Spray Paint
Spray paint is a liquid coating packaged in a pressurized can and applied as a fine aerosol. It creates an even finish without requiring a brush or roller.
Painter
Alicia McCarthy
Alicia McCarthy is an American painter associated with San Francisco's Mission School whose work often uses house paint, spray paint, gouache, colored pencil, wood, canvas, paper, and transparent supports.
Alicia McCarthy quick facts
Review key details about Alicia McCarthy's career, Mission School context, house paint, spray paint, gouache, colored pencil, wood, canvas, paper, Plexiglass, glass, and layered abstract methods.
| Born | 1969 · Oakland, California, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Died | — |
| Nationality | American |
| Movement | Mission School |
| Paint media | House paint · Latex paint · Spray paint · Gouache |
| Other materials | Colored pencil |
| Common supports | Wood · Found panels · Canvas · Paper · Walls · Plexiglass · Glass |
| Documented examples | Untitled (2022), gouache, spray paint, and house paint on canvas · Untitled (2017), colored pencil and spray paint on construction paper · her 2017 SECA installation translated woven compositions onto large sheets of Plexiglas |
| Working methods | Interlaced bands, repeated freehand lines, spraying, direct painting on wood, canvas, paper, and walls without taped guides, painting on Plexiglass, and painting or airbrushing layered architectural glass |
| Known for | Loose woven color structures and an economical material language connected to San Francisco's Mission School |
| Notable works | Untitled (2017) · Untitled (2022) · MMXX |
Sources: SFMOMA: Untitled, SFMOMA artist essay, BAMPFA: Alicia McCarthy and Ruby Neri / MATRIX 270, Berggruen: Alicia McCarthy, Headlands Center for the Arts: 2022 Benefit Art Auction, and SFO Museum: MMXX.
Paint types used
See the paint types documented in McCarthy's work, with links to PaintZeal references explaining each medium's properties, uses, and working characteristics.
Gouache Paint
Gouache paint is an opaque, water-based art medium made with pigment and a water-soluble binder. Traditional formulas dry to a matte finish and can be reactivated with water.
Latex Paint
Latex paint is a water-based architectural coating made with a synthetic polymer binder and commonly used on interior and exterior building surfaces.
Surface types used
See the surface types documented in McCarthy's work, with links to PaintZeal references explaining how each support behaves and is prepared for painting.
Wood
Wood is a natural, porous material with grain patterns and absorbency that vary by species and cut. Its surface may also contain knots, resin, or an existing finish.
Painting Board
Painting board is a rigid artist support made from hardboard, wood, or another stable panel material. It may be sold raw or prepared with a medium-specific ground layer.
Canvas
Canvas is a woven fabric support used for paintings, banners, bags, décor, and other projects. Artist canvas may be raw, sized, acrylic-primed, oil-primed, or factory-coated, and each condition changes how paint absorbs and bonds.
Paper
Paper is an absorbent sheet material made primarily from cellulose fibers. Its weight, sizing, surface texture, and wet strength determine how much paint it can accept before buckling, pilling, bleeding, or warping.
Plexiglass
Plexiglass is a rigid acrylic sheet with a smooth, nonporous surface and sensitivity to incompatible solvents that can craze or damage the material.
Glass
Glass is a hard, smooth, nonporous material with very low absorbency and limited mechanical grip for paint. Fingerprints, soap film, polish, dust, and other invisible residues can also interfere with adhesion.
Painters similar to Alicia McCarthy
Explore painters similar to Alicia McCarthy through house and spray paint, unconventional supports, found materials, and materially experimental abstraction.
Molly Zuckerman-Hartung
Molly Zuckerman-Hartung is an American painter known for abstract works combining latex house paint, enamel, spray paint, cut and sewn drop cloth, and other studio materials.
Thornton Dial
Thornton Dial was an American self-taught artist whose large painted assemblages combined found objects with ordinary house paint, enamel, spray paint, and other construction materials.