2:31 PM: as predicted, today is an extremely windy day, with gusts of over 45mph and zero visibilty across the valley due to blowing dust.

i had mentioned yesterday that i was thinking of making a second version of chora neoclassical, which i started this morning. it’s more of a rectangle, with dimensions of 33x24cm. and it mimics the outline of the original photocollage, in which individual photographs were pasted down on foam core so that the edges form irregular angles wherever the rectangle of that photo ends. therefor they form an outline something like this blue shape on the right.

this allowed me to depart from the boring rectagle. then, as i began painting the sky, i found that too boring & predictable as well, so i cut a piece of a map of seattle into a shape that circumvented the outlines of the neoclassical structures, with a few bits that are not blue as a reminder that we’re looking at a composition, not a picture of chora.

those two factors join with the watercolorness; those characteristic marks the brush makes when loaded with watercolor pigment, to create a new feeling; one that tends to perk up your eye and transport you someplace new.

and then, after a few minutes of gazing, you may notice the two seated figures on the left, sitting beneath the fence discussing who knows what.

the day i shot these photos was a holiday. thus we see 3 greek flags fluttering, lending their blue & white stripes to the composition.

there’s more to be done, so i’ll dive back in tomorrow morning.

starting "chora neoclassical II" 33x24cm. /March 5, 2023 by Philip Tarlow