Morris Louis pioneered Color Field painting using acrylic poured directly onto unprimed canvas, creating luminous fields of color that share Gilliam's emphasis on color as pure expressive form rather than representation.

Frankenthaler's Color Field works on canvas use acrylic to create atmospheric, fluid expanses of color that closely parallel Gilliam's exploration of color relationships and abstract form on unconventional surfaces.

Noland worked extensively with acrylic on shaped and unconventionally formatted canvases within the Color Field tradition, sharing Gilliam's interest in how color interacts with the physical boundaries and form of the support itself.