Helen Frankenthaler
In my previous post I shared about the progress of my latest works where I’m using water like paints on linen. You can read more about the works here as well as see progress shots of the work.
Part of my process involves working on the floor rather than painting the works on the wall. The process naturally reminds me of Helen Frankenthaler who is recognized as one of the great American artists of the twentieth century. She played a pivotal role in the transition from Abstract Expressionism to Color Field painting and invented the soak-stain technique.
Frankenthaler at work in her New York studio in 1969 © The Estate of Ernst Haas
At one time her studio was her living room, and I tease my husband that I will do the same - it’s the perfect size for large abstract painting, with lots of natural light. Seriously, the living room has been a location I’ve been eyeing - in fact I’m always scouting the house for ways I can expand my studio space. I’m planning for a total house takeover with painting… just kidding… well maybe.
I recently watched an interview of Helen Frankenthaler. I wrote down some of the her words…
Go naturally, creatively free… head, heart, and wrist.
Be in control enough to not be in control at all.
Be in dialogue with the work and let yourself go in relation to it.
Paintings don’t lie. They have their beautiful working order just as nature has.
The one rule is, “no rules”. If you have a sense of limits then you’re free to break out of them. The end!
These all felt apropros to the work I’m creating right now with water like paints.
And so now I’m enamored with studying more about Helen Frankenthaler and her works. I realize that I don’t have a book of her works, and I’m trying to get my hands on one pronto! That and I don’t remember seeing one of her works in person, although I imagine that I have with all the great museums we’ve been fortunate enough to see. Studying one of her works in person is officially on my bucket list for 2022.
