A review by backonthealex
Dancing Through Fields of Color: The Story of Helen Frankenthaler by Elizabeth Brown

4.0

Brown introduces young readers to Helen Frankenthaler, who is best known for her big, bold Fields of Color paintings. Helen's love of color and freedom of expression began as a child, when she was encouraged by her parents to follow her instincts about art, even while her teachers were promoting q more realistic style of painting done within the lines. Sadly, at age 11, Helen's colorful inspiration failed her when her beloved father suddenly died, and though she kept painting, it was never the same as before since it never really expressed what she felt inside. Then, as an adult, Helen met Jackson Pollock, and she realized that if he could break the rules, so could she. But it took a trip to Nova Scotia to really free Helen's painting. And what Helen created were paintings seeped in colors and deep emotion - a technique called "soak stain" where the paint is allowed to seep into the canvas. Sicuro's watercolor illustrations are energetic and bright, and without trying to recreate the soak stain techniques, she nevertheless manages to capture the sense of Helen Frankenthaler's paintings. Back matter includes More About Helen Frankenthaler, a Timeline of her life, Author's Note, Quotes and Sources, and an extensive Select Bibliography. Also included is a Poured Paint/Soak-Stain Activity that kids can do to really understand how Helen's technique works, and the most important thing to remember for this activity - there are no rules!