Taiko 1 /  by Philip Tarlow

10:25 AM: this morning, before leaving for pueblo, i started a new watercolor titled Taiko 1.

taiko 1 11 1/2 x 7 1/2” , watercolor on day 1

"walking with leaves" completed / starting “artist & mirror” /  by Philip Tarlow

11:49 AM: this morning i made a few tweaks to the walking with leaves watercolor and declared it resolved.

walking with leaves, 11 1/2 x 7 1/2” watercolor on paper

2:24 PM: once i completed walking with leaves, i immediately launched into a new watercolor with the same dimensions, titled artist & mirror. it’s inspired by a photo i shot about 10 years ago of a good friend sitting in front of a mirror and painting an icon.

artist & mirror, 7 1/2x 11 1/2” watercolor on paper

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.