day 2 of "celebration X" /  by Philip Tarlow

celebration X 36x44” oil on linen, as she looked at the end of my painting day today

3:48 PM: this was a long day, but i’m not feeling that tired. those cornbread CBD sleep gummies are helping my sleep. i entered my studio remembering what matisse said about how we find our path as we paint, not beforehand. so i was feeling pretty loose and open to whatever, and whatever is what happened. in the sense that i was able, moreso than ever before, to draw from my familiar figures seen from above and play around with them, overlap them, scrape them; in other words, i was able, on a higher level than i can recall, to PLAY!

she’s lively, sexy and interestingly musical. i’m remembering my belief that music & poetry are the foundational arts.

so we’ll see where she wants to go tomorrow. i may start celebration XI on the same size canvas, which will give me the option of going back and forth between the two, which as you know i love.

day 1 of "celebration X" /  by Philip Tarlow

celebration X, 32x36” as it looked at the end of day 1

3:54 PM: this morning, ahving resolved celebration IX, i started celebration X, 32x36” newly stretched on stretcher bars with aluminum supports. the figures are floating about in an as yet undefined space, and there’s no telling yet where the top & bottom are. an inetesting moment!

celebration VII in a frame / A NEW IMAGE ON MY STUDIO DOOR /  by Philip Tarlow

celebration VII in a frame i had in the studio. although it cuts off part of the painting, it shows what a difference a frame can make

12:41 PM: although this frame is a bit too small for the painting, it shows it off really beautifully, and gives an idea of how the series can look when they’re well framed.

2:15 PM: behind the glass window on my studio door was a photocollage; the very first thing a visitor would see when entering. today i replaced it with one of my celebration series paintings, a diptych with celebrating figures on a white ground. i was too long for the size of the window, so i made a few adjustments, and it will remain until i find something that actually fits.

a few more tweaks to celebration IX /  by Philip Tarlow

celebration IX, 32x36”, oil on linen, as she looked at the end of my painting day today

2:53 PM: still unsatisfied with the image of the female singer on the right side of the composition, i played with her this morning, and as a result she’s a more integrated piece of the composition as a whole.

celebration IX as she looked yesterday (left) and today

celebration IX returns to it’s white (improved) self /  by Philip Tarlow

celebration IX, 32x36” following the extensive changes i made today.

3:44 PM: mikela was horrified by the pink version i did yesterday, and when i entered the studio yesterday afternoon and glanced critically at it, i knew she was right. so while it was still wet, i rubbed out what i had done. since the underlying white version didn’t have time to dry, i wiped that out as well, which was a rather messy process, and started over this morning, using a photo i printed out of the march 9th version with the white ground.

it’s been a long day, but i think i got it to a good place, perhaps even better than the march 9th version, and i’ll see in the morning what more, if anything, i want to do.

BELOW: celebration IX as it looked on march 9th (left), yesterday (center) and today (right)

11:02 am: this is an evaluation published by salon:

https://www.salon.com/2024/03/01/like-someone-pulled-the-metaphorical-plug-dr-john-gartner-on-accelerating-dementia/

celebration IX re-work / SKY HIGH /  by Philip Tarlow

celebration IX following further modifications this afternoon

celebration IX at 2:37pm

celebration IX 32x36”, oil on linen, as it looked following today’s re-work

1:11 PM: i wasn’t satisfied with yesterday’s changes, so here’s what it looks like today.

8:23 AM: from my sky high series; to view the others: https://www.philiptarlow.com/skyhigh

one of the paintings in my sky high series, 2019, oil on linen

celebration IX painted over and re-worked /  by Philip Tarlow

celebration IX 32x36” oil on linen, as she looked at the end of my painting day today.

1:51 PM: my first glance at celebration IX when i entered the studio this morning let me know that i needed to re-work it. so i did, starting with broad strokes of white and then progressing from there. the vertical pink mark is critical in the current composition, as are the red patterns on the singer’s sleeve. she was part of the celebration following the 2020 olympics and she, like all the performers, was dressed in brightly patterned garments. whar remains of the underlying composition contributes to this figurative abstraction . as time goes on, i’m getting the hang of my new language, so that the figure(s) seamlessly integrate.

HANGING IN OUR HOUSE NOW /  by Philip Tarlow

untitled, 2023, 80x20” oil & collage on linen

7:56 AM: these are 3 of my paintings currently hanging in our house.

morning watercolor / yesterdays celebration IX will remain as is / /  by Philip Tarlow

11:26 AM: this morning i tested out my new little portable easel, creating a watercolor on 2 pads of paper one above the other. then i cut them up and pasted them on this grey board. no big deal; just looking out my south windows, but i found it fun using the easel. plus, i haven’t used watercolors in quite a while & it was a good feeling.

when both mikela and i looked critically at the new piece i was working on all day yesterday, we both declared it resolved, so it will remain as you see it here and i’ll take what ilearned creating this one and move on to something new.

mandolin has become celebration IX /  by Philip Tarlow

celebration IX as she looked moments ago

2:40 PM: i used a light grey to start removing unnecessary marks & colors. scrape-it, tape-it, flip it, trippit, add yellah, brown pastel it, gyrate, imitate, playcate.

she’s beginning to have a presence. as the eye glides by, she begins stuttering a name; her name: celebration IX. so, …..

DETAIL

BELOW: 2 stages of celebration IX

1:33 PM: after a few scrapes

celebration IX as it looked after a few scrapes

celeebration IX 32x36” as it looked following my first round of painting this morning

1:14 PM: continuing work on what started as mandolin and is now celebration IX, you might say i had a field day. thjis morning i cancelled my april 5th show in houston, and as a result, am feeling liberated. so it’s a play day, which is what every day in my studoi should be.