The Essence of the Color Black
I love a black and white piece of artwork – maybe because the first type of art I fell in love with as a child were pencil/charcoal drawings. But I also love colorful work and I’ve actually got a knack for creating some intensely colorful work.
So, I’m often torn between working in greyscale (black, greys and whites only) or working in full color. I think working with either color palette is challenging. Although, I must say working in greyscale is a roundabout way to mastering how to work in full color.
Soon after I started work on my recent piece “Stacked Houses #1”, I knew I was going to redo it in color. I just couldn’t help but wonder what it would look like in full color. And I was itching to outline the shapes in the color black to see what effect I’ll get. My journey in creativity is truly a project in curiosity. My curiosity always gets the better of me.
Live, Create and Learn
The more I create, the more I learn the power of the color black. Coming from a culture where the color black is associated with grief, death, mourning and all kinds of dark stuff, this color wasn’t always my first choice to include in my colorful palettes. But now I’ve learned. (Live, Create and Learn). 🙂
“Without black, no color has any depth. But if you mix black with everything, suddenly there’s shadow – no, not just shadow, but fullness. You’ve got to be willing to mix black into your palette if you want to create something that’s real.” ~Amy Grant
When I’ve included the color black in a colorful palette, it’s always added more interest to my work than I’d otherwise have been able to do without it. In the early years of my work, you’ll hardly find any blacks in my color palettes but as my creative skills have grown, I’ve come to appreciate its importance.
Initially, when I began to realize the importance of black and its effect on my color palettes, I resisted it. I didn’t want to change. I questioned why when I created work with the color black. they elicited more interest than without. But now, I’ve accepted its place in my color schemes and I’ve decided to embrace it.
So, in this piece, I make a special effort to include the color black in various places to make the other colors pop. I outlined the shapes with black thread. Since I was using the same weight thread for both shading and outlining, it meant I had to go over the outlines several times in order to make them stand out.
I also used black threads in a couple of simple line drawings. For example, for the windows in “Stacked Houses#2”, I decided to maintain black line drawings like I did in “Stacked Houses #1”. I think this turned out to be very effective.
So, here you have it, Stacked Houses #2:
I created a video to show you the entire stitching process. If you enjoy watching how my pieces come together, follow me on Instagram. For the past two weeks, I’ve been chronicling my progress with photos on Instagram. So, follow me on Instagram to get regular (sometimes daily) updates of my art in progress. You’ll see both photos and videos of what I’m creating.
Here’s the thread drawing video. If you enjoy the video, then like & subscribe to my YouTube channel for more videos and don’t forget to share it with your friends.
Your Turn
Which of the two pieces do you like better? The black and white or the colorful one? Comment below and head on over to my Facebook page to vote for the one you like better. 🙂 I can’t wait to see which one will win – Black & White or Color.
Warmest regards,
You may also be interested in Stacked Houses #1- Work in Progress PLUS Video
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