Joan Mitchell mainly works with oil paints on canvas, creating abstract and almost unrecognisable forms focusing on colours and textures more than anything else. Although her paintings have a strong build up of colours they always appear to have a smooth delicate shimmering surface across the whole of the canvas. The inspiration for Mitchell’s expressive paintings often come from memories of the natural landscape, colours show that link with nature as the palette is often very earthy in tones.
"Number 12" (1951 - 1952)
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| (2019mm x 1867mm) |
This piece "Number 12" was displayed in Tate Modern on level 3 "Transformed Visions" and was in a room called "Elegies". Her paint are often on unprimed canvases, which create a real sense of unfinishedness and her colours also have a strong contrast in cold and warm shades.
