process. not only did i learn a lot, but i became stronger in my conviction that i’m on a good path, which seems at this point to be figurative abstraction, and simply need to keep going.

atsuita 38x20”/96.5x51 cm. as it looked at the end of the day