Rothko shifted away from figurative art in the middle of his career and gave his art the meaning of color, light, and form. The color field paintings have obtained him worldwide recognition.
Rothko used the full spectrum of color in paintings and mixed his paints himself. He glazed a thin layer of binder into which Rothko had added color stains on the untreated, unprimed canvas. Then he fixed this ground with oils, which allowed him to spread around the unframed edges of the canvas.
“I would like to say to those who think of my pictures as serene, whether in friendship or mere observation, that I have imprisoned the most utter violence in every inch of their surface.”