"1/6/26 oil, 24x24” oil on portrait linen" day 3 / sunset /  by Philip Tarlow

1/6/26 oil, 24x24” oil on portrait linen, at the end of my painting day today

1:33 PM: ithis morning i took 1/6/26 oil further, adding some deep reds & yellows and making the composition richer. the black arches at the top may be a bit too strong…..i’m going to leave it as is and revisit it tomorrow.

on another topic, for the past 9 nights, i’ve been writing a short poem just before going to sleep.i’m not sure if i want to post any of them, but i’ll take another look later this afternoon and decide.

DETAIL

1/6/26 oil, 24x24” oil on portrait linen, at the end of day two /  by Philip Tarlow

1/6/26 oil, 24x24” oil on portrait linen, as she looked at the end of my painting day today.

2:32 PM: i spent most of the morning dealing with my malfunctioning macbook m4. i was on the phone with apple support, who were extremely helpful in clearing everything on the hard drive and preparing it so that i can send it in for repairs. they’re sending me a box and return label, so i’ll likely be without it for at least 2 weeks. so i’m typing this on my older 2020 macbook with the smaller 13” screen.

i spent the rest of my morning editing a text by my son dimitri, which presents his new producion of electra, by sophocles. It will take place at his athens theatre, POREIA., following a run at the ancient outdoor theatre in athens.i gave what i had done to mikela, who made some significant additions.

this afternoon i did more work on 1//6/26 oil, which still has no title other than the date it wa started. it’s getting more interesting, with a variation on matisse inspired motif, with the goldfish you’ll find in some of my erlier work. it’s still in process but i’m at the end of my painting energy for the day. so i’ll clean my brushes and get back to the house, where i’m expecting mikela to return from school in an hour or so.

“1/6/26 oil” / "mikela watering" / “1999 SLV Panorama” /  by Philip Tarlow

1/6/26 oil, 24x24” oil on portrait linen, at the end of day one

3PM: this morning i stretched a 24x24” piece of portrait linen and started a new painting which, for now is titled 1/6/26 oil. it feel good to be painting in oil again. i feel that the series i’ve been working on over the past few weeks, in watercolor & gouache, freed up my brush strokes and brought me back to my favorite, more muted colors. right now, there are 3 elements: the two figure and the flowers and leaves in the upper half of the composition.

SLV Panorama, painted in 1999

11:25 AM: mikela watering, 42x18” was painted in mid-2025. the day i painted it, i was obviously On my Game..

mikela watering, 42x18” oil on portrait linen, 2025

"1/5/26 jacobs pillow 13" /  by Philip Tarlow

1/5/26 jacobs pillow 13, 15x11” watercolor & gouache on arches watercolor paper

2:27 PM: yesterday i made the drawing for 1/5/26 jacobs pillow 13, and today i painted the watercolor/gouache of this couple in red at a wonderful moment in their eperformance.

“jacobs pillow 11” / “jacobs pillow 10” / "lies in suits" /  by Philip Tarlow

jacobs pillow 11, 11x18” watercolor&gouache on arches extra fine cold pressed watercolor paper

jacobs pillow 10

11 recent jacobs pillow watercolor/gouaches on paper, on my studio wall

2:13 PM: i forgot to post yesterday’s jacobs pilow 10”, 7 1/2x22 1/2”, ând today i created jacobs pillow 11, 11x18”

jacobs pillow 10 contains 7 dancing figures, and today’s jacobs pillow 11 contains four of those seven, allowing each of the four to have a lot more detail. this entire series thus far has been a journey. with each progressive watercolor/gouache i’m getting more of a feel for the dancers and how they throw themselves body and sould into their movements.

i had planned on making eight of these small works on paper, but right now i just don’t feel like ending this sereis. if indeed the jacobs pillow board & staff agree to my planned proposal for an exhibition with all proceeds going to them, i envision this series beautιfully framed and hung. increasingly, i’m feeling at the peak of my 60 year career as an artist, and i don’t say that lightly.

a powerful stattement by Zelensky

https://youtu.be/1nnr2vuBEQw?si=UXgm4VMVfW5OAOqo

"jacobs pillow 9" /  by Philip Tarlow

jacobs pillow 9, 15x11’ watercolor&gouache on arches extra fine cold pressed watercolor paper

2:21 PM: i started a new jacobs pillow watercolor/gouache today: jacobs pillow 9. she has the same dimensions as the rest, and is a vertical composition. the grace with which these two dancers move is rather uunusual.in that they seem to defy gravity.

"jacobs pillow 8" /  by Philip Tarlow

jacobs pillow 8, 15x11’ watercolor&gouache on arches extra fine cold pressed watercolor paper

7:15 PM: today i made one more jacobs pillow watercolor/gouache: jacobs pillow 8. the more i explore photos of jacobs pillows dancers over time, the more visually interesting i find many of them. some, like the one that inspired jacobs pillow 8, riveting.

at work on jacobs pillow 8

"jacobs pillow 7" / “jacobs pillow 4 tweaked / the seven jacobs pillow paintings thus far /  by Philip Tarlow

jacobs pillow 7, 15x11’ watercolor&gouache on arches extra fine cold pressed watercolor paper

1:14 PM: today i created the seventh in my jacobs pillow series of watercolor/gouaches. she is in the midst of a dance move, much like yesterday’s jacobs pillow 6, but with more color and a blue background. i had thought i would stop at six, but i just can’t stop!

these are the 7 jacobs pillow themed watercolor/collages i’ve completed thus far. all are 15x7”

i made some tweaks to jacobs pillow 4 this afternoon. i felt that the green surrounding the dancing figure on the left was too much, so i painted over it with white.

BELOW: jacobs pillow *4 before and after my tweaks today

day one of jacobs pillow watercolor gouache 6 / 5 jacobs pillow paintings on studio wall /  by Philip Tarlow

jacobs pillow *6, 15x11’ watercolor&gouache on arches extra fine cold pressed watercolor paper, on day one

3:08 PM: today i started jacobs pillow *6, 15x11’ watercolor&gouache on arches extra fine cold pressed watercolor paper. to be continued tomorrow.

5 jacobs pillow dancers in performances over the years, all11x15”, watercolor&gouache on arches extra fine cold pressed watercolor paper

2:42 PM: these are the 5 completed watercolor/gouach paintings of dancers in jacobs pillow performances over the years. more to come.

jacobs pillow *5 /  by Philip Tarlow

jacobs pillow *5, 11x15”, watercolor&gouache on arches extra fine cold pressed watercolor paper

1:51 PM: so this mnorning i created the fifth in my jacobs pilow series. it’s the same dimensions as the other four, but it’s a vertical composition. i neglected to make note of the year and which dance company this is, but, as with the other four, it is inspired by one of the many photos of jacobs pillow dance performances over the years.