Why I Ditched Black
Is there a color you don’t use in your studio?
For me, it’s black. Shocking, right? 🎨
I’ve been painting abstract art for five years, and through it all, I’ve never touched—or even ordered—a single tube of black paint. Not only that, but I don’t use gray either! For me, gray is too closely related to black, so I’ve also eliminated it from my palette.
Black and gray can alter the hues of colors, often dulling them, and my collectors and I love bright, colorful art. So, black is out, and color is in! ✨
Color is to the eye what music is to the ear.
-Louis Comfort Tiffany
But why?
Let’s rewind to the beginning of my art journey.
In art school, I was taught the importance of black for creating values and depth. And while that’s valid, something didn’t sit right with me. My favorite artist, Claude Monet, didn’t use black to create his values. Many other Impressionist artists didn’t either, including Van Gogh.
Their reasoning? Black rarely exists in nature.
If we’re drawing inspiration from the world around us, why rely on black? 🌿
This led me to think deeper and question the importance of blacks in my paintings. It’s only used for the values scale as long as it has its companion white, creating a variety of grays.
What I need most of all is color, always, always.
-Claude Monet
What if there is a way you can create the values scale without the grayscale?
Pulling out my paints—I'm not going to lie—I had the fear that I was wasting paint, and I did. A whole lot of it, but looking back today and looking at the art I am creating now, every drop of it was well worth it.
When I started painting without black, I noticed a transformative shift in my work. Black can have a dulling effect when mixed with other colors but by using just colors to create depth and shadow within my work. My art came alive with vibrancy.
I am seeking.
I am striving.
I am in it with all my heart.
-Vincent Van Gogh
Here’s how I do it today:
Using complementary colors:
Similar to what Monet did, I darkened blue areas by adding a touch of orange or red. These are mostly found in my colorful and cool paintings.
For my warm paintings, I use both orange and red mixed with Payne’s gray to achieve a warm dark purple that I use for the darker areas.
Exploring rich, dark tones:
Van Gogh used Prussian blue to achieve depth in his paintings, and I’ve found similar success with this in my blue paintings.
I also have another dark blue in my studio that I mix a touch of Prussian with, it’s Anthraquinone blue. This shade of blue is rich and leans more towards the purple side of the color wheel, but it’s so worth the price of having it in your studio.
Layering for value:
Instead of defaulting to black, I experiment with layers.
It’s all in the first layer of paint on your canvas. For me, my first layers are Quinacridone Magenta, Raw Sienna, or Burnt Sienna depending on if it is a cool painting or a warm painting (I just go with what I feel the canvas is calling for) these result in subtle rich shadows that are underneath the final layers.
Eliminating black has allowed me to see color in a whole new way and I hope this tip has helped you see the same.
My paintings feel more harmonious and true to life, which resonates deeply with me and my collectors. If you’re curious about how to achieve dark tones without black, stay tuned! I’ll be sharing tips and techniques on my Instagram to help you bring this approach to your work. 🎨
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Looking for more tips for your studio check out my other Brush Tips, they are all quick reads so you can get back in the studio to do what you love!
