May 13, 2025 by Philip Tarlow

*5/12/25 ano kato*, 32x36” oil & collage on portrait linen, as ahe looked at the end of my painting day today.

2:23 PM: i did a lot of work on 5/12/25 ano kato this afternoon, and at this stage it’s way too busy, albeit interesting.i flipped what i did yesterday 360, and now the interplay between yesterdays figures and the ones i added today is very energetic. just cleaned my brushes and am about to head back to the house. i also added a few collaged pieces of paper to break things up.

*3/28/21 colored pencil still life,* 10x7”, coll. the artist

10:28 AM: this morning before leaving for the studio, i was browing through one of my sketchbooks and came across this colored pencil drawing created in march of 2021. i was impressed!

5/12/25 dancers / May 12, 2025 by Philip Tarlow

*5/12/25 dancers*, 32x36” oil on portrait linen, as she looked at the end of my painting day today

1:30 PM: i satrted a new one today, titled 5/12/25 dancers, which is also 32x36”, like the previous three. i’ll continue work on this one tomorrow, and see where she takes me. i found these dancers on a tv show yesterday and felt immediately that they worked perfectly with this series.

5/2/25 ano kato, day 3 / May 11, 2025 by Philip Tarlow

*5/2/25 ano kato*, 32x36” oil on portrait linen, following today’s work

2:43 PM: this is the first day i felt well enough to venture back to my studio. i’m still very congested and kinda weak, but i did get some work done of 5/2/25 ano kato, which i whited over and added 3 new figures. there’s a tad of red mixed in with the titanium white, so it’s pinkish.

"Momoyama" 24x26" 2023-24 / May 11, 2025 by Philip Tarlow

*Momoyama,* 24x26” oil on linen, 2023-24

9:04 AM: i’m in the 7th day of this cold/upper respiratory whatever & thus have not been working in my studio for a solid week. very odd feeling.

this is a painting made in 2023 and updated in 2024, which now hangs in our house. it incorporates the walking figures seen from above which can be found in many of the compositions from this period. it’s hard to reproduce the colors acccurately; the orriginal has more subtlties.

sketch i made at yesterday's crestone Democratic Precinct meeting / May 9, 2025 by Philip Tarlow

8:09 AM: yesterday evening we attended the Crestone Democratice Precinct meeting. a lot was accomplished at the meeting, and i always feel complete if i’ve made at least one sketch; this one of an attendee sitting beside me, paying careful attention. when we broke into small groups, he made some insightful comments and suggestions.

as i’m still recovering from a heavy cold, with upper respiratory congestion, i kept my distance from the attendees and we left a bit early. it was a productive meeting.

trail flowers / May 4, 2025 by Philip Tarlow

2:36 PM: we took our trail walk this morning and on the way back i picked some delicate yellow flowers that had bloomed since our last walk. i picked a few, put them in a glass jar and made a little watercolor/gouache, which is 9 1/2 x 4”

*trail flowers,* 9 1/2 x 4” watercolor & gouache on *arches* paper

"5/2/22 ano kato" day 2 / May 3, 2025 by Philip Tarlow

*5/2/25 ano kato,* 32x36”, oil on portrait linen, as she looked at the end of my painting day

3:07 PM: i painted over yesterdays version of 5//225 ano kato. there’s a bit left showing through, and blue and yellow are now the dominant colors. i’m having fun, which is the point, right?

"5/2/25 ano kato" day 1 / May 2, 2025 by Philip Tarlow

*5/2/25 ano kato,* 32x36”, oil on portrait linen, on day 1, at the end of my painting day

3:23 PM: yesterday i cut 2 more pieces of extra fine portrait linen for 2 more paintings the same size as the most recent ones: 32x36”

the composition of this one, thus far, makes it a sister of 4/22/25 ano kato. but this is only day 1, and a lot can happen tomorrow! right now however, i’m tired and am going to clean my brushes and call it a day.

“the Miracle” rework / a tweak to "4/22/25 ano kato" / April 30, 2025 by Philip Tarlow

*the miracle,* 32x36” oil on portrait linen, as she looked at the end of my panting day today

*the miracle,* 32x36”, oil on portrait linen, as she looked following the white-over and with the start of a new composition

2:39 PM: the miracle wasn’t doing it for me, so i whited over it and started a new composition. she’s too wet to tack to the wall, so i photographed her from above, which explains the bit of glare you see.

10:22 AM: i realized that what were originally elk antlers in the earlier version, now that i flipper it 360, they were protruding on the lower right portion of the composition and taking the viewers attention away from the composition as a whole, which otherwise works great.

so a little earlier this morning, i carefully went over them with the same light blue that surrounded them, and it wiorked. i’m posting before and after images so that you can see the difference.

more work on 4/22/25 ano kato / April 29, 2025 by Philip Tarlow

*4/22/25 ano kato* as she looked at 2:30 pm after a few hours work this morning, after flipping it 360

2:27 PM: as the skies darken in advance of the predicted rain storms i’m making changes to 4/22/25 ano kato. i flipped it 360 and referred to one of my favorite photos from above of mikela watering our plants in the entryway.