Britannica
Sources used in this answer
- 8 Must-See Paintings at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. - Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist) (1950)
- Jackson Pollock: Top Questions
- Abstract Expressionism
- 2 Vermeers, 1 Krasner, and 11 Other Paintings That Washington, D.C., Has To Offer - Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist) (1950)
- Western painting - Abstraction
Why did Jackson Pollock use commercial enamel house paint?
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Jackson Pollock
American artist Jackson Pollock dribbling sand on a painting while working in his studio in East Hampton, New York.
Jackson Pollock began using commercial enamel house paint after experimenting with the medium at David Alfaro Siqueiros’s experimental workshop in New York.12
He continued to use this type of paint in his later work because he claimed it provided him with greater fluidity. This consistency was essential to his "drip and splash" method, which involved abandoning the traditional paintbrush and easel to fling, dribble, or manipulate paint onto a canvas laid out on the floor. By using enamel, Pollock was able to build up complex, tangled skeins of paint and create the dynamic linear patterns that became a hallmark of his Action painting style.1234