starting "jazz 10" following a big olive oil spill / May 24, 2023 by Philip Tarlow

noon: we ordered a 5 gallon tub of our favorite extra virgin olive oil from the italian company we love in california. it’s very heavy, as you might imagine, and this morning when i was attempting to pour some of it into a glass half gallon bottle, the bottle slipped, fell onto the cement floor and olive oil went everywhere. i spent about 2 hours doing a premininary cleanup, but i wanted to get at least a little painting done before we have to leave for our dental appointemnts in alamosa, to i heroically launched into jazz 10.

re-work of "Climbing Figure, Piso Yialia"/ “jazz 9” is complete / May 23, 2023 by Philip Tarlow

when i entered the studio this morning & cast my First Glance at jazz 9, it seemed resolved. that was the end of my plan to paint over most of it, as i’ve done with previous paintings in this series. gotta go with your gut!

11:40 AM: this morning i unexpectedly reworked the sky in this 2022 oil titled climbing figure, piso yialia.

the rework involved the sky, which originally showed a sunset. with my current aesthetic sensibility, there was way too much going on, taking away from the rocks and from the figure itself.here in my studio it now reads much better from a distance of about 20 feet.

for those visitors who are andriots or familiar with andros, you will recognize that this guy is climbing over the rocks separating piso yialia from bros yialia. piso, at least when i was last there, was a more deserted beach, where a lot of the time you might be the only one there. there was a clear view of the capitol, chora, and usually a delightful cool breeze, even in the mid-summer heat.

*jazz 9* completed, as it looked at the end of my paniting day yesterday.

*climbing figure, piso yialia* 12x17”/43x53 cm. 2022-23

now what? i’ll tell you what: starting “jazz 9” today / May 22, 2023 by Philip Tarlow

*jazz 9* 35 x 37” / 94x89 cm. oil on linen, stage 1

3:55 PM: i started jazz 9 today, and here’s where it’s at. gotta run now, but i’ll continue posting later.

8:19 AM: for you loyal followers of my blog, you will know that 7:50am is the absolute earliest i ever got to my studio. this is due of course to the fact that mikela had to leave to get to school, but this morning she had to leave even earlier so she could stop by the studio, where the printer is located & have me print out a tax doc she needed. she also got to take a look at jazz 8, which she totally loved. and i immediately theough, oh shit, how am i ever going to do something this good again?

so she’s off now and i’m finishing my breakfast, with the remains of the fresh roasted yemeni coffee i prepare for her every morning. delicious!

as soon as i’m done having breakfast, i’ll assess the situation and start something new.

what i’m seeing more and more is the value of starting with what always turns out to be an underpainting, but must be done as if it were the final painting. in other words, i have to trick myself into believing that what i’m doing the first couple of days is going to remain that way & not almost totally dissapear. it’s the bits that are left & peek through that create the magic.

at work on *jazz 8* 2 days ago, before it transformed

*jazz 8* as it looked at the end of my painting day yesterday

continued work on "jazz 8" grey-over / May 21, 2023 by Philip Tarlow

*jazz 8* 35x37”/94x89 cm. as it looked at the end of my painting day today

12:37 PM: expected dramatic changes today, bringing jazz 8 more into alignment with the previous paintings in this series. i’m done for the day and will continue tomorrow morning…

11:42 AM: it was ripe today for a grey-over on jazz 8. the composition was all over the place, but that was intentional, to pave they way for what’s happening just now.

here are 4 stages of the process: notice that in the 4th stage i added a walking figure

continued work on "jazz 8" / May 20, 2023 by Philip Tarlow

2:47 PM: about to take our trail walk, hopefully before the predicted thunderstorms start.

did quite a bit more on jazz 8; more commentary when we’re back later this afternoon.

12:41 PM: got a late start today. it’s saturday, so mikela doen’t have to scoot out the door at 7 am to get to the school on time, like she did yesterday. so we slept in & started work late. ever try ZzzQui Pure zzz’s if you have trouble sleeping? been using htem lately & sleeping much better & longer. they are mostly melatonin & other natural ingredients.

so anyway, i continued work on jazz 8, which as you know if you follow this blog, i started yesterday. here’s the current state; getting back to work now, & whatever i can do my 3, when we plan on walking up the trail if it doesn’t rain.

starting "jazz 8" / May 19, 2023 by Philip Tarlow

3:34 PM: i began work this afternoon on a new painting in the jazz series: jazz 8. it too is 35x37”/94x89cm. it has, thus far, a different feel coloristically & compositionally and will stand out from the previous jazz paintings.

birds, selected from the 185 i have in my birds album, will play a role. amazing colors and patterns.

more work today on "jazz 7" / May 18, 2023 by Philip Tarlow

2:27 PM: heavy rain, thunderstorms….that’s what the weather is like today. we were had planned a trip to santa fe tomorrow, but the same weather we’re having today here in crestone/baca is forecast for tomorrow & saturday in santa fe, so we pushed the trip to early june.

jazz 7 was asking for something to happen in the upper right portion of the composition, so i added a new figure; same guy you’ll see in the upper left, in jazz 6.the blues and reds in his shirt add a lot; i just need to make sure tomorrow that it works in the composition as a whole.

i really can’t say how this jazz series happened.

BELOW: jazz 7 on the left, as it looked yesterday and todays version on the right

adjustment to "jazz 7" / MY DOOR COLLAGE / May 17, 2023 by Philip Tarlow

10:22 AM:i became tired of looking at the list of things not to forget when leaving the studio, which is mounted on a piece of foam core of the main west facing studio door, so i started collaging over it, adding a bit whenever the mood struck. this is it’s current state, which will likely keep changing.

10:08 AM: the new figure i added yesterday was screwing up the composition, so i took it out this morning. i’ll wait for the white paint to dry a bit & then considerwhat i might do in that space.

BELOW: yesterdays state of the painting is on the left.

continued work on "jazz 7" / May 16, 2023 by Philip Tarlow

1:38 PM: after ging in to the post office & futzing around in the studio for a few hours, i got back into jazz 7. it now has 4+ figures, and works whichever way you turn it. as i gaze at my east painting wall, 5 paintings in the jazz series are tacked to the wall, the 6th one having been stretched & gone to the house, i see a definite progression. this one is, at the same time, more complex as a composition and simpler. it’s those unexpected marks & scrapes that bring it to a new level. not to imply anything negative about the others. i love observing the unfolding of jazz, which, in case you haven’t been following my blog posts, emerged from listening to thelonious monk. he may not have been a painter, but, in my case at least, was a painter’s muse. those pauses…here’s a quote about his style of playing: Monk’s playing style is very unique, using sparse voicings and omitting notes to add dissonance. Another distinctive element of his playing is an extremely strong time feel. His soloing usually relies on motifs and is often based on the melody of the song.

i talked yesterday about diebenkorn’s ocean park series and how it has influenced my work. you could apply that quote about monk’s style as well to diebenkorn. and here’s another quote about his work that could equally apply to what i’m now up to: “he’s scraping away paint not only to affect the surface; it’s also to affect the color.” (sarah c.bancroft)

diebenkorn / continued work on jazz 7 / May 15, 2023 by Philip Tarlow

*jazz 7* 37x35”/94x89cm. as it looked moments ago, at the end of my painting day today

3:56 PM: i did more work on jazz 7, which may reflect my experiece this morning with the diebenkorn book.

a second figure was introduced, of a guy seen from above looking at his phone. it’s the same guy you see in the previous jazz 6. the composition may need more going on in the lower portion; we’ll see tomorrow.

9:53 am: today is my birthday. this morning while having my breakfast, i was perusing richard diebenkorn, the ocean park series. below is a quote from diebenkorn himself

there is no main subject, or center of attention. the composiotn itself is the center of attention, constantly drawing the eye away from the center and towards the edges, and back. what might be perceived as a rigid geometrical frame is, when explored carefully, an ever changing, often smudged & blurred reality.

it’s hard to put my finger on what it is exactly the attracts me to diebenkorn’s work, particularly this series. but, as happens with other artists at the top of my list, i resonate with his process; in this case particularly with his compositional sensibility.

in my current phase of self discovery, it helps to have such a guide. and this quote may be the little push i needed to move to a larger scale, which may happen soon.