12/5/25 the musician /  by Philip Tarlow

THE MUSICIAN. 35x26” oil on portrait linen, as it looked at the end of my painting day today

3:37 PM: i continued work on the musician, 35x26” which i started this morning. it contains elements of recent paintings in a new composition, featuring a street musician i photographed 5-10 years ago on a visit to athens, where my son & grandkids live.

12/5/25 the musician, 35x26” oil on portrait linen, on day1 at 1:30pm

1:28 PM: i started a new 35x26’ painting today. this is an early stage. it’s inspired by a photo i shot in athens about 5-10 years ago of a street musician.

"walking with goldfish", day 1 /  by Philip Tarlow

walking with goldfish, 35x26” oil on portrait linen, as she looked at the end of day 1

3 PM: today, a snowy, windy day, i started work on the second 35x26” piece of portrait linen i cut from the roll a few days ago. i referred to a photo i’ve used previously in another painting and painted over. but i like the figure, with her multicolored shoulder bag, and was moved, halfway in, to include the goldfish bowl i’ve used in recent work.

thus far, in comparison with my recent ano kato series works, this one has more vibrant colors and a looser composition. you can make out the beginnings of a different composition in blue, which i abandoned and was kind of aware it would come in handy when i painted a new one over it. i’m getting a lot of inspiration from the matisse biography i’ve been re-reading.

"woman with suitcase", day 3 /  by Philip Tarlow

woman with a suitcase, 35x26” oil on portrait linen, as she looked at the end of my painting day

2:47 PM: i got an early start today because mikela had to be in alamosa by 8:30. i got a lot done. the surfacew she’s walking on is completed, along with the mauve shadows. the figure has been brough to a stage of completion; i added the blue band on the right, which i think works compositionally; and i spent the last hour or so on the suitcase, which has gone through many changes….i think this verson works though.

we’re expecting snow starting late tonight into tomorrow, so i’m glad i was able to do as much as i did while the light was pretty good. i do prefer these dimensions, as oposed to the previos 25x25” compositions.

BELOW: 3 stages of woman with a suitcase.

"woman with suitcase", day 1 /  by Philip Tarlow

woman with a suitcase, 35x26” oil on portrait linen, on day 1

2:35 PM: i cut 2 38x30” pieces from my new roll of extra fine portrait linen and started work on woman with suitcase, 35x26”. it’s way too early to get a sense of it, but i feel it’s a good start.

"girl in mirror" /  by Philip Tarlow

girl in mirror, 28x28” oil on xtra-fine portrait linen, as she looked at 2:24PM today

at work today

12:20 PM: today i made a variation of my 11/19/25 oil, which was inspired by a photo of a red haired girl seen from above, walking, reflected in a mirror.

BELOW: on the left: 11/19/25 oil, and on the right: today’s girl in mirror

"11/20/25 guys walkin'" /  by Philip Tarlow

guys walkin’ 28x28” oil on portrait linen, as she looked at the end of my cloudy, rainy painting day

3PM: i woke up kinda achy after an interrupted sleep. but being in the studio brought me back to life, and i started, & perhaps completed, a new 28x28” oil on portrait linen, titled guys walkin.

once again, it’s inspired by some photos i shot god knows how many years ago, when we were traveling constantly for work and i would take every opportunity to find a good vantage point for shooting photos from above, mostly of people waking along.

now, why would anyone want such a painting in their home?? good question. probably because they can move beyond subject matter and simpley enjoy the movement, the painterly qualities, the white spaces, the energy.

this one has more lively colors than the two previous ones in this new series. at the same time, as i gaze at it pinned to my painting wall adjacent to the previous two, it’s singing a similar song: the poetry of everyday life, i guess you could say.

10/29/2014 oil, 16x16" /  by Philip Tarlow

10/29/14 denver mall, 16x16” oil on portrait linen

11:29 AM: this is one of the paintings i discovered during my slow, step by step studio re-org & cleanup. it’s dated 10/29/14, 16x16”, oil on portrait linen. during this period i was creating a series of paintings with these dimensions, based upon photos i had shot from above in a denver shopping mall.

the walking figure on the lower right was not in the original photo i shot at the mall. he’s a favorite of mine, and has appeared in some of my more recent work.

in looking now at this painting, i realize that, in a way, i’m coming full circle, both compositionally and coloristically in my current work.

11/19/25 oil /  by Philip Tarlow

11/19/25 oil, 28x28” oil on portrait linen a sshe looked at the end of my painting day

i made another 28x28” oil today, inspired by yet another female figure viewed from above and reflected in a mirror. this one may be resolved, and i’ll know better in the morning. i’m liking this new diredction witha single figure dominating the composition.

tomorrow, by the way, we’re expecting snow, which is predicted to begin in the early morning hours and continue into the night. lets hope we get a substantial amount, as we’re 2-3” below precip normal for this time of year. more is predicted sunday & monday.