"Salida Creekside" /  by Philip Tarlow

salida creekside, 11 1/2 x 14 1/2” watrecolor on paper, on day 1

2:49 PM: this morning i did a major cleanup of my two joined painting table. together they measure 80x89”. it felt really great to have the entire space cleared, and inspired mt to start a new watercolor this afternoon, which thus far has no collaged elements. it’s titled salida creekside. and is inspired by a series of photos i shot from above a few years back. the little girl in blue sits on a rock by the creek, the upper half of her body interrupting the frame of the mirror.

the upper portion of the composition is inspired by a photo i shot of mikela refelcted in a mirror, taking the piece beyond the creek to an interior; an enigma only possible through painting, where color, composition and drawing rule.

my two joined painting tables post cleanup

view of my north studio wall, with numerous works on paper, mostly recent, except for the view of the baca on the far right. above whhich is a watercolor of the port in mykonos, greece, and the andros landscape on the left and, above that, my (cut off) study of an archile gorky painting

9/1/25 4 works on paper cropped /  by Philip Tarlow

4 recent watercolor/collages cropped, in mats

3:20 PM: i came across some small mats while cleaning up this morning and tried an experiment, using 4 of them to crop 4 recent watercolor/collages. this of course is temporary and all i need to to restore the originals is remove the mats. but it’s definiely an interesting experiment.

BELOW: 2 of the more interesting ones

"legs crossed" /  by Philip Tarlow

2:12 PM: i decided not to do anything further to yesterday’s bathing, so i started a new one, titled legs crossed. it was inspired by some of the same sources as bathing; just as vibrant but more of an abstract composition.

legs crossed, 11 1/2 x 14 1/2” watercolor, cored pencil & collage on bristol paper

"BATHING" day 1 /  by Philip Tarlow

2;36 PM: this morning in the studio i scrunged about, waiting for directions from …….and finally at about 12:30 i cut a piece of bristol paper into quarters, so each piece is 11 1/2 x 14 1/2” and began a colored pencil drawing, which evolved into what you see here & will be continued tomorrow. the bit of sky on top is collaged and the rest is in colored pencil & watercolor. i stopped because i prefer to work in natural light & it’s gotten very dark, with a threatening sky, but also because i was running out of steam. so as soon as i post this i’ll walk back over to the house, as mikela has the car today.

bathing, 11 1/2x14 1/2” watercolor & collage on bristol paper

reorganizing the south studio wall / "le rélage" 2022 /  by Philip Tarlow

3:38 PM: this is a small oil on linen, 17x21 1/4”, titled le rélage, which is french for the adjustment. these 3 guys were working on the entryway area of our house in 2022. we’re able to go up the stairs and see them form above; my favorite angle, so i photographed them and, while the memory was fresh, made this little painting, which now hangs in my studio.

today i reorganized my south studio wall. I hung recently stretched new paintings. i have a few more, but i’ll need a tall ladder to hang them just above these.

le rélage, 2022, oil on linen

my newly organized south studio wall

"3/17/25 ano kato" stretched / tweaks to "afternoon moonlight" /  by Philip Tarlow

2:23 PM: today i used my newly ordered stratcher bars to stretch 3/17/25 ano kato, 32x38”, oil on portrait linen. as is true for all the other paintings from my south studio wall i’ve recently stretched, it has gained tremendously now that the surrounding white canvas is gone. the dancing figure is from a performance by the netherlands-based dance collective CDK.

i made a slight tweak to afternoon moonlight, 42x18” oil on portrait linen. the central leaf is now a light green, which pops more.

BELOW: afternoon moonlight before (left) & after today’s tweaks

3/17/25 ano kato, 36x32”, oil on portrait linen

"afternoon moonlight" does a backflip /  by Philip Tarlow

12:04 PM: this morning i was in an interesting mood. i took one look at the pale, tentative afternoon moonlight of yesterday and knew something dramatic was brewing.

indeed it was! i flipped the canvas upside down and began a brand new composition, inspired once again by a photo i shot from above in 2022 of mikela watering the plants. having made numerous variations on this theme, i knew the moves and thus was able to put my attention on the energy and painted non stop until just a few minutes ago. as often happens, the underlying image, what little remains of it, contributes hugely to the success (my opinion) of this new afternoon moonlight.

never give up. trust your gut. and have fun!

afternoon moonlight, 42x18” oil on portrait linen

"afternoon moonlight" day 3 /  by Philip Tarlow

12:23 PM: more work this morning on the 2 figures in afternoon moonlight. not yet sure whether i prefer yesterday’s more sketchy version, so i’ll keep looking at it on my East studio wall.

afternoon moonlight, 42x18” oil on ortrait linen