Color Field

Color FieldVast expanses or “fields” of color.

Color Field painting was invariably abstract and the canvases were huge, almost mural-sized.

Mark RothkoHis often 8-foot high paintings consisting of two or three soft-edged, stacked rectangles.

He was interested in the relation between one color and another.

Mark RothkoLarge patches of color seem to hover within their color fields.

Erasing all evidence of brushstrokes, he also eliminated recognizable subject matter.

Series of Rothko Paintings

Orange, Red, Orange by Mark Rothko

Red, Orange, Tan and Purple by Mark Rothko

Blue, Orange, Red by Mark Rothko

FrankenthalerCombined two sources of inspiration: Pollock’s methods & John Marin’s watercolors.

Used oil paint thinned to the consistency of watercolor

The Bay by Helen Frankenthaler

Sunset Corner by Helen Frankenthaler

FrankenthalerPoured the thinned paint from coffee cans onto unprimed canvas on the floor.

Thin washes of pigment soak into the canvas rather than rest on top.

Morris LouisPoured diluted acrylic paint, tilting his unprimed canvas to guide the flow into several characteristic forms:VeilsStripesFlorals

Point of Tranquility by Morris Lewis

Morris LouisA Louis trademark was the “veil” painting: overlapping fans of color produced by pouring pigment down vertically placed canvases.

Dalet Kaf by Morris Lewis