Frank Bramblett, Highboy

Bramblett began this work by applying several layers of bright yellow paint over the entire canvas, then placed the canvas on top of five wooden planks of varying widths and depths. He then mixed different color ground pigments with acrylic emulsion and poured the mixture onto the canvas. The weight of the mixture created pools of pigment in between the planks, producing an undulating surface of ridges and valleys. Bramblett then poured alternating layers of viscous ruby red and thinned indigo blue along the areas of canvas that lay directly on top of the planks. Gravity pulled the colors into the valleys, building dense layers of color, pigment, and emulsion.

As he did with White Face, Bramblett froze this canvas. After it dried, he wrapped it in plastic, buried it in the snow for four hours, then dug it up and stretched it around a frame, snapping the frozen edges. He then used a propane torch to heat the thinner layers of paint. Once the canvas was warmed and pliable, the artist was able to bend the edges around the frame. Underlying layers of blue paint are still visible along the edges