stage 1 of 11/11/2021 watercolor/gouache
3:25 PM: I began turning the drawing I made this morning into a watercolor/gouache. stopped for the day just now. the paper I chose to use is different than the watercolor block I used yesterday, which was an Italian made 300 lb. cold press watercolor block with a surface that’s very sensitive to the brush. the paper i’m using today was taped to a piece of board years ago, and thus I have no idea what it is. it’s ok, but I think in the future i’ll get more of the paper I used yesterday.
that said, I feel like i’m making progress in this, a very early stage in the development of my next series of oil/collages on stretched, quadruple primed french linen. exploring these dancing figures in watercolor allows me to familiarize myself with their bodies, their movement and the fabulous colors & patterns the Japanese designer used in dressing them. just today, I noticed that the wall behind them echoes the checkered patterns he/she has used on their clothing. very cool!
1:22 PM: I made this pencil study this morning & am ready to start using watercolor. the drawing was made on an old prepared watercolor paper surface I just found here in a box in the studio, which I had tinted with a tan color in preparation for a plein air painting, probably about 10 years ago. painting on a tinted ground is a carry-over from my years in greece, where it was common practice at the time amongst the athens school artists; an informal group who had in common their love for painting the everyday. I was a member of this group, with whom I exhibited and hung out. our predilection for earth tones and painting on a tan surface was directly influenced by our love for and emulation of the byzantine tradition.
you can read about my years in greece by clicking on the dropdown menu: greece, then clicking on overview. or, you can copy & paste this link:https://www.philiptarlow.com/art-created-in-greece
drawing for a watercolor study of tokyo olympics celebration
10:16 AM: view of the front of our house, with 4 of my paintings visible
10:47 AM: i’m trying an experiment this morning: getting right to work before eating anything. I just had a cup of hot chocolate, and will have my brunch in an hour or so, to capitalize on my fresh morning energy.
2 days ago mikela returned from her work with the HS kids, introducing them to our actionlab360 platform, & brought back these 4 drawings. each in their own way, I find them very interesting, even exciting!
this morning, as she drove to one of the schools, we were brainstorming about how to allow this creativity and individuality to spill over into their other areas of study: science; math; English language arts; social studies….
and most important, how to provide a space for this genius not to get lost as they grow older.
i’m about to launch into a new watercolor, which will include the acrobatic figure I painted yesterday, plus some other olympic celebration participants with him at that moment.