What I learned from Painting in Black & White

'Meadow Spirits'       9x12      pastel      ©Karen Margulis

I was vacuuming the studio when the cord knocked over a box of black and white pastels.  Upside down.  All over the floor.  I wasn't even planning to keep them.  They were the black, white and gray pastels that came in my new DT pastel set. I figured I wouldn't be painting with black and white so I was going to offer them to students.

As I picked the pastels up and put them in the box. (only one casualty)  I began to see the possibilities.  I love black and white photography so why not a black and white painting? 

Diane Townsend pastels

I did a black and white thumbnail sketch and chose four pastels. I picked a dark, light, a middle dark and middle light. I also threw in the black for accents. I used a piece of gray Canson. I am loving this paper!

I was pleasantly surprised. I thoroughly enjoyed painting with these 4 pastels and learned a few lessons.

Black & White painting with Value Thumbnails

• I thought I would miss using color. After all one of the things that we are most drawn to as pastelists is the color!  But I found it was one less thing to worry about. By removing the issue of color and color choices I was able to focus on the painting itself. 

• Without color VALUE was easier to see and to judge.  I only had to deal with four values so it made it easier to simplify the painting.

• Without color I was able to pay more attention to EDGES.  Where would I use soft edges? Where would I add more detail and sharper edges.

• It was easier to understand atmospheric perspective without color.  I had to make use of tools other than color to create the illusion of depth....such as lighter values and less contrast and detail in the distance.

I plan to keep my black and white and gray pastels. I enjoyed this little experiment and I will be painting with them again!