"taiko drummer," 72x28" 2022, watercolor/collage 35 /  by Philip Tarlow

1:13 PM: as mikela and i progress on cleanup and reorg of my studio, i/m in the process of photographing and cataloging works on paper, of which there are over 150. so far, i’ve done 35. so what you see here is the most recent, which i made a few additions to; mainly the collaged bit on the upper left corner as well as some flesh tones on the figure. so it’s now dated 2022-25.

painted in 2022, this is one of a series of taiko drummer paintings, inspired in part by a mesmerizing outdoor event here in the baca grand, featuring local taiko drummers.

studio cleanup/reorg /  by Philip Tarlow

9:40 AM: i’m starting 2025 with a major cleanup & re-org of my studio, which is long overdue. i got a new husky cabinet of wheels, which has 12 drawers. my oil paints, gouaches & watercolors as well as my tools are being consolidated in this large cabinet, so everyhting will be far easier to locate.

today i’ll be working on organizing my brushes, many of which need to be tossed.

SEE PHOTOS BELOW

"fear no more III" /  by Philip Tarlow

fear no more III on 1-7-25 2:46pm

2:42 PM: a few moments ago, a small piece of paper was collaged to the right & just above the head of the large female figure carrying the red bag.

fear no more III on 1-7-25 2pm

2:12 PM: so i just dealt with that red i mentioned earlier.

1pm: when i approached this painting this morning, i saw that a corner of one of the collaged pieces of paper had lifted slightly from the canvas. i could eith put more adhesive beneath it, or take my spatula and lift it off. i chose the latter, and a larger piece came off than i had anticipated, revealing and orane shape located in the upper portion of the walking woman with her red bag. it made a lot of sense, both coloristically and compositionally. it was one of those unpredictable events i so love. it’s now a critical part of the composiiton, which has been enlivened. who knew?

it still has a ways to go; right now, that red shape on the lower left is bugging me…

BELOW: the before & after

fear no more III on 1-7-25 1pm

"fear no more"...further tweaks /  by Philip Tarlow

fear no more III, 24xx20” as she looked following this morning’s tweaks

2:52 PM: you can see the tweaks i made today in the comparative photos BELOW.

fear no more III on day 4: cleaning house /  by Philip Tarlow

fear no more III, 24x20” oil & collage on portrait linen, as she looked at the end of my day in the studio.

12:50 PM: this morning i cleaned house, removing much of yesterday’s work. it can breathe deeply now.

BELOW: fear no more III LEFT: as she looked yesterday and RIGHT: today

fear no more III, on day 3 /  by Philip Tarlow

fear no more III

2:14 PM: i made some tweaks to fear no more III, mostly on the right side of the composition, and also to the female figure carrying her red bag. as well, i introduced the dividers of the large tiles beneath the feet of the two figures, and a grey wedgle-like shape on the upper left corner.

"fear no more III," day 2 /  by Philip Tarlow

1:38 PM: fear no more III, 24x20” which i started working on yesterday, has gone further, with quite a few newly collaged elements and the woman with the red bag, who has appeared in my views from above series.