Fluid Abstraction: Helen Frankenthaler and Soak Stain Painting
2 Day Workshop | Registration opens 2025-10-14 12:00 PM
In this two day workshop, we will focus on the brilliant life and career of Helen Frankenthaler, a second generation Abstract Expressionist painter who pioneered the method of soak stain painting. This innovative approach employs thinned out paint directly on raw canvas, with a particular emphasis on atmosphere and colour. Students will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in Frankenthaler’s expansive body of work through slideshows and discussion, and engage in hands-on experiments with her soak stain techniques. This is a unique opportunity to take a deep dive into Frankenthaler’s hugely influential body of work, as well as learn new approaches to abstract painting and colour theory.
Note: This course takes place on two Sundays: February 22nd and March 1st.
Base Tuition: $230 + Material Fee: $25 = $255 Total
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- What You Will Learn:
- Immersion in Helen Frankenthaler’s body of work with special emphasis on composition and colour
- Frankenthaler’s legacy in the context of twentieth century abstraction and contemporary painting
- Principles and techniques of soak stain painting
- Approaches to gestural abstraction
- Introduction to colour theory
- Effective colour combinations and strategies for layering colour
- Material List for Fluid Abstraction: Helen Frankenthaler and Soak Stain Painting:
Please be sure to keep receipts in case items need to be returned.
- Brushes suitable for water based media (filbert, flat, and round, both large and small (I often buy large brushes at the hardware store)
- Large sponge
- Unprimed, raw canvas, 10oz (approx 1 yard from a 84” roll, or 1.5 yards from a 60” roll) - check out Aboveground Art Supplies. If you tend to work quickly, you may want to purchase more canvas.
Note: The instructor will purchase and provide fluid acrylic paint, which is suitable for soak stain painting. Students who happen to have this on hand, are also welcome to bring it.
Rachel Crummey
Rachel is a visual artist and writer of settler descent based in Toronto. With a background in abstract painting, poetry, and contemplative practice, she is currently learning from non-linear intelligences through collaboration with fungi. In 2022, she joined the research framework SALT (the Institute for Sensual Awareness, Language, and Touch) with artist Tara Dougans. Her paintings have been exhibited most recently at the plumb and MKG127 (Toronto) and McBride Contemporain (Montreal). She has been an artist in residence with Open Studio (Toronto) and the Salzburger Kunstverein (Austria). She is a recipient of the Joseph Plaskett Foundation’s Nancy Petry Award for emerging painters (2015) and she holds an MFA from Guelph University. She gratefully acknowledges the support of the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts.