Dine is inspired by the power of simple images to be both familiar and symbolic. His repetitions of tools, bathrobes, or hearts are easily understood by the viewer, while also suggesting deeper layers of meaning. He often works with subjects and images from his childhood, giving his work both a sense of innocence and shared nostalgia.  Jim Dine has created a vocabulary out of subjects that have a child-like appeal, such as tools, birds, and hearts. These personally nostalgic symbols are also commonplace and universal, creating work that is both autobiographical and open to interpretation. 

Matisse considered his drawing to be a very intimate means of expression. The method of artistic execution — whether it was charcoal, pencil, crayon, etcher’s burin, lithographic tusche or paper cut — varied according to the subject and personal circumstance. His favorite subjects were evocative or erotic — the female form, the nude figure or a beautiful head of a favorite model.  Other themes relate to the real or imagined world of both Oceania and the Caribbean — the lagoons, the coral and the faces of beautiful women from these far-off lands. Matisse worked in various mediums simultaneously—sometimes setting one aside for years, taking it up again when a particular technique offered the possibility of a desired result.

​Throughout her long career, Helen Frankenthaler experimented tirelessly, and, in addition to unique paintings on canvas and paper, she worked in a wide range of media, including ceramics, sculpture, tapestry, and especially printmaking. Hers was a significant voice in the mid-century “print renaissance” among American abstract painters, and she is particularly renowned for her woodcuts.  In 1987, Frankenthaler accepted an invitation to come to Barcelona and work with master printer Joan de Muga at Ediciones Poligrafa.  During a 10-day period Frankenthaler began 4 mixed-media works combining lithography (4 aluminum plates) and etching and drypoint (one copper plate).