Which Black?

You might have already guessed that if for the serious oil painter choosing which whites to paint with is critical, then the choice between black pigments is almost just as important. The truth is, black isn't necessarily a crucial pigment in oil painting, as it is technically possible to do without black altogether. As a matter of a fact, it is just a matter of mixing primary and secondary colors in order to compensate for a black hue. This isn't to say that the choice between black colours in oil painting isn't very important.

Many artists shy away from using black at all because it tends to "dirty" colour in mixing, and instead prefer to use a color's complement to tint or shade. However, using black as a colour, you can avoid ‘dirtiness’ to some degree by taking note of the colour bias and tinting strength. This is where it becomes important to pay attention to the differences in different blacks and how to use them. When choosing to use black oil colour, there are several variations of black pigment to choose from just like there are different whites.

Hue
The most obvious difference between blacks in oil painting is the hue variance. The most common and universal blacks (Ivory, Lamp & Mars) are easily identified by their hue characteristics, usually regardless of the manufacturer, as long as they are made from high quality pigments.

Ivory Black is a deep velvety black that is cooler in mass tone, but warm in tint (slight brownish undertone). Lamp Black, a very old pigment dating back to prehistoric time, is also a deep, velvety black but has a bluish undertone. Mars Black is the strongest black and is warm in both mass tone and tint.

Tinting Strength
Tinting strength when using black colours in mixing is very important because it determines how much or how little black pigment will be effective. If a subtler tint of black is preferred, Ivory Black is ideal because of its moderate tinting strength. It is considered the most useful in general painting for this reason. Mars Black has a strong tinting strength, but Lamp Black is the strongest black and is great to use when dark blacks are needed in a painting.

Drying Time and Durability
All three of the most common blacks usually contain linseed oil as a vehicle. Ivory Black and Lamp Black tend to have a very slow drying time. Mars black is more ideal for an underpainting because it dries a bit faster.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic