gained vision IV re-worked....again / shinkeizou stage 2 / “jazz 8” in sunlight /  by Philip Tarlow

7pm: about 15 minutes ago, the sunlight streamed in through one of our West windows, creating this magic on jazz 8.

4pm: i did a lot more to shikenzou, which for the moment is looking like a family dinner party. some of the underlying creekscape remains. the blue oil pastel marks to the right will probably be gone, which requires first rubbing them out with solvent. if i try to paint over them, the blue will smear into whatever color i’m using. but i could spray it with fixative, which would probably be easier.

shinkeizou, stage 2

12:31 PM: i continued work on shinkeizou. i’m gradually painting over the first layer of creek branches, and instead a dinner party is emerging.

9:56 AM: i whited over gained vision IV and began a drawing of a figure sitting on a rock at yialia beach, andros, gazing out at the sea. it’s still pretty wet, so i dragged it over to my storage room, propped it on some boxes and photographed it. it will stay there till it’s dry enough to work into tomorrow.

gained vision IV in my storage room following a white-over

revising "kosode" and "gained vision IV" /  by Philip Tarlow

gained vision IV 80x20” oil on linen, at the end of today

1:49 PM: i had considered these two paintings completed, but when i entered my studio i felt kosode was too busy. and when i brought the newly stretched gained vision IV didn’t work at all. that’s the value of bringing a newly completed painting over to the house. the big, open space with nothing else close by allows a much more definitive evaluation than when it’s in the studio, surrounded by other recent work.

kosode 38x20” oil on linen, at the end of today’s work

starting "shinkeizou" /  by Philip Tarlow

1:13 PM: i’m feeling that kosode is resolved, but i’ll keep glancing from time to time. this morning i stretched gained vision IV on the new aluminum stretcher bars that were delivered a few days ago. i won’t go into detail, but assumbling the aluminum bars was a bitch!!!

so here you see the newly stretched gained vision IV next to the just completed kosode, tacked to the wall.

i started work on shinkeizou this morning after my stretching adventure. it has the same dimensions as the previous two: 38x20”/96.5x51cm. right now it’s in the exploratory, anything goes phase, with the dominant feature being a large branch in the creek surrounded by foaming water and rocks. but a city view from above has snuck in, along with a HU musician playing his instrument…

at work moments ago on the new painting: shinkeizou

2:17 PM: shinkeizou 38x20” on it’s first day in the world

more work on "kosode" this morning /  by Philip Tarlow

11:12 AM: i got an early start today and got straight to work on kosode. i took out 2 of the figures, including the plaid shirted guy i painted in yesterday afternoon. i added in a guy who’s hard to see, but he’s just to the right of the dancing girl with the checkered shorts. he is inspired by a photo i shot of local workers installing our new windows a few months ago. if you look at the corner of the grey triangle you’ll see him crouching there. as well, to the left of the dancing girl is one of those windows, through which you can see the landscape looking out over the valley.

all that is well and good, but it’s the composition that i’m focused on, which is now doing some interesting, playing on spatial relationships. it causes the eye to jump from one plane to another and may give you the feeling that you just may tumble over the edge and fly down to a lower level. and that’s because there is a lower level! i riffed off the photo of our home’s interior, shot from the upper level. so that’s the origin of the crouching figure, seen from above. the diagonal lines just above the crouching figure are the iron bannisters running along the stairs going up to the top floor.

the yellow vertical stripe on the right has been broken up with a couple of red marks.

so, looking through the window you’re transported 40 miles across the valley to the san juan mountains. shifting your glance just to the right is our interior, seen from above. the seated figure on the lower left is the only one anchored on that yellow ochre triangle of floor , calmly observing it all.

BELOW: yesterdays version is on the left

"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.