Recently, I found a pad of Strathmore’s black drawing paper lying amidst my old art supplies. It was bought a few years ago, not for drawing, but for a series of paper cutting projects I was working on. Unfortunately, at 160 gsm (or grams per square meter, a common measure of paper density), this paper was a little too thick for paper-cutting comfort – I had trouble getting the hand blade to cut into the sheet smoothly, and felt at risk of injury. I’m learning that paper for cutting is best when it’s thinner and less dense. [Note to self: choose a high quality sheet at roughly 100 gsm. For comparison, regular printing paper is about 70 gsm and thus not ideal, as it gets rippy and fibery, unless that’s what one is going for).
Luckily, I kept this wonderful black paper. I am rediscovering that it works well for gouache painting and drawing. In particular, I recalled a piece of advice from Robert Henri’s inspirational 1923 painter’s manual, The Art Spirit, in which he explains that “bright” colours are only bright in contrast to darker hues; brightness, like darkness, is a relative value.
And so, the gouache fun continues. This week sees a little spot of verbena, glowing in the dark.
handmade habit 
❤️
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🙂!
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I Love the black paper. It brings back memories of art class. Such a lovely thing you’ve created
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Thank you for reading. I appreciate your kind comments. 🙂
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How beautiful! What are the dimensions?
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Thank you, Weekes! The image is about 8″ x 6″ (and the full sheet’s a little bigger, 9″ x 10″). Happy weekend to you. 🙂
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Why thank you! I hope you had a lovely weekend as well…
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This is wonderful. Thank you also for the info on paper, it was really helpful.
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Thank you for reading, Cathy, and for the kind comments. 🙂
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This is so beautiful! ❤
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Thank you, Mandy! 🙂
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That is beautiful! I’ve had Strathmore drawing paper in the past but I’ve never heard of black paper – how cool!
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Thanks, Tierney! 🙂
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Really pretty, the pale colours sing against the black background.
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Really pretty, the pale colours are so vibrant against the black!
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Thank you, Agnès! 🙂
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The idea that brightness is a relative value has opened my eyes. Gorgeous work. Your verbena certainly do glow in the dark
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Thanks, Mariss! Yes, it was one of those painting/design tips that was nice to read articulated, in that way. 🙂
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Wow! It’s like this paper was hiding out in your stash just waiting for this project to come along… It’s stunning! And the guache even pops against the dark background. Awesome, Shirley!
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Thank you, Helen! 🙂 Isn’t it funny how art/craft supplies can sit around for ages until a good idea lands on ’em? (I’m very glad I didn’t chuck it in the bin during a clean up session…). Cheers!
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I know… That’s why I can never throw anything away! 😆
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Another good reason to never get rid of any craft supplies 😉 I love how the colours are quite subtle, but the black makes them look really pop-y
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Thank you for reading, Hannah! I’m learning to hang onto those craft supplies from now on. 😊
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Shirley, I absolutely love this. I need to use my other gouache colors besides white and find some dark paper!
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Thank you, kindly, for reading, Eileen! The dark paper is fun to use and reveals the colours in new ways. Happy painting!
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I’m going to include a link to your Verbena post in the next issue of my newsletter – because I like it so much. 🙂 If you want to check out my newsletter, here is the link: https://mycreativeresolution.com/newsletter/
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Thank you, kindly, Eileen! Looking forward to checking out the newsletter. 🙂
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