The Day's Work - Paintings of C. Litka: June 2013

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

The Old Thames

Paint something different or paint differently seems to be my only two options to get painting again. This is piece is mostly a paint differently painting achieved by using a small brush and colors I don't usually use. The subject is an old friend including my favorite bridge, the Hungerford bridge, now sadly disfigured.

18x24" 45x60cm acrylic on hardboard

little study 4

Did this last week. Just got around to photographing it. No better than the rest.

6x8" 15x20cm acrylic on hardboard

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

little study 3

Boring. I think because I'm trying to paint landscapes instead of moods using landscapes. At least painting on little panels is an economical way of trying to find what you're doing wrong.

6x8" 15x20cm acrylic on hardboard

Monday, June 17, 2013

little study 2

Not what I wanted, but will keep trying.

6x8" 15x20cm acrylic on hardboard

Friday, June 14, 2013

Little Study 1

It's been quite a while, once again. Vacations, babysitting, no idea what I want to paint are largely to blame. I was at a gallery the other day and saw big paintings (eight foot by eight foot) painted to sell to rich people to hang on their big white walls in their big houses, and was glad I didn't have to do that. So I painted this instead and put a $100K price tag on it.

6x8" 15x20cm acrylic on hardboard

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