The Day's Work - Paintings of C. Litka: 2021

Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Blog Update

I thought that I'd make a brief post here, since it's been several years now since I last posted anything. The thing is that I've fallen out of love with painting, for some reason. I relied on my imagination to come up with things to paint, and that well has run dry. There are a zillion things to paint, but I can't think of anything I want to paint. I guess I've said all I needed to say in nearly 2,000 paintings. The only thing I paint now (and very reluctantly) are the covers for my books, which is my current creative outlet. (We'll see how long that lasts.)

If you are interested in what I write, you can find my work on all the usual suspects for ebooks -- Amazon, Apple, Google Play, Smashwords, B & N, and Kobo under "C. Litka" Or visit my other blog here: My Book Blog

Here then are the last paintings that I still have not posted:

18x24" acrylic on watercolor paper

18x12" acrylic on watercolor canvas

approx. 18x18" acrylic on watercolor paper

18x12" acrylic on watercolor paper

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

Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Blog Update

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