What are the best/right type of paints to use for larger scale abstract painting of the Pollack style?

I would buy regular water-based house paints in the primary colors.plus black and white in quart or gallon size.As for canvas,you can buy lengths of canvas at a fabric store,prime and paint!
Have fun! It is not,however,a requirement to get hammered ala JP

Years ago, I read an article about a woman who prepared her paints as an enema, then released them over the canvas. I would imagine you would have to make sure the paints in that case were non-toxic.

@lucillelucillelucille I was going to make the same suggestion…… The getting hammered I like that idea too…. I got to try it when I paint next time.

I was watching a documentary about Dale Chihuly (a glass artist) who used Acrylics in squeeze bottles (similar to ketchup dispensers) to do his preliminary sketch paintings with prior to doing it in glass.

The style was rather reminiscent of Pollack, very loose and free.

The Acrylics in tubes are way too thick. The company at the link below makes Acrylic in all different consistencies and many art supply places carry them in larger sizes which are far less expensive than tubes.

Another possibility is craft Acrylics by companies like Plaid which come in smaller sizes but can often be found on sale for around $1 per bottle.

Some of the stores where I have purchased both of these different brands of Acrylic are Michaels, A.C. Moore, Dick Blick and Pearl Paints.

www.goldenpaints.com

www.acmoore.com

www.pearlpaint.com

www.plaidonline.com

www.dickblick.com

Both A.C. Moore and Pearl Paints carry canvas by the yard and pre-cut, snap-together wood frames in various sizes you can use to custom make your own.

Another alternative (although heavier) would be Masonite which comes in large sizes.

I’ve also seen people make custom painted area rugs in fairly large sizes by buying cheap linoleum flooring on sale and painting on the back (unpatterned) side.

Ordinary household paint works, as long as you don’t mix water-based emulsions with gloss paints. An artist friend of mine speciallises in huge (like 6–8 feet across) paintings of steam-trains, and he uses household paints for those.

+1 house paints. Didn’t Pollack himself use house paints on a lot of his more famous work ? —probably for the same reason, cost, at the time he was not famous or wealthy.

Pollack used household paints, mostly oil based, as well as car paint and almost anything he had available. His aim was not longevity of the work, but the immediacy of making each piece. So, as they age, conservation will become an issue – these materials are not designed for use on canvas or paper. Basically, it depends whether you want a piece to last for posterity, or just want a lot of fun expressing yourself. I say go for the latter, Pollack was not a happy chappy. Damien Hurst, however, has found even more fun for himself in his circular spin paintings, than in pickled animals!