Abstract Painting - Rothko

Mark Rothko was the focus of our work in the fifth week of the abstract painting class. When I finally saw Rothko's work at MOMA I was surprised. Photographs do not really capture what he has created; all the layering barely shows in photographs. In person, they convey something atmospheric and seem to change before your eyes -- and even more so, if you move around them. I fell in love with Number 16 (Red, Brown, and Black). This series with rectangular shapes is called "multiforms." Listen to this commentary about one of Rothko's multiform paintings the link is at the bottom of the screen.

Again, the originals were in oil and we were working in acrylic. I messed this up when I tried to "fix" something and in the process narrowed the horizontal space between the two rectangles. I also learned how difficult it is to get even color across such a large expanse. More than any of the other painters studied in this abstract painting class, this one makes me want to work in oil.