starting "chora neoclassical II" 33x24cm. /  by Philip Tarlow

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.

chora neoclassical II, 33x24cm. watercolor & collage

DETAIL showing a section of the seattle map

chora neoclassical continued /  by Philip Tarlow

2:03 pm: this morning I took chora neoclassical 56x14cm to the next stage. I may have done too much, so i’m going to let it be and see how I feel about it in the morning. I may actually start a second version, adding more of the image on the left, which includes a seated figure.

starting "chora neoclassical" 56x14cm. / a closer look: “the met,” 38x14cm., watercolor on paper /  by Philip Tarlow

chora neoclassical 56x14cm.

when we returned home, i took some of the printouts and assembled them into a collage. they gave some sense of the expansiveness of the great museum, and the intimacy created by the spectacular view, through the huge windows, of central park. the skylights provided a dramatic flair, casing shadows on the floors and walls.

in the foreground, the stone balcony meets the viewers eye and gives a greater sense of the vastness and magnificence of the museum i’ve been visiting since i was old enough to take the train to nyc from long island, where we lived. go to my story page for more details.

can you get why i’m so passionate about views from above? and what would it be without those beautiful siena walls on the right? ˆzilch!!

2:51 PM: i was wondering why i was feeling so tired this early in the afternoon. then i remembered that i got up at 1:30AM, knowing that mikela had to leave for school at 7:30 & i had to allow time to prepare. i did get some more sleep till 5, but still, it’s not like a normal day. so i did start a new watercolor, but i ran out of steam early.

this one is based on a photo collage i made in the pre-digital era, looking down the main, marble paved street in chora, andros towards a stunning neoclassical structure, which had nbeen in disrepair and was renovated not long before a shot my photos. another neoclassical structure; the library, frames the image on the right.

tomorrow morning, with fresh energy, i’ll continue working on it.

BELOW: the met, 56x14cm. watercolor/gouache on paper, 2014

this is one of the pieces in my upcoming exhibition, opening march 16 in athens, that differs from all the rest. it’s one of my views from above series of works, some of which can be found if you scroll down on the recent paintings tab, above.

on one of our many visits to the metropolitan museum, nyc, in 2014, i walked up to an upper floor and shot a series of photos which, at the time were not digital.

taking "Panachrantou Monastery, Andros", 56.5x13.2 cm to the next stage /  by Philip Tarlow

3:47 PM: i just had to keep going with this one! so in the past hour, i made some additions and changes that i think brought home what i was envisioning.

it’s coherent and delicious. delicious, you ask? that’s what i get as i gaze at it right now. all the marks tingle. all the colors sing.

BEFORE & AFTER

2:17 PM: i’m probably putting more time intonthis little gouache/watercolor than any previous painting with these dimensions. but i just keep getting drawn in! so here’s a comparative view of how it looked yesterday and what it looks like after today’s work.

most of the white spaces have been filled in, creating a denser but more lively composition. some of the richness of the greek orthodox tradition comes through. the intricacy of the alter, with it’s variety of patterning allowed me to engage in a bonnard or vuillard-like playfulness.

i may actually go back to it now, at the end of my painting day, and see what happens.

Panachrantou Monastery, Andros, day 2 / “TOKYO OLYMPICS 18”: TAKING A CLOSER LOOK /  by Philip Tarlow

1:41PM: the name of this new gouache/watercolor on paper changed today, when i remembered where this church is. My memory was jogged yesterday afternoon when i cam across a photo shot in the ‘90’s of mikela at the entrance to Panachrantou Monastery, high in the mountains, overlooking half the island towards the capital, chora. so i continued painting this morning with new verve, inspired by my memories of that magnificent monastery.

the basic composition remains the same, and i added some accents of color which make it pop more.

i’m in the right mood to make a fe wmore watercolor/goache paintings on paper, from the many photos i’ve taken over the decades, of andros.

while cleaning up a stack of photos, i came across one in black & white, of a painting i made in my athens studio in 1972, of a construction worker named nikos. it’s just one of a large series of paintings of construction workers who i invited to pose in my studio at the time. they were working on an adjacent construction site.

The second image was painted in 1978, also in the Plaka, titled Κολατσιό, 31.5x60.5cm. in egg tempera on board,  And the third is titled Window Install II, 45x54cm.,painted in 2022, of workers installing new windows in our Crestone house, which will be included in my upcoming exhibition.

They illustrate one of my passions, and how it has expressed itself over time; in this case, over 50 years! They also illustrate the evoilution of my style, from strict realist to a more abstracted vision, with  more breathing space.

BELOW: 3 paintings of construction workers over a 50 year period

Panachrantou Monastery, Andros, 56.5x13.2 cm., day 2

4:33 PM: as i talked about a few days ago, every so often, between now and the opening my my athens exhibition, i’ll be reviewing, commenting on, taking a closer look at some of the paintings that will be hanging in the show. when a painter reaches maturity, sometimes his/her marks gain a clarity, a freedom; an abbreviated deliniation of space that could never have happened at an earler stage in his/her career.

tokyo olympics 18 is a great example. in this detail of the lower portion of the painting, we see the figure of a skateboarder, arms flailing, legs dancing. as in many or most of the other tokyo olympics series of paintings, this figure appeared at the very tail end of my process, along with the figure to his left, in the red striped jersey.

tokyo olympics 18

without him, and his purple shadows, this painting would be much less succcessful as a composition. the juxtaposition of reds, yellows & blues combined with the mix of horizontal/verticals and diagonals takes the eye on a journey, with enough white space to give you a breather.

the small scurrying figures in the middle & upper areas of the composiiton provide a musical counterpoint to the two main figures of the singer and the dancer, while the woman in black at the singer’s shoulder introduces an unexpected, tender note.

the marks, if you look carefully at them by making the detail on the right full screen, are immediate, free, beautifully drawn and fresh. thelonious monk, i propose, would have dug the syncopation.

“…sydysydy said 5 years ago in a youtube comment:

“Almost hitting the note. Playing around the expected note. Implying the note through discord. Creating a new version of the note with atonal harmonics. Textural splashes. The melody never repeats exactly the same way. Monk is the definition of avant-garde. Half pianist, half painter.”

andros church interior, day 1 /  by Philip Tarlow

3:30 PM: once i completed andros coffee shop, i launched in to andros church interior, 56x14 cm. it’s inspired by a photo i shot quite a few years ago of a church on the island of andros. i didn’t think to document which church, so it, or she, shall remain nameless. if you’re an andriot & recognize it, give me a shout out. it may be theoskepasti.

day 1, andros church, 56x14 cm. watercolor & gouache on paper

starting a 56x17cm. gouache of andros / reviewing tokyo olympics skateboarder, 90x96cm. /  by Philip Tarlow

tokyo olympics skateboarder, 90x96cm.

DETAIL: tokyo olympics skateboarder, 90x96cm.

4:32 PM: continuing the process of reviewing each of the 11 final oil selections for my show next month in athens, today is the turn of tokyo olympics skateboarder, 90x96cm.

this almost square composition has some interesting features evident in this detail; the collaged map on the upper left is one of them. it was added late in the development of the composition, and provides a counterpoint to the other blues on the lower right & left. the skateboarders arms, cropped on top & extending deep into the compositoin on the left, are critical to the suggested feeling of wild abandon, which is my first impression when i glance at this painting.

2:49 PM: having completed most of the logistics for my upcoming athens show, i started a 56x17 cm. gouache on arches paper of a small group of guys seated at a coffee shop on the main, marble paved streets of downtown chora, andros. a large circular convex mirror looms above them, reflecting the neoclassical houses and capturing any oncoming pedestrians or traffic. it’s too early to tell, but the feeling of chora is already there.

andros coffee shop, day 1 56x17cm. gouache on paper

reviewing the 23 paintings selected for my athens exhibition /  by Philip Tarlow

3:13 PM: i thought it might be interesting to review the paintings selected for my upcoming exhibition by the director of genesis gallery in athens.

i’m starting off with tokyo olympics 19, 95x39cm.

BELOW: in the top of this composition there is a play of yellow, red, white pink, blue & orange that i love. it all happened one day when i felt the energy to go back into what was i kind of predictable composition and introduced that second figure with the pink shirt, which juiced up the whole composition. the patterning in the b&w shirt can be found somewhere in many of the paintings in this series.

BELOW: in the lower half of the composition, his brown trousers with that delicious patterning dominate, what i really love, which once again, as in the upper half, emerged unexpectedly at the last minute, are those marks surrounding his lower leg & foot. without that red & green, the whole thing would fall apart. and the way the skateboard is hinted at is masterful, in all humility!

tokyo olympics 19, 95x39cm.