discovering a 1988 painting /  by Philip Tarlow

mikela with mirrors, 1988 57x24” oil on 3 attached canvases

1:42 PM: earlier this afternooni went upstairs in my studio, which is an absolute mess. i pulled out a painting titled mikela with mirrord, which is on 3 canvases, wrapped in plastic. i didn’t have the evergy to remove the plastic, which was stpled from behind. so i propped it up on some boxes and photographed it as is. i know there’s a way i could crop the extaneous bits, but i’ll have to research that. the canvases form a T shape, so what you see to the right and left is just stuff on the floor. eventually, i’ll get it unwrapped so i can take a clearer photo, but i’m posting it as is, since i find it so compelling.

organizing my works on paper /  by Philip Tarlow

3:56 PM: today i began a process i’ve been planning for many months. on my studio north wall, beneath the bookshelves, are works on paper. the number grows weekly; when i complete a new one, that’s where it goes. so they’re stacked, and i had lost count of just how many there were. the most recent ones were under glass and covered the earlier ones.

so today i began photographing and numbering them, making note of the dimensions and whether they were watercolors, watercolor/gouaches and whether they included collaged areas.

when we returned home an hour ago, i cropped and adjusted the 18 i had photographed today. they are destined to be entered into app that allows one to create a kind of an online storybook.

so here are the 18 i just adjusted:

"towards sundown" 7x11" /  by Philip Tarlow

11:46 AM: this morning i made this little 7x11” gouache/collage on paper. on the far right is the only collaged bit. the dancer on the bottom is recognizable as one frequently appearing in my celebration series.

towards sundown, 7x11” gouache and collage on paper

"celebration 26" 32x36" oil & collage on linen / self portrait with colored pencils /  by Philip Tarlow

celebration 26, 10/7/2023-4, 32x36” oil & collage on linen

the celebration series was created in 2023-24. during that period, as is obvious, i was obsessed with figures in motion; shooting hoops, diving, dancing. most of the works in this series developed over time…months. and i would come back again and again until i felt the piece was resolved and couldn’t take any more changes.

the viewer is thus immersed in a reality to which they can contribute, creating their own version of what’s transpiring. with each glance i envision them being transported to a place of magic, where gravity is suspended, forgotten memories triggered. a kind of breathing exercise. inbreath, outbreath…

2023 self portrait by the creek, with my colored pencils.



secret songs / 3/17/26 sunset /  by Philip Tarlow

1:10 PM: inspired by a photo i shot from above at a museum in 2009, i started an 11x7” watercolor/collage this morning. i’ve never attempted a composition like this, which has clear geometric boundaries and is half watercolor, half collaged faded photo. the photo was shot at a friend’s home in new mexico.

secret song, 3/18/26, 11x7” watercolor & collage on paper

yesterday evening was one of our more stunning sunsets.

my 2016 study of Vermeer’s “WOMAN IN YELLOW WRITING” / MODIFICATIONS TO ALAMOSA PADDLER’ /  by Philip Tarlow

vermeer study, 2016, oil on linen inspired by vermeer’s painting: Woman in Yellow Writing, in the National Gallery

12:24 PM: in 2016 i was especially moved by vermeer, whose painting, Woman in Yellow Writing, i had seen up close on a trip to the National Gallery of Art. i was inspired to make this 32x32” study, in oil on linen, which now hangs in my studio.

my old friend gary schwartz, in his 2017 book titled vermeer in detail, says this about the painting:

If the subject carries a heavy emotional weight, the viewer will see that in the representation. If, however, as in a Vermeer like Woman in Yelllow Writing, no obvious emotion is attached to the motif and the facial expression is neutral, the viewer is left to fill in the content on his own.

DETAIL

ALAMOSA PADDLER

last year i made this gouache/collage, inspired by photos i had taken a few years back from a bridge over the river, just outside of alamosa, colorado, about an hour from crestone. there was a guy in shorts, paddling a small skiff; something i’d never seen before. looking down on him, he seemed in that moment, to be an iconic figure and i knew, as i shot the photos, that he would feature in a painting.

once the small painting was complete, i put it next to other works on paper and gazed at it every so often, feeling it was a bit too heavy and needed lightening up. a few days ago, the spirit moved me to do exactly that, which i accomplished by collaging some pieces of paper with ink drawings which i cut into curvilinear shapes.

alamosa paddler, 14 1/2×11” gouache & collage on paper

three drawings today at "Cloud Station" /  by Philip Tarlow

3:26 PM: this afternoon mikela had a meeting with a good friend at the cloud station. elephant cloud is our spacious, well stocked grocery store here in crestone. cloud station is just behind the store and connected to it. they take orders for delicious food and drink and provide comfortable tables, chairs and couches where locals can sit and chat over food and drinks.

as you know if you follow this daily blog or have read my story, (https://www.philiptarlow.com/chatty-bio), i have been making drawings since i was five years old. so being in the cloud station is always an opportunity for me to draw some of the patrons sitting near me. i sat at a separate table from mikela and our friend, made a couple of drawings of people sitting at nearby tables, then got up and moved to mikela’s table, where i made a drawing of the friend she was meeting with.

after a few hours, my post gum surgery pain kicked in and we returned home. not too bad for day four for my post operative adventure!

"Liberation," 6x8" /  by Philip Tarlow

3:47 PM: today i made liberation, a 6x8” gouache/collage, which is mostly abstract and does contain 2 figures, which i phjotographed from above in MOMA and appear in a number of recent paintings.

liberation, 6x8” gouache & collage on arches paper