Wednesday, April 1, 2015

I do not use black when I paint.

It is better to mix your own black (chromatic black), it will be much richer looking. The painting below used no black to create the rich black looking color.

 
What is Chromatic Black?

   

Chromatic black is a mixed paint color that looks black but doesn't contain any black pigment in it. Instead, a chromatic black is created by mixing dark versions of other colors, typically a red and green or blue and red and mix in an earth color.



Why Use Chromatic Black?


Given how easy it is to squeeze paint out of a tube, why would you bother mixing up a substitute for black? It's partly the fault of the Impressionists (such as Renoir and Monet) and statements they made about shadows not being black and how it should never be used.



It's partly because using black to darken colors easily results in muddy colors. This is especially true amongst beginners. That’s why I don’t use black. Black from a tube can be a very flat and dull color. Whereas chromatic black is a much more complex, interesting color, with a subtlety that straight black lacks.

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