"acropolis museum V", day 2 /  by Philip Tarlow

6:01 PM: late this afternoon, on our way to take our afternoon walk, mikela rightly pointed out that the gren rectangle on the lower left was screwing up he composition. so i rubbed it out as much as possible, and i’ll do a better job in the morning.

12:54 PM: this morning i continued work on the new acropolis museum V. i had the intention of leaving more white space than in the previous one. what’s happening is that over a period of months, the figures i was most interested in using in these paintings became a group of a dozen or more. some were included in the photos i had shot back in march at the acropolis museum; others were from earlies photos, shot here in colorado. and still others, like the walking guy with the plaid shirt, where shot from our tv screen.

one thing that’s different here so far is that there are no layers, no white-overs, no scraping, as was the case with acropolis museum III. so will it remain this way? i’ve learned from decades of experience to stop working when i have no more juice, so that’s it for today. less is more…

"by the creek," continued /  by Philip Tarlow

by the creek, 89x94 cm./35x37” as it looks at the end of my painting day today

2:07 PM: i made more changes to by the creek today, reducing the harshness of colors and transitions of yesterdays version. the right section has elements from my most recent acropolis museum painting, next to which is the creek water and four figures who were there that day, with little boats. it reads as rather dark overall, which may change tomorrow morning. i loved adding those stripes of blue and yellow on the left.

the two themes: by the creek and the acropolis museum interior conjure a new reality, giving the viewer the opportunity to write their own story.

acropolis museum IV becomes "by the creek" /  by Philip Tarlow

3:23 PM: i did extensive work on by the creek, adding a new figure and making the background a warm grey. a little of the underlying drawing is still visible, but has mostly been greyed over. i’ll resume work in the morning, after my half hour mentoring session with a ukranian student who wants to improve his spoken english. we’ll be having these sessions on zoom twice a week, and this will be our first.

1:57 PM: i wasn’t happy with where acropolis museum IV was headed, so i’m painting over what i did yesterday and so far here’s where by the creek is at. i’m continuing work on it right now; more when i’m at the next stage…

acropolis museum iV /  by Philip Tarlow

acropolis museum IV stage 1, 35x37”, oil on linen

2:50 PM: after a zoom meeting we has with friends in n.y., i started acropolis museum IV. it’s really just a rough drawing in oil right now, but i should have my day clear tomorrow, and be able to do a lot more. as you can see, it’s like an enlargemnt of a section of acropolis museum III: namely, the figures.

acropolis museum III, day 2 /  by Philip Tarlow

the acropolis museum III, 35x37”/ 89x94cm. oil on portrait linen, as it looked this afternoon at the end of my painting day

2:14 PM: there was a certain simple beauty in yesterday’s version of this painting. after gazing at it for a few hours this morning, i knew i could take it further without disturbing; indeed enhansing that simple beauty.

the more i work on this painting, the more i am in awe of the brilliant architecture. it makes me want to go back and take more photos from above for future paintings.. i can omagine an entire exhibition simply titled the acropolis museum; views from above.

the fluidity of the bodies of the museum visitors is such a perfect foil for the geometry of the architecture and the almost trompe l’oeil effect of the transparent floor. my love of architecture and my passion for views from above have found their perfect meeting point.

starting "acropolis museum III" /  by Philip Tarlow

acropolis museum III, 35x37” oil on portrait linen, day 1

2:59 PM: today i started a new acropolis museum: acropolis museum III, inspired by photos i shot on our trip to athens last march. the placement of the figures of the museum visitors in the architectural magic, as seen through the transparent glass floor is a dream come true for me. as well, i’m now switching to my absolute favorite canvas: artfix quadruple primed extra fine portrait linen. nothing like it!

more tomorrow.

thursday poem / acropolis LL continued… /  by Philip Tarlow

acropolis II 35x37”, oil on linen, as it looked just now, at the end of my painting day

2:24 PM: i thought i was done with acropolis II, but no, there was more to do in the floor area, and i can see now looking at it, there’s more i’ll do tomorrow. i like the reflected lights, which i guess balance out the yellow surrounding the guy in white, on the right. i want it to POP a bit more, but not too much. it’s always a delicate balance. but some day, someone gazing at this painting in a gallery or museum will take not of and appreciate these subtle strokes.

12:56 PM: the brownies are in the oven, this time cooked softer. i’m cutting 4 of my best portrait linen rolls into 35x37” pieces for the new stretcher bars arriving today.

THURSDAY POEM:

one more

one less if you like

you like

mein chairi

eene scared

of the far where u

are diaphenous

plenty agrieved

you are

giv mee yor

hand to skweez

like i do

oh oh oh

how we

muve togethr

the acropolis museum II continued /  by Philip Tarlow

2:47 PM: acropolis museum, 35x37”, oil on linen following my addition of dark hair on the male figure to the left

2:45 PM: before leaving the studio for the house, i gave the male standing figure some hair.

the acropolis museum 35x37” oil on linen, as it looked following todays session

1:48 PM: today the nude female figure is now clothed. and i made a number of other tweaks. once again, we’ll have to see in the morning how it strikes me. mikela came in on her way to school and gave me some very valuable feedback, as always, which was instrumental in the work i accomplished this morning.

so now, as soon as she’s back, we’ll go for a walk. i still have to be careful and walk more slowly than her so my pressure doesn’t rise too much because of my LANAP recovery.

the acropolis museum II, next stage /  by Philip Tarlow

the acropolis museum II 35x37” oil on linen, as it looked just now, following another round of work

2:19 PM: so after gazing at acropolis museum II for a while, i felt the 4 figures were too deliniated, preventing them from becoming an integrated part of the composition. so i whited over them a bit, then scraped into them and went back in with some blue lines surrounding the figures so that they didn’t fade too much. here’s where it’s at right now; i’ll have to see how i feel about it in the morning.

what i did today makes me wonder if it would be valuable to revisit a few of my recent paintings, such as this one, the drummer, and do something different with that pinkish ground surrounding the figures so that, as with this one, thet are more integrated into the composition as a whole.

i spent part of the day creating a video for the organization for which i’m volunteering, as a coach/mentor for ukranians who want to improve their spoken english. if i’m accepted, i’ll be having zoom sessions with a ukranian multiple times a week. during the period when i lived in greece, i taught/mentored students in spoken/written english, so i have some experience with that. i’ll likely ifnd out in the coming week whether i’ve been accepted as a volunteer.

the drummer, 35x37” oil on linen

11:01 AM: this morning i brought a fresh energy to acropolis museum II. i got to work as soon as my talk with mikela ended; she was driving to her appointments at the high school, 50 minutes away. our tradition as for us to talk as she drives so that, when she arrives, it’s as if no time has passed at all!