Jackson Pollock Art Prints

Jackson Pollock was born on a sheep ranch and spent his childhood wandering around Arizona, California and Wyoming with his parents and four brothers. After leaving High School in 1930 he went to New York to study with Thomas Hart Benson, becoming so impressed by his teacher's stupendous artistic and boozing abilities that he emulated both with selfless dedication and enthusiasm.

Possibly as a result of his nomadic childhood he continued to roam the wide-open spaces of America, sketching as he went, and once said there was no better (or cheaper?) way to enjoy the outdoors than from the top of a freight car. Noting Jackson's enthusiasm for things natural, a helpful (but dim) acquaintance once suggested that he study Nature in the studio, prompting Jackson to helpfully explain to him that 'he was Nature'.

In addition to his reputation for irrigating his internal plumbing with vast quantities of alcohol, Jackson was renowned for his forthright manner. One woman asked him how he knew when to stop pouring paint onto a canvas so he asked her how she knew when sex was over (saucy expressionist beast).

The creations that are so entirely and uniquely Jackson's are the 'action' paintings, which he began in the 1940s, at last earning himself a decent living and the title 'Jack the Dripper'. His technique was to lay a canvas on the floor then pour paint onto it down a stick or trowel, after which he'd rush around adding flicks and splashes of colour supplemented by anything he happened to lay his hands on ...bus tickets, fag ends, paint tube tops (art critics?). This technique was based on his belief in the 'controlled accident'. In 1956 Jackson had an uncontrolled accident and died after being thrown from his car.