Muster Point — Monochrome Crowd Painting

The work of American abstract expressionist Franz Kline has inspired me since the 1970s when I first saw his work in the reception area of Tate Britain.

The raw energy of Kline's work was so captivating for me as a young art student.

For financial reasons I wasn't able to follow a career in fine art — but that early encounter stayed with me.

Over fifty years later, my enthusiasm for Kline has never faded, to the point where I had to incorporate his spirit into my own work. I apologise to abstract purists, but I could not resist the juxtaposition of my silhouetted, animated figures with Kline's gestural brushwork — while retaining his achromatic palette of black and white.

To me, as a figurative artist, this combination felt inevitable. Some of Kline's works take on an architectonic quality — structured, monumental — and that tension between architecture and human movement is exactly what Muster Point explores.

Owning this painting means living with that tension every day. A large-scale, one-of-a-kind original that commands a room — not as decoration, but as a conversation piece. The kind of work that draws people in, stops them, and makes them look twice and begin the conversation.

Artwork Details

• Medium: Original acrylic on canvas
• Style: Abstract / figurative hybrid
• Dimensions: 91.5 × 91.5 × 4cm (36 × 36 in)
• Format: Square canvas framed in black
• Palette: Achromatic — black and white
• Inspiration: Franz Kline
• Artist: Neil McBride

Art rules because art has no rules.