The Magic of Black Paper

'Winter Peace II'           6x6         pastel        ©Karen Margulis
available $75

I struggled with the background in today's painting. Funny since I just wrote about painting backgrounds! But I wasn't sure how to approach the background on the black paper. I was working on a piece of Artagain paper by Strathmore.  This is such fun paper to work on.  This paper comes in 6x6 pads and is called Artist Tiles. They are meant for doing Zentangles or pattern drawing or meditative art according to Strathmore. I love this soft black paper for pastels!

A pad of 6x6 black paper. A good value and a lot of fun!

In the end it was the paper that guided my background choice. As I began applying the pastel to the background I noticed how nicely it glided over the smooth paper. It felt great!. It was like frosting a cake! Then I noticed how the black paper peeked through the pastels creating an almost stained glass effect. My intention was to blend the background making things smooth and dreamy.....but when I saw what was happening with the black I decided to stop. I enjoyed the energetic feeling to my marks! Paper choice does make a difference.