Helen Frankenthaler

wide-rainbow-helen-frankenthaler-01.jpg

Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011) was an Abstract Expressionist and Color Field painter from NYC. She began exhibiting her artwork in the early 1950s with a career spanning over the next six decades. Frankenthaler was known for her lyrically abstract paintings and technique of staining pigment into raw canvas. She helped shape an influential art movement known as Color Field painting and was one of the most admired artists of her generation.

 

Workshop

We will create abstract paintings inspired by Helen Frankenthaler’s fluid color field paintings.

1. Tape down a large piece of paper or newsprint to the floor
2. Damp the whole paper with water (try not to over soak)
3. Use your watercolors & largest brush to spread or wash the paint across the paper 4. Let the brush guide you in a slow, fluid motion staining the paper
5. Alternate between colors and give each color their own space to live on the paper 6. Watch how each color moves and blends together when they touch

Materials

  • Large Paper or newsprint (regular sized paper is OK too)

  • Water

  • Tape

  • Watercolors

  • Brushes

Follow Up

What colors seem to fit together naturally?
How did more or less water change the effect?
How did you feel when the paint began to soak in to the paper?
Does color create a mood?
What was the mood of your painting?
What do you think color field painting is? Means?

Helen Frankenthaler   Tutti-Fruitti,  1966  Acrylic on canvas  116 3/4 x 69 inches Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery Buffalo, New York

Helen Frankenthaler
Tutti-Fruitti,
1966
Acrylic on canvas
116 3/4 x 69 inches Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery Buffalo, New York

 

“There are no rules. That is how art is born, how breakthroughs happen. Go against the rules or ignore the rules. That is what invention is about.”

-Helen Frankenthaler

 
wide-rainbow-helen-frankenthaler-03.jpg

Howardena Pindell