"6/6/26 jacob’s pillow" on day 3 /  by Philip Tarlow

6/6/26 jacob’s pillow-crop a, watercolor/gouache, on day 3

once i reached a point in the process where i had no choice but to cut the composition in half, i did just that. so 6/6/26 jacob’s pillow-crop a was the left half, and crop b is the very small bit of the right half that i was able to crop. the figure you see in crop b was part of a poster for a karagiozis performance in athens, greece. this crop is only 3x2” but when you see it in person, it really pops!

9:17 AM: over time, i’ve learned to take full advantage of my early morning energy & inspiration. so this morning, after making mikela’s coffe and our smoothie, i launched right back in to 6/6/26 jacob’s pillow, which i worked on yesterday.

using collage, glue stick and colored pencils/crayons, i went where i was called, staying away as far as possible from planning thoughts. the result may qualify as the “best” of my recent works on paper, and definitely holds up when viewed from a distance, adjacent to the other recent works on bristol paper.

the green shoes on the dancing figure, which i introduced yesterday, take on a whole new meaning now, amplifying the joy of this jacob’s pillow dancer. so i’m glad i decided to wait before sending my exhibition proposal to the director of the Dance Festival at jacob’s pillow. and now, for the first time, i can envision these small paintings mounted at the Festival, enhansing the attendees experience.

6/6/26 jacob’s pillow-crop b, watercolor/gouache, on day 3

6/6/26 jacob’s pillow on day 1 / found on our morning walk today /  by Philip Tarlow

2:43 PM: this afternoon i started the next in my jacob’s pillow series: 6/6/26 jacob’s pillow. she’s a size up from the previous one: 11x17” and has 2 joyous dancing figures with matching red & black plaid shirts. between the two is a pattern you will see on the photo below, which is inspired by a beautiful, tiny plant i got on our morning trail walk & brought back to the studio. the pattern on this flower seems to have been created by an artist, which it was: nature! i stopped because i felt too tired to continue today, so i’ll pick up where i left off tomorrow.

6/6/26 jacob’s pillow, 11x14” watercolor/gouache on bristol

10:58 am: about an hour ago we took our usual walk up the spanish creek trail. on the way down, i found this gorgeous plant, which i now have on my desk.

"Jacob's Pillow 3" /  by Philip Tarlow

5:15 PM: this afternoon i started my next jacob’s pillow painting: jacob’s pillow 3. it’s an 11x14” watercolor & gouache on bristol paper and is pretty far along. when i get a good start, day 2 is always scary.

mikela just saw it for the first time and said, emphatically, “leave it alone!” and you know she’s always right!

6/5/26 jacob’s pillow, 11x14” watercolor & gouache on bristol as she looked at the end of day 1

"jacobs pillow 1" : modified today then returned to the original /  by Philip Tarlow

jacobs pillow 1, 16x18” oil on portrait linen returned to it’s original state this afternoon

5:33 PM:after adding blues and greens a few hours ago, i went back to the studio before eating dinner and wiped out whatever i did earlier. it has a greenish hue, which i’ll fix tomorrow.

3:46 PM: i took a break a few hours ago and went to the house with mikela. i didn’t expect to come back, especially since a thunderstorm was brewing. but i did, and when i came in, my eye went to jacobs pillow 1, 16x18” oil on linen, which i last worked on may 31st. she was begging for more, so i gave it to her.

jacobs pillow 1, 16x18” oil on portrait linen following todays modifications

6/3/26 jacobs pillow 2 /  by Philip Tarlow

12:26 PM: i took 6/3/26 jacobs pillow 2 to the next level today. i’m taking it a little at a time to maintain the delicacy of this 11x14” watercolor/gouache.

6/3/26 jacobs pillow 2, 11x14” watercolor/gouache on bristol

6/2/26 Moonlight Pizza drawing /  by Philip Tarlow

6:54 PM: we were in salida this afternoon and had dinner at moonlight pizza, where i made this colored pencil drawing of a guy at the next table.

the pizza by the way was delicious!

6/2/26 drawing made at moonlight pizza restaurant today

5/31/26 Jacobs Pillow 1 /  by Philip Tarlow

2:43 PM: today i started the first in my new jacobs pillow series of paintings: 5/31/26 jacobs pillow 1. work will continue tomorrow.

5/31/26 jacobs pillow 1, day 1, 16×18” oil on portrait linen

5/27/26 Met Adventure, day 3 /  by Philip Tarlow

5/27/26 Met Adventure, 36x38” oil on portrait linenas she looked at the end of my painting day today

2:21 PM: i felt the need to do a bit more on this painting but i stopped just now because i was afraid i was screwing it up. i’ll gaze at it some more and see how i feel tomorrow.

BELOW: yesterday’s version is on the left