jazz 20, day 3 / further refinements to jazz 19 /  by Philip Tarlow

jazz 20 35x37” as it looked at the end of my painting day today

jazz 19, 16x40” as it looked at the end of my painting day

2:32 PM: thunderstorms this morning have given way to partly cloudy skies with moderate winds. it’s been an interesting day, starting with small but significant refinements to jazz 19, moving on to further work on jazz 19.

on jazz 19, i made adjustments to the central male figure, which seems, as i gaze at it now, to have allowed the composition to find it’s note. it sings.

on this third day of it’s existance, jazz 20 has taken a few leaps. two figures familiar from previous paintings: the 17th c. japanese female figure and the walking plaid shirted figure inspired by photos of the main character in the good doctor tv series, now dominate the composition. the japanese figure was painted over yesterday’s bird image, some of which peeks through. and the doctor figure was painted over the drawing of a violinist i made yesterday. the catfish is new, inspired by an edo period woodblock by an unknown artist. the catfish was associated in japan with earthquakes, which were believed to have happened due to an imbalance in the flow of chi between heaven and earth. the quirky cats surrounding the catfish, which you can’t see in the painting, may be trying to restore the cosmic harmony.

as far as it’s appearance in this composition, it’s serving a similar function, and is critical to the balance of this composition. we’ll see where she goes tomorrow!

JAZZ 20, DAY 1 / jazz 19 evolves /  by Philip Tarlow

jazz 20, 35x37” at the end of my painting day today.

1:59 PM: this afternoon, after working on jazz 19, i started the new jazz 20, 35x37.” it felt good to be working on a fresh, unpainted surface (jazz 19 is painted over several older layers of paint & collage.) this is day one, so it’s hard to tell where it’s headed.

jazz 19 as it looked moments ago.

12:38 PM: i removed one of the female figures from the composition, once again tossing the idea that i have to pay attention to what was in the original photo i was inspired by. what i have to pay attention to is my gut.

BELOW: yesterday’s version is on the left

DETAIL of the femaile figure after today’s work

jazz 19 goes pink /  by Philip Tarlow

1:30 PM: i was dissatisfied with jazz 19, particularly with the glass floor museum setting, with all those angles and reflections. i felt like i was falling into my own trap; focusing my attention of description rather than color, composition, paint application. so i went over most of it, aside from the 4 figures, with a pinkish color and removed the clothing from the female figures, leaving them standing naked, w ith a few remaining blue and green colors.

since this is an older painting, with elements of collage beneath, the surface is a bit uneven. the painting as a whole has become far more mysterious and enigmatic. what’s going on here? what’s the relationship between the two naked women and the two clothed male figures, both walking. more interesting for me are the pinks, blues and greens and the purple shadows these figures are casting.

jazz 19 /  by Philip Tarlow

jazz 19 as it looked moments ago, following today’s work

12:03 PM: i’m doing far more work on this one than i had imagined. the transparant floor in MOMA is magical in how reflects the light and the figures at the same time as it allows you a view of the lower floor. i haven’t yet fully captured that magic, so i’ll continue tomorrow morning. i have to stop early today.

BELOW: yesterday’s verion is on the LEFT

more work on jazz 19 /  by Philip Tarlow

jazz 19, 16x40” as it looked at the end of my painting day today, with a new figure on the upper right

3:35 PM: today i took jazz 19 to the next level. i introduced a 4th figure on the upper right, but it was towards the end of the day & i was running out of steam, so i’ll come back to it tomorrow and make adjustments allowing the new figure to join the crowd. and the whole thing needs to lighten up, and the figures need to pop more.all that is doable; i just need to do it when i’m fresh.

jazz 19 transforms /  by Philip Tarlow

4:15 PM: yesterday’s version of this painting was way too busy, so i whited over it and started a version of the ano kato series MOMA painting i worked on a few days ago. more in a bit.

jazz 19 continues /  by Philip Tarlow

2:57 PM: i worked exclusively on jazz 19 today; painting, scraping, adding some checkerboard patterning at the last moment before photographing & posting. it’s more in harmony with the ones that came before, and i kinda like it as i gaze from a 15-20 ft. distance in my computer chair.

this evening is rosh hashanah eve, and, when i was a kid, it would be the start of our 24 hour fast. we won’t be fasting, but i wish us all a wonderful, fulfilling, creative new year! i feel we’re both doing what we’re meant to do: mirroring the creative soup we were born into, making it a bit richer.

more work on jazz 19 & changes to a 2014 "ano kato" series painting /  by Philip Tarlow

jazz 19 16x40”, as it looked following today’s work

3:24 PM: today, as i gazed at one of my ano kato series of paintings, which was in a 2015 solo show at gremillion fine arts, houston, i was moved to make some changes to one of the female figures. the composition is set in one of the galleries at MOMA, in a view from above. the figures stand on the glass floor, which allows a view of the gallery just beneath this one; totally up my alley!

my changes were mainly to the figure on the right, although i did give the one on the left a semi-transparent dress.

i’m progressing slowly on jazz 19, so it’s too early to tell where it’s heading. on the left is a HU musician seen from above, playing his instrument. and on the right, a close-up detail of that same musician’s fingers, with a detail of his instrument. i’ll pick up where i left off tomorrow.

ano kato series 2014 MOMA painting, 48x24” following today’s changes.

JAZZ 18 still in process / next stage of jazz 19 /  by Philip Tarlow

2:06 pm: as i gazed at jazz 18 this morning, thinking it was resolved,i had the urge to do more to the central female tennis player. i made quite a few changes to her body & outfit. then i made more changes to the background colors, adding more greens & extending the shadow of the male player on the right. as usual, i’m not yet sure what i did was good…domani.

BELOW : before & after today’s changes

i also made some progress on jazz 19, a new painting on top of an old one, on two 16x20”joined canvases.