The Processes and Materials of Abstract Expressionist Painting

Abstract Expressionist painters explored new ways of creating art, reinvigorating and reinventing the medium. They changed the nature of painting with their large, abstract canvases, energetic and gestural lines, and new artistic processes. Many artists experimented with nontraditional materials, such as commercial paints and housepainter’s brushes. Artists also developed new techniques to apply paint, such as moving the canvas from the easel to the floor and working on unstretched and unprimed canvas. With these unconventional ways of painting, the Abstract Expressionists sought new forms of self-expression and personal freedom in their work.

Chaos and control

Jackson Pollock is perhaps the most well-known Abstract Expressionist, famous for his mural-sized action paintings. Placing the canvas on the floor, Pollock would drip, splatter, fling, and smear paint from all sides. But despite the seemingly spontaneous appearance of his paintings, Pollock, like other Abstract Expressionists, maintained a balance of chaos and control. For example, Franz Kline’s large black-and-white canvases seem impulsive and full of energy, but he often sketched the compositions out first. Pollock claimed that he maintained control when making his drip paintings.