athens 1 /  by Philip Tarlow

2:51 PM: yesterday i painted over mosaic 1 and genesis 1. they were too dark & busy.

this morning and while the paint was still a bit wet, i flipped mosaic 1 360° and started a new painting, based on photos i shot about 10 years ago on the streets of downtown athens. many pedestrians are visible beneath the architecture and the centrally located byzantine church. it’s still to early to tell, but this may be the first in a series of athens & andros inspired paintings destined to be shown in my athens show next march.

i’ve been scanning my work, and concluded that what where it might be most exciting for me to go next could be a coming together of my adventures in realism, my love for architectural elements in my work and my semi-abstract landscapes.

i like that the painted-over mosaic 1 peeks through, so that at least one of the two mosaic faces are visible, as are some of the rocks in the creek-scape that began taking shape over mosaic 1.

DETAIL revealing the faint but visible underlying mosaic face

plein air today /  by Philip Tarlow

4:18 PM: i knew the wind was forecast to pick up significantly this afternoon. so i went up to the creek at noon, and as it turned out i was just able to complete the second plein air watercolor before the wind kicked in, and now gusing to 40mph. that would have made it impossible to sit by the creek and paint.

the tempreatures will drop tonight and into sunday-monday. we’ll see if they rise to the high 50’s as the end of october approaches, or if today was my last plein air day until spring 2023.

next stage of "genesis 1" /  by Philip Tarlow

genesis 1 32x45” oil on linen, as it looked at the end of my painting day today

3:36 PM: an interesting day, it has been. i quickly became bored with the ecole des beaux arts,versialle image i’ve been working from the past few days. a few figures from an image of downtown athens from above showed up, followed by a creekscape.

so right now it’s in flux. but oh, how i love flux! i want to the viewer to be presented with a tumbling image of seemingly unrelated images, which he/she must interpret and enjoy.

thus far, this painting is a clear followup to mosaic 1. whereas mosaic 1 is painted over an ancient roman floor mosaic, with just a few faces remaining visible, this one thus far is painted over the early stages of my interpretation of a photo, admittedly stunning, of reflections in the enormous windows looking into the art school in versailles.

the result, for me, is a much more engaging coming together of the reflected tops of neoclassical buildings in versaille, athenian pedestrians from above and the roaring, spalshing waters and bold rocks of our creeks. a symphony of sorts. we’ll see where it goes next!

further modifications to "mosaic 1," / next stage of "genesis 1" /  by Philip Tarlow

ecole des beaux arts, versaille 32x45” oil on linen, stage 2

DETAIL

3:13 PM: i did a lot of work today and maintained very high energy throughout, thanks to a fantastic morning neck & head massage from mikela!

so i went back & forth, as i love doing, between the new versailles painting and mosaic 1. ecole des beaux arts, versailles. the inspiration for this new one comes from a couple of photos posted on FB of the art school. the lighting, the reflections, the architectural elements, including reflections of building on the opposite side of the street, the 2 small figures of artists within & their easles….all together create an ideal image for me to draw from & riff on.

i think mosaic 1 definitely improved, but might still need some simplification.

BELOW: left: mosaic 1 as it looked before today’s modifications right: after

DETAIL: notice the two heads from the earlier version, which were part of an ancient roman floor mosaic

starting work on "genesis 1," / modifications to “mosaic 1" /  by Philip Tarlow

4:09 PM: mikela is at school today & attending a dinner this evening, so i don’t have to be back in the house, where i normally would now be, at any special hour.

while commencing work on genesis 1, the first in a new series of paintings for my march ‘23 exhibition at genesis gallery in athens, greece, i unexpectedly re-engaged with mosaic 1, which as you know if you follow this daily blog, i had considered resolved last time i worked on it, october 6th. i kept feeling that some of the greys needed lightening but i wasn’t moved to do anything about it. it’s always helpful to be working on something totally different in order to access that fugitive impulse to mess with a painting i had considered complete.

i introduced pink oil pastel to the areas surrounding the grey rocks. as well, if you click on the image & make it full screen, you will notice some greyish dots throughout the composition, which i feel are a unifying factor .

BELOW: the before (left) and after. you be the judge!

genesis 1, now in it’s very early stages, began with a drawing inspired by the 2020 tokyo olympics celebration, which is now pretty much hidden by the grey dots. they too will slowly dissapear and be replaced by new compositional elements as yet to be discovered. stay tuned my friends!

at work earlier today on stage 1 of genesis 1

an afternoon creek drawing / the hat shop /  by Philip Tarlow

4:54 PM: we oook our walk up the trail this afternoon, and at the spot where we stop & turn around, i usually make a small drawing. today was no exception. i love making these colored pencil drawings and observing their development over time.

the challenge is, in a very short period of time, to make very small drawings using a limited selection of colored pencils that reflect the fugitive quality of light in the moment.

The Hat Shop, oil on linen, 1966-7 24 3/4 x 26" collection of the artist

11:52 AM: 3 years into my 15 year sojourn in greece (without once returning to the states) i was married to marina karagatsi, daughter of the aclaimed novelist m. karagatsis. his wife and my then mother-in-law was niki karagatsi, an excellent painter from whom i learned a lot. she didn’t drive, but loved going down to piraeus to paint the interiors of various hat shops, etc. so i became her driver for those expeditions, and in the process developed a strong attraction to and interest in that world.

this is one of a series of paintings of a hat making shop i made during those trips with niki. there were many more, most of which are in private collections in athens.

2 creek paintings this afternoon /  by Philip Tarlow

5:16 PM: it was a perfect day for plein air painting. so i went to the creek and made 2 watercolors in a shady spot, slightly different than where i sat for the previous 3 or 4 plein air. the light at 3pm is absolutely stunning, and i’m so engaged in what i’m doing that time literally flies by.

the long narrow one was painted on a piece of watercolor paper i prepared with a tan wash many years ago. i found it stacked with other similarly tinted watercolor paper taped ti cardboard surfaces and ready to go.

i’m hoping we’ll get more days like today, because i’m really in the right space to do more of these!

preparing internally for my march show in athens /  by Philip Tarlow

Kapnikarea, oil on linen, 2010

4:14 PM: i’m contemplating as i prepare internally to start a new series of paintings, to be shown in my mid-march, 2023 exhibition in athens.

perusing painitngs such as this one, kapnikarea, painted in 2010 and now in a private collection in athens, i’m tempted to make “realist” works with greek themes. i’ve made many in my history as an artist, and because i don’t differentiate between “realist” and “abstract” paintings, i don’t consider this a step backwards. i’ve said this many times. there are good paintings, painterly paintings and the opposite.

in the end, dates, nationality, medium, all don’t really matter.

continued studio work on yesterday's watercolor/collage /  by Philip Tarlow

11:34 AM: the watercolor/collage i made yesterday afternoon at the creek was asking for more. so, naturally, i followed instructions. i ended up doing quite a bit, including more collage and marks using colored pencils.

i think it has improved; the eye moves more smoothly over the surface and has the newly gained opportunity of creating it’s own composition, transcending the specific parameters of yesterday’s composition; location of rocks, flowing water & branches…i could do more but i’m stopping here for now. perhaps for good.

the collaged bits fulfill their mission of interrupting the predictable, allowing for a more syncopated rhythm. thelonious is not far off. if you half close your eyes and look at the piece, his notes, now soft now resoundingly loud, can be felt.

this is only the second time in my entire history that i’ve taken a plein air painting further in my studio. usually, i consider them fully formed beings, a product of the light & the inspiration of the moment.

BELOW: yesterday’s version, left and today’s

plein air watercolor/collage this afternoon /  by Philip Tarlow

out at the creek this afternooon with my watercolors, folding table & stool

8:18 PM: taking advantage of the continued ideal fall temperatures, i went out to the creek at 3pm with my wtaercolors, table & little 3 legged stool.

these watercolors, by the very nature of the medium, happen rather quickly. i do, by the way, use a little white tempera to create some subtle greys & paint over not so successful passages. what is becoming a series of watercolors now has some added collaged elements, which happened when i got back to the studio.

we’ll see where it all goes, but this ideal weather should continue for a while & allow me to continue.

DETAIL