taiko, day 6 /  by Philip Tarlow

taiko, 22 1/2 x 30” mixed media & collage

10:19 AM: i did more work on taiko; there’s a lot more white breathing space, much of the composition is covered by semi-transparent white paper cut into biomorphic shapes. all but one of the taiko drummers are gone, leaving a largely non-representational composition.

all that came before on the previous 5 days has contributed to the current composition, providing a visual richness, frteshness and suggestiveness that could not have been established otherwise.

taiko," day 5 /  by Philip Tarlow

taiko , 22 1/2 x 30” as she looked moments ago following extensive work this morning

11:25 PM: this morning i made some critical additions and modifications, bringing taiko closer to completion. as you can see in the comparative photos below, the most significant change took place when i collaged over the dark bit on the lower left, which was a cutout of a photo of a taiko drummer. you will see many more improvements, such as the female drummer figure on the upper right and the black clad drummer seen from above in the center of the composition.

“taiko” day 4 / walking stick corner /  by Philip Tarlow

taiko, 22 1/2 x 30” watercolor, gouache & collage on arches watercolor paper

BELOW: details of taiko

1:43 PM: i arrived at my studio early today; about 8:45, and after making breakfast, i worked pretty much all day on taiko. i introduced collage elements as well as palm leaf patterning. i collaged rectangular pieces of tracing paper over areas that seemed too dark or busy.

i had attached the arches watercolor paper to a piece of white foam core, which created a white border surrounding the image. about an hour ago i began finding that white border was taking away from the painting. i have some pieces of dark grey cardboard, which were not big enough, so i improvised, cutting 4 narrow strips and fastening them around the piece, which now allows me to view it withoutdistraction.

9:41 AM: this morning i completer the transformation of the NW corner fo my studio. what was once stacked with empty 85” cardboard tubes is now home to my collection of walking sticks, some of which i painted, and two of my skateboarder collages.

taiko, day 2 /  by Philip Tarlow

taiko, 22 1/2x30” as she looked at the end of my painting day today

2:19 PM: a few years back, there was a taiko drumming performance here. i shot a lot of photos, some of which are serving as inspiration. it’s been a while since i worked in watercolor, a medium i love a lot.

this was originally going to be 6 vertical pieces, each 6” wide. but it’s now turning out that way, so it’s looking like it may turn out to be one painting, 22 1/2 x 30” you can’t really paint over anything you’ve done, as you can with oil or acryllic, so what you see now will remain. i may however decide to use gouache in some areas….we’ll see. this arches watercolor paper is a very sensitive surface and takes the paint really well.

STarTING THE TAIKO SERIES / walking stick corner /  by Philip Tarlow

2:46 PM: THIS AFTERNOON I STARTED what is to become the taiko series of 7 watercolor/gouache paintings, each of whic is 22x6” on arches watercolor paper. stay tuned!

12:55 PM: the rolls of canvas i order come in 85” long cardboard tubes, which, over time had accumulated in a corner of my studio. there were a lot of them, and as i’m currently in cleanup/organizing mode, i found someone to take them to the trash. in their place, i created a waking stick corner, with a number of walking sticks i’ve gathered over time. i decorated some and left others in their original state.

so i arranged them in the corner where the cardboard tubes had been along with a watercolor-gouache of a skateboarder.

pt paints plein air /  by Philip Tarlow

pt paints plein air,12/13/24, watercolor on stonehenge cream paper, 6×7 3/4”

1:52 PM: a small watercolor using my last stonehenge cream watercolor block, purchased during the period when i was living & panting in my studio on central park west, in the ‘80’s.

12-13-24 PT paints plein air-2, watercolor on stonehenge cream paper, 6×7 3/4”

“cobble” on day 4, 9/21/08 creek watercolor /  by Philip Tarlow

cobble, 32x38” oil & collage on linen, as she looked moments ago following intensive collaging

12:31 PM: i’ve been going to sleep pretty early and getting up earlier and earlier. today i was up at 3 am and am still going strong! so i resumed work on cobble, with which i wasn’t too happy about following my last round of work. so here’s how she looked moments ago, following some collaging and the introduction of black in the upper quadrant.

9/21/08 11:40 am creek watercolor, 3 1/2x11”

9:47 AM: i was doing some cleanup in my studio and came across this plein air creek watercolor from 2008, which i’m now posting.

PLANET WILD VIDEO / wobble completed / cobble-day 2 /  by Philip Tarlow

cobble, 32x38 oil on linen, as she looked moments ago

11:40 AM: yesterday afternoon i made my final adjustments to wobble, which is now a completed painting.

this morning, i continued work of day 2 of cobble, which has the same dimensions as wobble: 32x38” and incorporates some of the same dancing figures, as well as the plaid shirted walking figure who appears in many recent paintings. i started out with drawings; some in oil pastel or crayon, graduating to oils. then i began adding grey, green and yellow surrounding the figures and the hints of creekscape. everything was then scraped over with a large palette knife, creating unexpected and unplanned swishes of color.

this is a 12 minute youtube video mikela sent me to watch this morning, i highly recommend watching it! https://youtu.be/m_SzuUHXP1M?si=sDA2ObStK-6Q6chS

wobble, 32x38” oil on linen, completed

continued work on "wobble" / starting “cobble” /  by Philip Tarlow

cobble, 32x38” oil on linen, on day one.

3:30 PM: this afternoon, after completing revisions of wobble, i launched into a companion piece: cobble. it’s a drawing in oil right now, and i’ll take it further tomorrow, wednesday…or is it cobbleday?

wobble, 38x32” oil on linen, as she looked following this morning’s modifications

1:01 PM: i received some excellent and very perceptive feedback this morning, which helped me to make some critical modifications to wobble this morning. i slightgly lightened the greys in the central portion of the composition and made important changes to the figure of th emale dancer in the upper right.

i finally feel ready to move on to a new paining, which will have the same dimensions as wobble: 38x32”