Jackson Pollock – American Abstract Painter

Convergence

Convergence Art PrintJackson PollockBuy at AllPosters.com

Even if you’re only vaguely interested in art — or have a good general knowledge — you’ve probably heard the name Jackson Pollock. So, you may have wondered, who is this person, where is he from, and why is his name so well-known? Other questions likely to arise are: What type of art does Jackson Pollock specialise in? Is his work realistic or abstract? What era is he from?

Well, the article below should answer many of your questions and provide a deeper understanding about the artist and his work, while the examples of his paintings on this page will also give readers a good idea of the type of work for which he’s famous.

Jackson Pollock

Author: Alice Shown

Jackson Pollock was an influential American painter, founder of the so-called ‘Action Painting’ movement, which centered around a style of painting in which paint is spontaneously dribbled on the canvas. Without doubt he is one of the most famous abstract impressionists in the world.

At sixteen years old he joined the Los Angeles’ Manual Arts High School, from which he was expelled within a year. After this he moved to New York City where he studied with his eldest brother Charles Pollock at the Art Students League of New York under Thomas Hart Benton, an American painter and muralist.

During his life in New York he had enjoyed the reception of a number of successful exhibitions. The New York Times reported James Sweeney`s words ‘Pollock’s talent is volcanic. It has fire. It is unpredictable…It is lavish, explosive, untidy…’ but despite this, Pollock’s paintings were unsuccessful when it came to sales. It is interesting that the most expensive of Pollock’s paintings that was sold during his lifetime brought him only $8000. Yet now the most expensive painting ever sold in the world is No. 5, 1948 by Jackson Pollock. It was sold for $140,000,000.

In 1945 Pollock married Lee Krasner, an American abstract expressionist painter, and they moved to a small house in East Hampton, Long Island. Right in this house, or to be more precise in the shed, Pollock`s famous ‘Dripper Painting’ came into the world and Jackson Pollock became the ‘Jack the Dripper’. Pollock put the canvas on the floor and covered it with the paint drops that trickled down at random from his brush or hand.

In his early years Pollock attended camp meetings with Jiddu Krishnamurti, a popular Indian writer and speaker on philosophical and spiritual issues. Part of Jiddu’s teachings was that truth can only be reached by an individual through intuition, through a process of independent, free ‘exploration’ of the personality. These words evidently had a very significant impact on Pollock’s creative work.

Pollock fought with alcoholism all his life. Unfortunately in 1956 he lost the fight, and died in an automobile accident whilst drunk. Now the small house in East Hampton is the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center.

In 2000 an Academy Award-winning biographical drama film directed by and starring Ed Harris was produced, simply entitled ‘Pollock.’ If you want to dip into Pollock’s world and feel as if you are present during his impetuous work this film is what you need. Pollock’s unpredictable and distinctive personality, as well as his unique talent, come across strongly in the film and have become part of the history of the art world.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/digital-photography-articles/jackson-pollock-3909184.html

About the Author
Find oil, acrylic paintings, bronze sculpture and limited editions prints at Art-mine.com.

We hope the above article about Jackson Pollock was useful to you and that you now have a much better understanding of this artist, his life and his work, and his contribution to contemporary art.
Yellow, Grey, Black
Yellow, Grey, Black Art PrintJackson PollockBuy at AllPosters.com

Helen Frankenthaler – Abstract Expressionist Painter

Helen Frankenthaler is an Abstract Expressionist painter from the USA. Born on 12 December 1928 in New York city, she is widely recognized and acknowledged for her valuable contribution to American postwar painting.

Paris Review, 1996
Paris Review, Serigraph by Helen Frankenthaler, 1996 — Buy at AllPosters.com

Frankenthaler, who began exhibiting her large artworks in the early 1950s, has spanned six decades of modern abstract expressionism, during which time she has succeeded in producing fresh and constantly evolving paintings. Her career as an artist began in 1952 when she exhibited Mountains and Sea, a large oil measuring 7 ft x 10 ft.

This work, while giving the impression of a watercolor, is done in oils and introduced the artist’s technique of painting straight on to unprepared canvas. This causes the canvas to absorb the colors, an effect which is further accelerated by diluting the oil paint with turpentine.

This “soak stain” technique was also used by artists such as Jackson Pollock and subsequently adopted by other contemporary artists which in turn led to the next generation of the Color Field school of painting.

Helen Frankenthaler’s paintings have been showcased in a number of retrospective exhibitions, including a 1989 retrospective at the prestigious Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City.

Examples of abstract expressionists paintings by Helen Frankenthaler:

Blue Atmosphere

Blue Atmosphere, Art Print by Helen Frankenthaler — Buy at AllPosters.com

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Ocean Drive West No. 1, c.1974
Ocean Drive West No. 1, c.1974, serigraph by Helen Frankenthaler — Buy at AllPosters.com

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Spring Bank, c.1974
Spring Bank, c.1974 Art Print by Helen Frankenthaler — Buy at AllPosters.com

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Chairman of the Board, c.1971
Chairman of the Board, c.1971, serigraph by Helen Frankenthaler — Buy at AllPosters.com

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Nature Abhors a Vacuum, c.1973
Nature Abhors a Vacuum, c.1973 Art Print by Helen Frankenthaler — Buy at AllPosters.com

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Southern Exposure
Southern Exposure, serigraph by Helen Frankenthaler — Buy at AllPosters.com

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Sesame, c.1970
Sesame, c.1970, serigraph by Helen Frankenthaler — Buy at AllPosters.com

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Grey Fireworks, 2000
Grey Fireworks, 2000 serigraph by Helen Frankenthaler — Buy at AllPosters.com

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Solar Imp, 2001
Solar Imp, 2001 serigraph by Helen Frankenthaler — Buy at AllPosters.com

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Paris Review, 1966
Paris Review, 1966 Rare Limited Edition by Helen Frankenthaler — Buy at AllPosters.com

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Flirt
Flirt, serigraph by Helen Frankenthaler — Buy at AllPosters.com

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Beginnings, 1994
Beginnings, 1994 serigraph by Helen Frankenthaler — Buy at AllPosters.com

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Mary Mary, 1990

Mary Mary, 1990 serigraph by Helen Frankenthaler — Buy at AllPosters.com

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Jack Vettriano Prints

Go directly to the Jack Vettriano Gallery to browse a superb selection of Jack Vettriano Prints

Artist Jack Vettriano (birth name Jack Hoggan) was born in Fife, Scotland in 1951. It was only after a girlfriend gave him a set of watercolor paints for this 21st birthday that he started teaching himself to paint. In 1989, at the age of 38, he submitted two paintings to the Royal Scottish Academy’s annual exhibition. Both were accepted and sold immediately.

In 2004 The Singing Butler (below), Jack Vettriano’s best known painting, was sold at Sotheby’s for close to £750,000. In the same year he was awarded an OBE for Services to the Visual Arts.

Singing Butler
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Fortunately, reproductions of his paintings, particularly Jack Vettriano Prints and Jack Vettriano Posters, have made his artwork available to those for whom originals or limited-edition prints are just too costly.

Because of innovative technology and advances in digital printing, it’s now feasible to print low numbers of art reproductions at affordable prices. And, while prices have dropped for small print runs, the caliber of fine art prints has improved. Advanced inkjet printers using a broad array of inks can produce vivid, pure colors, exceptional detail and subtle hues previously only achievable with the most expensive of machinery.

This means the normal person now has access to Vettriano fine art prints reproduced from original Jack Vettriano artwork. Reproductions are made on archival quality materials and often include canvas prints, providing an even more authentic appearance.

Incidentally, a Giclée print (pronounced “zhee-clay”) is a type of inkjet print derived from the French term meaning to spray or squirt. Giclee prints can be produced on a variety of paper surfaces, including various textures such as matte photo paper, watercolor paper, cotton canvas, or artist textured vinyl.

Giclée prints, which can be over a meter wide, have no visible dot pattern and the final product has all the tonalities and hues of the original artwork. That means a Jack Vettriano Giclée will be virtually identical to the original.

When selecting a Vettriano print, one has various framing options available (see below) that allow one to infuse the artwork with personal taste, ensuring a degree of originality.

Billy Boys
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Choosing a frame that complements not only the print but also the interior design space will add immensely to one’s appreciation of the artwork. Unless you’re very daring, it’s safest to keep it simple – modern frames with contemporary art, and so forth.

Using established interior design concepts allied with tasteful selection of the artist’s framed prints, it’s now quite feasible to decorate your home or office walls to look like a personalized Jack Vettriano gallery – without breaking your budget. After all, how many of us can afford just over a million dollars for an original? (The Singing Butler original went for around $1,070,000 at current exchange rates).

To visit Jack Vettriano’s official website, go to http://www.jackvettriano.com/index.php or to browse a selection of fine art reproductions, go to Jack Vettriano Prints.