The Beauty of Black and White Oil Painting

Every artist that paints with oil paints needs black and white on their palette. These two colors when mixed with other colors create a wide range and variety of interesting and beautiful colors that may not be on your palette or you cannot buy.

When you mix the color white with other colors it reduces brightness while it makes the color lighter it also removes vibrancy. You will find with black that it creates a sort of murkiness instead of darkening. Although black is great when used with yellows in order to produce a wide range of greens.

By adding white to a color you can produce a lighter version of that color, cool a color, or make a color opaque (transparent). The color red is a perfect example of this, when you add white to red you create a shade of pink which is a cool color. When you add white to lighten any color you will notice that the color is not as vibrant anymore and may even look a bit washed out.

When you mix black you tend to get more of a dirty color than a color that is darker. The color Mars black is the blackest black you will find in oil paints and it is also really opaque. There is a lamp black that has blue undertones and ivory black has brown undertones. Using black with different undertones will give you different results when used mixed with different colors.

When using black and white as the only two colors of your oil painting you will find that finished look can be classy compared to paintings of color. The black and white paintings are more pleasant on the eye and the features and feeling are not lost in a hectic collection of colors.

The Chinese are known for painting in black and white. Painting designs of leaves and plants, floral motifs, and their most popular scroll writings.

Another method for black and white painting is done in the form of pencil as in sketches, and charcoal paintings, with the white canvas being the background.

A black and white painting that is well known was done by Pablo Picasso, called Guernica. The painting is a huge mural inspired by the Nazi bombing of Guernica in Spain during the Spanish Civil war and is done in oil.

You will also find folk paintings that are black and white from India. An author by the name of Warli paints tribal art work in black & white and painting of Orissa by Patachitra are also done in black & White.

When using black and white oil paints, depending on the look you are trying to achieve, you have to be careful or your painting can end up looking a bit grey. Creating a painting in black and white is truly a talent. Some of the images that have been created over the years are truly spectacular. Who says you need color to express yourself when painting with oil paints. Black and white says it all.

Copyright 2007 Janice J. Sterling - All Rights Reserved

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