10/2/25 watercolor/collage /  by Philip Tarlow

2:07 PM: this afternoon, i decided to panit over an older one. i can’t figure out which one it was, so it’s renamed 10/2/25 watercolor/collage. the main figure is one of the two paddlers i photographed last year from a bridge above the river in alamosa. it helps being familiar with the figure from previous paintings, so it’s a stronder presence than the figures that appear in recent watercolor/collages. so they may well be subject to revision as well in the coming days. my son dimitri and family will be here for another 2 days, which means i’ll likely be working after they leave the studio, where they visit in the morning and little filio makes her compositions using my watercolors and pieces of collaged weeds she gets from just outside the studio.

10/2/25 watercolor/collage 14.5x10.5” on bristol paper

10/1/25 playground drawing /  by Philip Tarlow

the salida playground with figure, 6x8.5” 10/1/25, colored pencil on paper

8:29 AM: my son Dimitri and his family are visiting from Athens, Greece for a week. yesterday we went to the playground in salida, where filio, who is just turning 4, loved the playground. while she was playing, i sat and made this 6x8.5” drawing.

"MOMA 1" /  by Philip Tarlow

8:29 AM: in 2020 i made MOMA 1, a 60x60” oil on canvas inspired by photos i shot from above at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. it was just hung on this South wall of my studio.

1999 SLV Panorama / skies /  by Philip Tarlow

skies: yesterday’s afternoon sky and this morning’s sky.

SLV Panorama, 20x113.5 cm., 1999, gouache on paper in 2 pieces

9:33 AM: in 1999, i made a series of paintings while sitting in our car, which i drove out to a spot with a view of the San Luis Valley. This one is 20x113.5cm. , gouache on paper, in 2 pieces. it’s one of the best, and i’d like to get it framed professionally in the next few weeks.

9/18/25 watercolor/collage, day 4 / 2022 painting discovered /  by Philip Tarlow

9/18/25 watercolor/collage 11.25x14.25” as she looked following the adjustment to the two rocks.

11 AM: this morning, following my meditation, our coffee and our half hour walk up the trail, i addressed the issue of the two creek rocks, which were way too dark and grabbed your attention to the detriment of the composition as a whole.\

after trying to lighten the rocks using watercolor, my solution was to collage greyish paper onto the rocks. i did add a few marks with a black pencil, and left space below the collaged paper for the dark rock shadows to be seen.

as a result i feel much better about this piece and am ready to declare it resolved. mikela, who now joins me every morning in the studio, wholeheartedly agrees. she’s right here working on her educational product, and her presence inspires me. agyter all these years of working separately; she in the house and me 500 feet away, in the studio, we’ve discovered that working in the same space inspires us both. considering tha our house and my studio were both built in the early ‘90’s, this is quite a discovery!

BELOW: before and after this morning’s changes to the two rocks. good decision, eh?

12:09 PM: today, after completing 9/18/25 watercolor/collage, i began sorting through a large pile of works on paper, which had been piled on top of my filing cabinet. amongst them was this 2022 untitled painting in oil on linen, 15x17.5” which i placed in an empty frame i had handy.

untitled, 2022, 15x17.5”, oil on linen

9/18/25 watercolor/collage, day 3 /  by Philip Tarlow

9/18/25 watercolor/collage, 11.25x14.25”, day 3

10:46 AM: when i gazed at yesterday’s version of 9/18/25 watercolor/collage i got the feeling that it wanted to become a creekscape, so early this morning, that’s where i took it. the female figure is familiar if you follow my work, and adds a note of mystery. the rocks. trees and water are inspired by creek photos i’ve shot over the years, and the collaged piece on the right is from a reproduction of an 18th c. chinese landscape. what i’ve posted was updated at 4pm.

BELOW: yesterday’s version on the left

9/18/25 watercolor/collage, day 2 /  by Philip Tarlow

9/18/25 watercolor/collage, 11.25x14.25 “day 2 as she looked at the end of the day

7:35 PM: i did quite a bit more work on this piece, and here’s how it now looks.

9/18/25 watercolor/collage, day 2

9:47 AM: i made a few additions to yesterday’s watercolor/collage.

BELOW: yesterdays version on the left

9/18/25 watercolor/collage, day 1 /  by Philip Tarlow

9/18/25 watercolor/collage, 11.25x14.25” watercolor, colored pencil & collage on bristol paper, day 1

3:34 PM: after spending my morning doing a little studio cleanup/reorg, i launched into this new one: 9/18/25 watercolor/collage. it’s actually made with watercolors and colored pencil, as well as a few collaged bits.

as is true for many of my recent works, this one could easily remain as is, and the trick is knowing or rather feeling when to stop. when i placed it alongside other recent pieces of similar size, it was a relief to experience just how uncompicated it is and therefore how clearly and brightly it sings it’s song.

"9/16/25 watercolor/collage" /  by Philip Tarlow

9/16/25 watercolor/collage, 11.25x14.25” as she looked at 4:30pm

1:16 PM: this morning i started 9/16/25 watercolor/collage, “ on a piece of 9.25x11.25” bristol paper. as i began working, the skies over crestone darkened, threatening rain. the initial drawing of mikela watering the plants in our entryway is in colored pencil. the collaged elements are from a printout of a 17th c. chinese scroll, which i’ve been crazy about ever since i discovered it some months ago. right now, as i gaze at the piece on my east wall, the collaged bits seem a little too strong. so i may stop posting and go back into it.

4:26 PM: i worked all day on this one, so what you’re looking at is how the piece looks right now, and i’m done for the day