Black on white on Black.....A Saturday Diversion

'Hunkered Down'               6x6           pastel           ©Karen Margulis
purchase on Etsy $50

 I am always open to a change in plans. I am making good progress on my Procrastination Board (see my post here) so my intention for Saturday was to keep plugging away at my to-do list.  I begin my day with coffee and email and one of the emails I received totally changed the course of my day.

A recent black and white pastel beautifully framed by my collector

I received a nice email from a recent collector. She shared a photo of her newly framed painting. She chose a triple mat and a gold washed frame. I love when I get to see my work framed. It is always fun to see the framing choices.  I loved how this particular frame and mats set off my painting. I really did enjoy painting the Queen Anne's Lace with black and white and seeing the framed painting inspired me to take the black paper back out.

I decided to use black paper and only use black, white and grayscale pastels. No color. I chose two Florida scenes....a foggy meadow and a Snowy Egret. There are many choices for black surfaces (see chart) but my favorite is Strathmore Artagain black paper. I like the 6x6 pads of Artist Tile paper. They are meant for Zentangles but they are perfect for little 6x6 pastels. The paper has no tooth so you have use a light touch or plan on using only a few layers.

'Morning Fog'          6x6        pastel   $50

a sampling of black surfaces for pastels

 I spent about an hour of my morning playing with the black and white on black before moving on to the other items on my list.  I never question my inspirations or put them off if I can help it. It was a welcome diversion!