Way of the Grey Crane

Friday, September 7, 2012

Way of the Grey Crane

Believe it or not, I've been working on this piece for two weeks. Not eight hours a day or anything like that. Just off and on for the last two weeks. I had a clear idea of what I wanted and how I wanted to do it: an avenue thronged with colorful oriental ladies with parasols strolling through shade and sunlight between great ancient pine trees in broad colorful strokes. And for two weeks I tried to get that down. Mostly because it was the only idea I had... This a very scaled back version of that idea; I wanted a lot more ladies and parasols, but that never worked. And I wanted sun and shade, and that didn't really work either. I wanted bold strokes, ha. Nothing much worked, in fact. But it's been two weeks... The main claim to fame of this piece is that I just painted like I don't know how to paint, trusting that having painted off and on for half a century something about it would be interesting. I could be wrong on that.

18x24" 45x60cm acrylic on hardboard

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What I'm Up To

I think artist’s statements are largely needless. Paintings speak for themselves. And yet, here I am set to rattle on about my approach to painting. Now, if you're of the same opinion as I claim to be, skip this and enjoy the paintings, but if you want a hint as to what I’m trying to do, here’s the words.

I approach painting via two different roads that arrive at the same place. The first is that I paint only “studies” or sketches. Back in the day artists painted quick studies to get the colors and features down to use as a guide to paint a finished studio painting. Funny thing is of the paintings I’ve seen together with their studies, I’ve always preferred the loose and spontaneous studies over the stiff and polished finished painting. For that reason I’ve chosen to paint only studies.

My second approach to painting is inspired by a quote from the writer, Raymond Chandler: “I guess maybe there are two types of writers, writers who write stories and writers who write writing.” He considered himself of one of the latter, as do I which is to say; writers who’s words are entertaining in and of themselves, independent of the story. Perhaps painters could be divided the same way: Painters who paint pictures and painters who paint paintings. While I don’t consider one type superior to the other, I aim to be a painter of paintings. I want to paint paintings that capture a moment, inspire or recall a memory or mood, but which, viewed longer or closer, or with one's glasses on, prove to be clearly paintings: paint brushed into shapes on a surface. That these mere shapes can create an impression they’re something else, for a moment, or at a distance is the independent interest I would like my paintings to possess, not because they realistically reproduce branches, or water or what ever, but because they don’t. What I don't want to paint is places or post card scenes, even though landscape are the medium which I use for my painting.

The Day's Work - Paintings of C. Litka

Friday, September 7, 2012