A history of color….black

“I’ve been 40 years discovering that the queen of all colors was black.”

— Pierre-Auguste Renoir

I recently started reading a book by Victoria Finlay , “Color: A Natural History of the Palette”. I have wanted to explore the history of color, but this book is a much deeper dive than I was expecting. I am very spoiled by going to an art store and buying any color I want. Of course I mix and blend those colors, but I never thought of the expertise needed to make paint from materials around you.

For example, I never thought about the effects environment had on colors used by artists in different regions. Before easy world travel, an ochre in Italy was wildly different from an ochre in Australia. Every region had different formulas using the plants, rocks and soil of their area. Even the pH of an area influenced the colors you could achieve.

I tend to think of black as a basic color, but I have learned so much. Black was the first color used by artists. You can imagine someone sitting around a fire in a cave, grabbing a burned stick and realizing that the charcoal allows them to draw on the cave wall. The earliest drawings usually include some form of charcoal. Later the Greeks and Romans used black silhouettes on all types of art, pottery and homes. The color itself has had many meanings over the years - from affluence to nobility to death to evil.

When we walk into an art store, we can see so many blacks….Ivory Black, Lamp Black, Bone Black, Iron Oxide Black. We all have a favorite black to use, but do you know how they each got their names?

Ivory Black originally came from burned scraps of ivory. It is considered one of the finest blacks by artists. Fortunately now ivory is protected, so the formula used is closer to Bone Black with finer particles. Bone Black comes from burning animal bones in an airtight container. Lamp Black originally came from lamp soot.

As for modern blacks, Anish Kapoor bought the rights to Vantablack, the blackest black. Another artist, Stuart Semple, was upset by Kapoor’s refusal to allow other artists to use Vantablack. He started a Kickstarter campaign for Black 3.0, which can be used by anyone. Who knew there was a global chess game to obtain the blackest black?

I personally like to use Carbon Black. I find it is dark enough for my uses and it makes many lovely shades of gray. Do you have a favorite black?

My 8 things…podcasts

I enjoy listening to podcasts while I work and when I am in the car. I usually lean towards art or creative podcasts, but there are also a few motivational ones too. Here are my favorite 8 right now…

• Daily Boost

• Paint Stories with Mark Golden

• Focus on This

• The Inspiration Place

• Happier with Gretchen Rubin

• Show Up or Shut Up

• Get Messy Podcast

• A Maker’s Story

You can find these on your favorite podcast app. Do you have any favorites I should try?

15 Minute Journal

Two years ago I started a personal challenge, a journal page in 15 minutes. I decided to record these sessions and post them on YouTube. I have been thinking about this book lately and am thinking about trying this challenge again. I liked that it was a set amount of time, so I couldn’t spend alot of time looking for the “perfect” thing. I had to just grab what was at hand. I believe that this challenge changed how I create. I now work must faster and I am less obsessed with finding that “just right” thing for a page.

Have you checked out this series on YouTube? Should I do it again?

Did you start a creative challenge this year?

Last month I talked about different creative challenges and why it’s good to take on a challenge. I also told you about my sketchy success rate. Well, it’s happened again.

This year I decided to do the 100 day project again since it was such a success for me last year. I decided to do 100 days of color palettes, using lots of colors I don’t normally use. My logical brain said this was a great exercise to help me expand my palette. Unfortunately, my creative brain did not agree.

I started out great. I selected a main color for each week of the challenge. I cut out 100 small cards to hold my palettes. I even finished the first week and then….. my creative brain took over. I wasn’t excited about my palettes, so I always found other things to do. I tried a few days to catch-up, but about day 30 I just gave up.

After feeling bad for a few days, I thought about why it had been unsuccessful. I realized that I had picked a project I “thought” I should do. My logical brain thought this was just what I needed, but it forgot to consult the rest of my brain. One of the reasons I was not excited about my project was that I had not planned what the palettes would look like. After a few days I realized I would like them more if I had made them like swatch cards, but I had already started another way. (Don’t ask me why I couldn’t just change in the middle of the project.) I also realize that I would probably enjoy it more creating larger palettes once a week, instead of daily. By the time I get all of my supplies out, it seems a waste to just create one little palette card.

Although I didn’t finish 100 days (heck, I didn’t finish 10 days), I learned a few things. Number one….make sure the logical brain holds a meeting before making any decisions. Number two…I enjoy making palettes, so I’ll dedicate more time to it once a week. Number three…if I choose to do the 100 day project again, think about what I would want to do every day. Keep it simple.

Inspiration

Re-think your stamp collection

I have been having alot of fun playing with Dina Wakley's Gloss Sprays. I have tried them on different surfaces and even on my gelli plate. One thing I love is that I can create a quick background in my journal without having to gesso. You can layer and color mix all you want and they dry to the perfect glossy finish.

I was inspired to create this page using the new Gloss Sprays and using stamp sets in new ways.

This page started with a background of blue sprays

(Turquoise, Ocean and Marine).

After allowing the first layer to dry I came back with the spray in Night, both sprayed directly on the corners and through a stencil.

While the background was drying, I created some pages for stamping. I wanted to use Dina's "Circle Patterns" stamp set to create some abstract flowers. I also wanted to use her "Funky Journal Shapes" stamp set to create some leaves. I used three sheets of Hammermill Premium Color Copy Cover paper. I sprayed two sheets with a mixture of Magenta, Fuchsia and Lemon. The third sheet was sprayed with a mixture of Lime, Olive and Turquoise.

When these sheets were dry, I stamped the "Circle Patterns" set in Magenta and Vermillion Ranger archival ink on the pink sheets. Then I stamped the leaf shape from the "Funky Journal Shapes" on the green sheet. I used Garden Patina and Sap Green Ranger archival ink for this sheet.

Then I cut out the leaves and flowers.

I also stamped the face from Dina's new "Fierce" stamp set on a sheet of blank Collage Paper using black Ranger archival ink. Once stamped I cut this image out, removing as much Collage Paper as possible.

I glued the face onto the left side of my background page using Dina Wakley Media Gel Medium. Once dry, I used Caran d'Ache Neocolor II pastels to draw in a face shape and neck.

Using Dina's Ultra Thick Gel Medium, I began gluing the flowers and leaves in layers around the head. Several flowers and leaves were trimmed to carry the design to the right side page. I also left some of the flowers hanging off the top of the page, instead of trimming them even with the page.

I am really happy with the outcome and I enjoyed using the "Circle Pattern" stamp set to create abstract flowers. This reminded me to look at my stamps and think of new ways to use them.

HAPPY ARTING!!

Creative struggles…

I wish I could say that I wake up with a brain full of ideas and endless energy to get them done. No surprise that this isn't so, ever. I struggle sometimes with the thought of "this should be easier", "if I was really good, it wouldn't be this hard", "how does an artist also be a mom. it's impossible". I have to work hard to make time for my art. Sometimes I have time, but don't feel creative. When that happens I sometimes force myself to work on something that's already on my desk. Sometimes I find myself sitting at my desk, staring out the window. Sometimes I don't even make it to my studio and end up doing dishes instead.

This isn't a new topic for my blog. I have been here before and I expect I will visit again. One thing I have started to think about is what my expectations are. If I expect to wake up inspired and have endless time to explore a creative idea, I will be severely disappointed. I need to have a reasonable expectation of my days. Not rocket science I know, but a different mindset for me.

How do you struggle with creativity?

How I organize my stencils

Hi, my name is Mary and I have a stencil addiction.

No, I don't want help with it.

I have been through at least 4 ways to store my stencils. I have scoured Pinterest looking for ideas that would work for me. I love to look at how some people keep there stencils in the original packaging and they are hanging pristinely in their studio. That is not what I was looking for. I am not neat. I don't clean my stencils. And the chances of them making back into a plastic sleeve are zero.

My first organizer was just a 12x12 scrapbook plastic storage box. That lasted for quite awhile. One day though I outgrew that box. My choices were to buy another box or find a new way. The box had been great, but I was tired of digging through looking for the stencil I wanted.

Organizer #2 was a set of large binder rings. I hole punched each stencil and hung it on a binder ring. I had 4 binder rings and I could hook them on the side of my art cart, so they were handy. The binder rings started getting loose after a year or so. I decided to buy just one big ring and I bought the Reset Girl's Again small washi tape ring (organizer #2.1). This worked for awhile, but first the ring was heavy since I didn't stop buying stencils. Also when I would take the stencils to my classes, it was time consuming to put all the stencils back on the rings.

So now we arrive at my new find. I had a desk organizer similar to this one from IKEA for a few years.

I had been using it to store my Project Life cards. I don't know what happened, but one day I walked by and I wondered if my 12x12 stencils would fit in the back pocket. They did! And my 6-8 inch ones fit in the next pocket. Another one fit 6x6's. It was a miracle!!! The only adjustment I had to made was cutting out one divider in the front section so the 6x6's fit perfectly.