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Black: it’s a Marmite colour.
No, I don’t means it’s dark (duh!), I mean people tend to love it or hate it in a painting.
But is the issue really so black and white?
Why should we have to choose a definitive use or avoid? Surely there’s a grey area?
What’s wrong with black in a painting?
There’s nothing inherently wrong with black paint. It’s just as lightfast as other colours, is equally compatible with other acrylics, and is just as permanent as others in the range.
So why do so many artists hate it?
Some artists don’t like it because it’s too heavy and dominant. Colours are seen when we view particular wavelengths of light, whereas black is an absence of light. It’s fundamentally different than other colours in the palette.
Black can be a little dead-looking – it doesn’t have the luminous depth of other dark colours. When mixed with other colours it can make the mix look dull or muddy.
The Impressionists are famously said to have refused to use black at all (though Manet, Degas and Cassatt certainly did). Yet before Impressionism black was a staple colour in the artist’s palette.
Other cultures have no inhibitions about black. It’s been used in Egyptian and Chinese paintings for millennia and was key in the cave painter’s palette.
What can we use instead of black?
A very dark colour akin to black can be mixed from the three primaries: yellow, blue and red. The resulting colour will vary slightly, depending on the proportions of each colour used.
Students in one of my teaching groups made an interesting discovery, that it didn’t matter much which three primaries were chosen. The resulting colours were quite similar.
Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow and Primary Blue produced much the same result as Primary Red, Lemon Yellow and Ultramarine. So whatever your palette, if it contains three primaries, you’ll be able to mix black.
As you’ll have used those colours elsewhere in your painting, the resulting dark colour will fit with the rest of the painting.
The great advantage of mixing your blacks is that you can adjust the darks towards warm brown or cool blue.
I often use a Burnt Umber, or Burnt Sienna, and Ultramarine combination.You can see the effect of adding one to the other here.
While we’re on the subject of colour mixing, I must stress that black with white is the worst combination if you want to mix grey. It gives a horrid, flat, boring colour. Instead try these:
- Crimson + Viridian
- Phthalo Blue + Cadmium Red
- Ultramarine + Unbleached Titanium
Any of those give beautiful greys, full of depth and interest.
When black is best
Sometimes we may want the drama of black. I tend to use it in abstracts, when I want the play of colour or metallic paint against black.
Years ago I went to a workshop where we made lino prints in black over neon colours. The effect was fantastic – bold, dramatic and unusual.
Black ink with washes of watercolour is a traditional technique, that gives pleasing results. Few would say that black should not be used.
This is Gloss Medium applied with a painting knife over a piece of black card.
Using a clear gloss (liquid or gel) over black deepens and intensifies the darkness.
Black is also perfect for maximising the effect of interference colours, as we saw in last week’s post.
When colour mixing, black added to a colour produces shades. (Add white to make tints, and grey to make tones).
Black creates interesting mixes, especially when added to yellow. As black often has a blueish hint, its combination with yellow produces subtle greens. Some blacks have more blue than others, so it’s worth experimenting with different types and brands.
Types of black
To give yourself a better idea of the characteristics of a particular brand’s colour, remember to check the specification on the stockist’s website. They should state whether the paint is opaque, semi-opaque or translucent, or transparent. They’ll also include the Pigment Colour Index (anything black is PBk followed by a number that denotes the pigment).
For those who want to include black in their palettes, there are quite a few to choose from. Not all blacks are created equal, so here are the characteristics of a few of the most common.
- Mars Black – PBk11, warm. Opaque
- Carbon Black – PBk7, warm to cool.Translucent to opaque
- Ivory or Bone Black – PBk9, warm.Translucent
- Lamp Black – PBk6, neutral to cool.Translucent to opaque
- Iridescent Black – a shinier version. Can be achieved by adding iridescent medium to one of the standard blacks.
- Pearlescent Black – metallic, but a muted shine
Like any colours, black will vary slightly from brand to brand. Lamp Black, for example, may be neutral and translucent in one brand to cooler and more opaque in another.
If you’re still not sure you can purchase a hand-painted colour chart, which shows the exact colour rather than a printed or digital approximation.
In conclusion
Black – it has its own characteristics and advantages, so deserves its place on our palette. Like any other art material, we should use it through considered choice, because it’s the best option for that particular piece.
It’s not the best choice every time, but neither is it always the black-hearted villain of the paint chart. Blanket decisions that give no room for manoeuvre are rarely the best option.
You could say that the decision to use black is not always as black as it’s painted.
Related posts
- Colour-Mixing Made Easy
- Introducing My New FavouriteColour
- Unbleached Titanium – Possibly the Most UnderratedColour
- What are Interference PaintColours?
See a round up of 2022 postshereand pre-2022here.
