The story goes that Kline was hanging out with his friend and fellow artist Willem De Kooning when they decided to project one of Kline's sketches of a chair onto a wall. What they saw left a lasting impression on Kline, and he began incorporating these enlarged sketches into his art. This technique became a signature of Kline's style, characterized by bold, sweeping brushstrokes that often resembled calligraphy.

Kline was known for meticulously planning out his compositions, creating multiple sketches on phone book pages and cutting them out to rearrange them into the desired form. This was a common practice among abstract expressionist artists, but Kline's use of bold lines and stark contrast set him apart.

Kline's work was similar to that of other American abstract expressionists like Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko in its emphasis on raw emotion and expression. However, Kline's use of black and white and calligraphic strokes set him apart from the more colorful and gestural works of his contemporaries.

One of the most interesting things about Kline is that he insisted on painting with house paint, rather than artist-grade materials. This made the conservation of his paintings difficult, as the paint would often crack and peel over time. Despite this, Kline's legacy lives on through his powerful and distinctive works, which continue to influence modern artists today.