the last supper loses specificity, gains painterly /  by Philip Tarlow

PAINTERLY: (of a painting or its style) characterized by qualities of color, stroke, and texture rather than of line."Botticelli is a linear painter, whilst Rembrandt's work would be considered painterly"

the last supper, 38x20” after scraping into the graphite grey

2 PM: i scraped into the graphite grey a little; i felt after gazing at her for an hour, that it read too much as an unbroken black, and thus needed some very light texture, created by scraping. i think it worked, which is making it easier to appreciate her without getting stuck.

if you compare with the image i posted an hour ago, you’ll notice the subtle but significant difference.

1 PM: i’ve been bugged all along that this painting was a prisoner of it’s title: the last supper. and i’ve had a growing desire to treat it as i would any other painting; as a play of forms and color in space. so, earlier this morning, i removed it from my east painting wall, laid it on my painting table, and felt a strong desire to use black. well, not really…it’s called graphite grey by williamsburg, the manufacturers of this oil paint. i’m biased towards them because they’re located in williamsburg, brooklyn, where i was born.

so now, as i look at it on my wall, it reads as a painterly painting, and not a group of people having dinner. as with my other recent paitings with figures viewed from above, my eye is taken on a journey, i’m left to create my own story about what’s going on, but more importantly, i revel in the interplay of reds, greens, blues and BLACK!

it took long enough, but it was worth the wait!

contnued revisions to “the last supper / today's breakfast drawing/collage /  by Philip Tarlow

2:01 PM: after working on today’s breakfast drawing/colllage, i shifted my attention back to the last supper, which i began revising yesterday. the yellows were too strong and it needed some patterning in the upper left. there’s an obvious improvement when i gaze at it deom my computer desk, about 16 feet away.

the last supper following today’s revisions

BELOW: the last supper on 8/24, yesterday and today (right)

1/6/24 breakfast drawing 10x8” mixed media & collage on paper

11:20 AM: while having breakfast, i continued my new tradition of making or at least starting a 8x10”drawing/collage.

1:02 PM:i worked and re-worked this one until just moments ago. i think this one will definitely be included in my april exhibition in houston.

this is a self portrait drawing i made 10 years ago, in 2014

self portrait drawing in ink on paper, 2014

1-5-24 breakfast drawing/collage/revision of “The Last Supper” /  by Philip Tarlow

the last supper before (left) and after the revisions

2:01 PM: the last time i worked on the last supper was 5 months ago: august 23. since then i’ve been casting critical glances at it. i knew it needed work, but i wasn’t ready to jump in till a few hours ago. don’t ask why, but it definitely has to do with the direction my work has been taking since then, and what i’ve learned in the interim. i may do more tomorrow morning when i’m fresh. do you see the pup that entered the composition, and the fire in the fireplace? the title, by the way, derives from the fact that this dinner was, in fact, the last time that some of those present would find themselves together before most of them have eft crestone.

1/5/24 breakfast drawing/collage, 9x6”

12:05 PM: i started this one during breakfast and my zoom with my ukrainian buddy, and continued working on it till a few minutes ago.

it includes watercolor, colored pencil, oil stick (the green stripe on the bottom & the pink vertical mark just above & to the left of it) and collaged pieces of maps, an old paper oil palette & a cutout from a magazine. i flipped it all 4 ways and settled on this as the one i think works best.

breakfast drawing/collage /  by Philip Tarlow

1/4/24 breakfast drawing/collage 6x9” colored pencil, oil pastel, ink & collage on paper

11:34 AM: i made a 2024 new years resolution to always have a drawing/sketch book at my side. so in keeping with that, i made a drawing/collage while having my breakfast in the studio.

more work on "by the creek," 37x35" /  by Philip Tarlow

2:35 PM: the yellows needed brightening up, so here’s the current state, at the end of my painting day and just before leaving to take our trail walk.

1:42 PM: after my zoom with my ukranian buddy this morning, i wandered about the studio aimlessly, searching for the book i was studying a few days ago, with an image that excited me. no luck. so about 12:30, which is the time my flow usually kicks in, i did more work on by the creek, which seemed to be asking for something more.

"momoyama," 24x26" / “yang” stretched today /  by Philip Tarlow

1:47 PM: this is yesterday’s momoyama tweaked.

i last worked on yang december 19th, but i didn’t get around to stretching it till this morning. it’s always so much easier to look at a painting when it’s stretched and doesn’t have that white border around it.

yang 37x35” oil on linen i stretched it this morning & it’s as if i’m seeing it for the first time!

re-work of "by the creek" / momoyama 24x26” /  by Philip Tarlow

momoyama, 24x26” at the end of my painting day today

2:45 PM: after completing work on by the creek, i found a 24x26” canvas sitting on the floor. it had been painted over and i can’t find a record of what was underneath, so i named it momoyama and began work on it after painting over the surface with the same yellow i used on by the creek. then ip proceeded to introduce 2 figures, and we’ll see what happens on the first day of 2024!

by the creek 37x35” as it looked at 1pm today

1:13 PM: i was intending to put by the creek aside and stretch some smaller canvases today. but, after reading another few pages of the unknown matisse last night, i had made a note to myself to check out le bonheur de vivre and when i studied that 1905 breakthrough masterpiece, i just couldn’t resist painting over that overloaded composition with yellow and working into it with some of my familiar figures viewed from above.

from a review of the book: This book tells the story with clarity and literary skill so as to make the book almost un-put-downable. It is mandatory reading for any layperson seeking to understand Matisse and his work. It is recommended reading for anyone seeking to know Matisse better than any other source will allow

a burst of energy took over, lasted for a little over an hour and now i’m going to leave it, since anything further that i do today will be coming from my head.

le bonheur de vivre, matisse, 1905 5.6x8 feet

re-work of yesterdays revisions to by the creek" /  by Philip Tarlow

by the creek, 35x37” as it looked moments ago following a few more adjustments. more in the morning.

2:46 PM: i toned down and or eliminated some of the brighter whites, which i was intending to do in the morning, when there are a few more adjustments i’ll make when i’m fresh. right now, i’m ready for our afternoon trail walk.

2:13 PM: this is by the creek at the end of my painting day today. i think i may eliminate or tone down some of the whites tomorrow.

12:48pm, stage 2 of the re-work of by the creek. much of the story of matisse’s early life and struggles, which i’m reading every night for 15-20 minutes before falling asleep is seeping into my consciousness. combined with my ongoing study of momoyama, a period in japanese art which lasted mid 16th to the beginning of the 17th century, a new, deeper self awareness is occuring. this quote from the great greek poet andreas embirikos was the latest thing to move and awaken me. it’s untranslatable:

12:53 PM: here’s the current state of by the creek, 35x37.”

by the creek, 35x37” stage 1 of today’s re-work

11:54: i’m in the early stages of re-working by the creek.

revisions to "by the creek" /  by Philip Tarlow

by the creek, 35x37” following today’s changes

2:41 PM: yet another recent painting, this one last worked on 12/6/23 was revised today. as my vision and perception chnages, i’m moved to re-visit recent work in keeping with those developments.

in studying 17th c. japanese handscrolls, i continue to discover and go deeper with that part of me that can closely relate to their colors, patterning and introduction of architectural elements that help structure the compositions. i’m still at an early stage, but every day i go deeper with my capacity to make what i observe and admire my own.

BELOW: before and after today’s work

revisions to the drummer / instagram & facebook deleted /  by Philip Tarlow

the drummer 37x35” as she looked at the end of my painting day

3:07 PM: unusual for me to work so late, but i had to get her to this point before simplifying on friday. (i won’t be able to be in the studio tommow) she’s a tad congested, but awesome to observe. we’ll see what happens in 48 hours. let her breathe till then.

i’ve been working into the drummer, and here’s how she looks at noon. work continues; updates as they become available.

11:25 am: the drummer was last revised 4 days ago, when i went over the pick ground with a charcoal black, leaving a small area of pink on the upper left. i’m still not satisfied with it, and will do more starting in a feew minutes

10:49 just deleted my facebook & instagram accounts. so for info on my painting or other topics from now on, visit this blog.

3 recent paintings on my east wall today