day 2, figures from above 4 /  by Philip Tarlow

figures from above IV, 80x20” oil on linen, as it looked moments ago, at the end of my painting day today

3:19 PM: today i was able to make some significant improvements to figures from above IV. a few figures needed to POP more, which they now do. some subtle additions to the architectual design of the Acropolis Museum floor and display windows on the right, make it clearer what we’re looking at, without being overly descriptive. now the woman on the upper right holding the red bag makes more sense; she’s looking at ancient artifacts in a glass showcase. the familiar (if you follow my BLOG) striding male figure below in the plaid shirt, while slightly larger than the rest of the figures, adds a note of mystery, which i always love. the grey border gives us mor eof a sense of having a birds eye view.

DETAIL

u.s. open I becomes "figures from above IV" /  by Philip Tarlow

figures from above IV 80x20” as it looked at the end of my painting day today

1:57 PM: i did a fair amopunt of work on the now titled figures from above IV, which is now a vertical composition, 80x20.” all the figures except for the familiar guy with the plaid shirt were inspired by a series of photos I took in the acropolis museum on one of our trips to greece to visit my son & grandkids. they’re mOstly all looking at ancient artifacts through the glass windows on the right. many probably just arrived from their visit to the acropolis itself, just a few hundred yards away.

whiting over u.s. open I and preparing to create figures from above IV

u.s. open I, 20x80” before it transformed today into figures from above PT paints into new figures from above IV

11:15 AM: i’ve been looking on and off at u.s.open I for weeks now, and decided yesterday afternoon that it wasn’t working. so this morning, i whited over it and am now painting back into it.

day four of "figures from above iii" /  by Philip Tarlow

figures from above III as it looked moments ago, afer removing the shadow of the skateboarder, upper right

1:53 pm: so i took out that big shadow, as i said i might a few hours ago. in it’s place are a few creek inspired marks suggesting branches & flowing creek water. better, but i’ll have to see how i feel about it in the morning. right now gotta leave for a meeting.

day four of "figures from above iii" 35x37” oil on linen

12:48 PM: there was an empty space in the upper left asking to be filled. this morning i added a jumping skateboarder with a long violet shadow. not yet sure about the shadow, which seems to dominate the composition in a way i hadn’t intended. so i may take it out.

day three of "figures from above iii" /  by Philip Tarlow

day two of "figures from above iii" 35x37” oil on linen

1:27 PM: i/we didn’t like all that green i painted in yesterday, so it’s gone, along with the pinks. the painting is back to it’s original spare state, but with some critical additions of color on the figures, as well as the triangle of yellow on the lower right. it seems to be singing, but i’ll know better in the morning.

day two of "figures from above iii" /  by Philip Tarlow

figures from above III 35x37” as it looked at the end of my painting day today

3:04 PM: i took figures from above III to the next stage todayintroducing greens, pinks & blues and some bold patterns inspired by 18th c. japanese fabric prints. the 5 figures are integrated into the swirl of brush marks and the whole composition will go to the next level tomorrow.

day one of "figures from above III" /  by Philip Tarlow

figures from above III as it looked at the end of my painting day today. outlines of a creekscape can be seen next to and behind the skateboarder, and a few colors have been introduced, such as the red shoulder strap of the woman in the museum.

4:23 PM: so i feel complete with figures from above II and this morning launched into figures from above III, which has the same dimensions as the previous two, and has started out along a similar path, with figures from above sketched in with grey oils. and as with the previous two, the composition will very likely morph ove rthe next few days until she finds her song and sings it loud and clear!

this morning i placed the creek plein air watercolor i made october 8, in a frame, which makes quite a difference!

late this afternoon, i stretched and then hung figure from above I in our living room. looks pretty good!

day 3 of "Figures from Above II" /  by Philip Tarlow

figures from above II, 35x37” as it looked at the end of my painting day today

3:41 PM: figures from above II II is now a very different painting. but what came before, what’s underneath provides the underlying hints of color and form.

i wasn’t satisfied with the painting, and when i walked in this morning, what i saw did have redeeming features, but it was at bottom an attempt to make a next stage figures form above I.

the skateboarder is now the centerpiece. she has appeared in previous paintings, including a couple of goaches on paper.

day 2 of "figures from above II" /  by Philip Tarlow

figures from above II, 35x37” oil on linen, as it looked at the end of my painting day today

3:32 PM: i worked a longer day than usual on figures from above II. while it has some of the elements that were in the painting yesterday, there are many new additions to the composition, as you’ll see when you compare the two, BELOW. it’s definitely not singing it’s song fully yet, but it’s humming a melody that gives us many clues as to that that song will be.

it reveals a delicate balance between abstraction and realism. the figures seen from above, along with the flower patters inspired by 18th C. japanese art, are fast becoming a part of my alphabet. the more i introduce them, the greater certainty i have about how to paint them, so that fewer and fewer brush strokes can communicate everything we need to know.

BELOW: day 1 & today

starting figures from above II / facebook post today about tsarouchis /  by Philip Tarlow

figures from above II, 35x37” day one, as it looked at the end of my painting day today.

2:28 PM: i started figures from above II and will continue tomorrow, when i anticipate the composition will become more cohesive and interesting, having to do with the positioning of the figures as well as the background colors and how they’re distributed. the clincher in figures from above I was, i believe, the introduction of decorative leaf and blossom shapes, derived from 18th c. japanese prototypes.

11:21 AM: figures from above I seems resolved, so i’m starting figures from above II today. more as i progress on the drawing.

this morning i posted about yannis tsarouchis; here’s a screen shot…for the complete post go to facebook.

"figures from above" day 4 /  by Philip Tarlow

figures from above 35x37” as it looked at the end of my painting day today

2:28 PM: we’re going up the creek trail in half an hour & today i’m bringing crayons instead of colored pencils, so we’ll see how that goes….i’ll post what i do later this afternoon.

this morning i took figures from above a bit further, proceeding slowly, listening to where she wants to go next. it’s richer than yesterday, and brings to mind a study i made of an archile gorgy painting in 2017.