“musicians & runner,” day 2 /  by Philip Tarlow

“musicians & runner,” 35x26” oil on portrait linen as she looked moments ago

11:15 AM: i began work in oil on the new musicians & runner this morning, aftyer making a delicious espresso. i’m ready to take a break, so i may drive to town & pick up a few packages at the p.o. and get a few things at the Cloud. (Elephant Cloud is our local grocer)

“musicians & runner,” day 1/ tweak to “musician & goldfish” / 2005 drawing of Jeff playing guitar /  by Philip Tarlow

preliminary drawing for musicians & runner, 35x26” ˆpimento colored pencil on portrait linen

1:56 PM: once i tweaked musicians & goldfish, i started the drawing for musicians & runner, which thus far doesn’t have any goldfish!!

i’m kinda tired today, so i’m not starting to paint in oils till tomorrow morning. you will know, if you follow my blog posts, that the musician in the foreground, who appears in recent paintings, is inspired by a photo i shot years ago on the greek island of andros, where we spent our summers during my 15 years in greece.

what i noticed for the first time today when i looked at the photo carefully is that the only visible nail on the musician in the foreground with his legs crossed is his thumbnail, and it’s painted pink; something very unusual for that period of time in greece, and especially in andros. presumably, the rest of his fingernails are also painted pink; something i can’t remember ever seeing during the time i spent on andros. it simply wasn’t yet a thing in greece during the ‘70’s.

what i do recall vividly, in spite of how much time has passed, is that i stopped walking down the main drag to listen; he sang and played so beautifully.

the second musician, in the upper right corner, was inspired by a photo i shot about 10-15 years ago, when a local musician came to dinner and serenaded us.

the pink thumbnail

musician & goldfish, 35x26” oil on portrait linen, as she looked following this mornin’s tweaks

ABOVE: before & after this morning’s tweaks

11:25 AM:the black above the head of the guitarist was too dominant, so i painted over it and extended the circular pattern to the left of the guitarist. i’ll sit with it as i start a new one today and see how i feel at the end of the day. right now, i’m thinking that my tweak worked, and your eye can roam about the composition without getting stuck on that black above his head. if you click on the before & after images above, you’ll get a sense of what i’m talking about; what do you think?

jeff plays guitar, pencil on paper, march, 2005, 9x12”

10:20 AM: i was going through an old drawing book yesterday afternoon and came across this 2005 drawing of our old friend Jeff playing guitar in our house. it was indeed wonderful having the house resound with live music!

"12/8/25 musician & goldfish" on day 2/ 12/9/25 Mikela at work /  by Philip Tarlow

12/8/25 musician & goldfish, 35x26” oil on portrait linen, as she looked at noon today, following this morning’s work

12:02 PM: this morning, as predicted, i began painting into yesterday’s drawing for this new painting: 12/8/25 musician & goldfish. although it’s still early in the day, i feel a bit tired, so i may stop here for the day, unless i get a new burst of energy after lying in my recliner for a while.

2:09 PM: this afternoon i made a drawing in blue colored pencil of mikela working on her project

12/9/25 mikela at work, 12.25×9.25”,colored pencil on paper

final version: "2 girls with phones & muffins" /  by Philip Tarlow

2 girls with phones & muffins, 33x25” oil on portrait linen, as she looked at the end of my painting day today

3:23PM: earlier today i completed work on 2 girls with phones & muffins,I 33x25”

she reached this point and i tacked her to my east studio wall, thinking i’d continue working on her. when mikela saw her, she said it looked resolved to her. so i’m going to sit with it for a few days and see how i feel.

imust say, the white spaces are critical to the composition and i’m glad i didn’t fill any of them in.

tweak to "the musician" and day 1 of "2 girls with phones & muffins" /  by Philip Tarlow

2 girls with phones & muffins, 35x26”, oil on portrait linen, as she looked at the end of my painting day

2:48 PM: earlier today, i made a tweak to the painitng i made yeaterday: the musician, 35x26” by simply going over and giving definition to the colored pencil drawing of his legs, which was not easy to make out at a distance, with brown-ish oil paint.

then i got to work in the next 35x26” oil on portrait linen, titled 2 girls with phones & muffins. it’s kind of a silly title, but that’s exactly what the subject matter is! and yes, goldfish will eventually become a part of this composition, which i’m taking especially slow, since my first area of focus are the two girls themselves. they are, as you might expect, viewed from above, so the details of their clothing and the positioning of their bodies are critical; as usual, painterly strokes are all important, which involves spontaneous brush movements which, at the same time must define the figures, the light and shadow, their clothing and, of course their phones and muffins!

the muffins, by the way, will appear tomorrow.

BELOW: the musician, 35x26” oil on portrait linen, tweaked with greater definition on the drawing of his legs

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.