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'My painting does not come from the easel. I prefer to tack the unstretched canvas to the hard wall or the floor. I need the resistance of a hard surface. On the floor I am more at ease. I feel nearer, more part of the painting, since this way I can walk around it, work from the four sides and literally be in the painting.' -Quoted in 'Jackson Pollock: is he the greatest living painter in the United States?' LIFE 8 Aug. 1949: 42-45

Jackson Pollock#3

ArtProcessCreativityPainting

About this quote

What does it mean?
Pollock prefers working on the floor to feel physically connected to his art and move around it freely.
In plain terms
He paints on the floor to be closer to the canvas and work from all sides.
What can you take from it?
Physical proximity to your work can enhance your creative connection.

Where it applies

  • studio work
  • creative projects
  • hands-on tasks

Putting it to work

  • rearrange workspace
  • move around project
  • engage physically

Questions to consider

  • How does your workspace affect your connection to the work?
  • What physical changes could improve your creative flow?

Another view

Not all art forms allow for physical movement around the work.

More from Jackson Pollock

  1. I am nature.

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  2. Bill is a good painter but he's a French painter.

    Permalink to quote #4
  3. Abstract painting is abstract. It confronts you. There was a reviewer a while back who wrote that my pictures didn't have any beginning or any end. He didn't m…

    Permalink to quote #1

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