Magic of Black Week 1: Drawing and Mark Making

February 21, 2023

**The Castle at Bardi**
White paint marker and watercolour on black paper
by Jo
Note the use of scribbling technique and restrained addition of watercolour washes. To see more of the scribble detail right click the image to open in a new tab,

Over the next six weeks we’ll explore using wet and dry media on black paper. We’ll look at the drama of working in near monochrome as in the castle drawing above and more decorative and fun ways of working. Facing a blank black sheet instead of a white one requires a radical rethink as to the effect marks on the paper will make. Somehow it can be less daunting than the scary white sheet!

For most sessions black paper will be used but you may like to consider using an off cut of black mount board which makes a great support for detailed work in gouache, or perhaps canvas or board coated with black acrylic gesso.

Topics will include; mark making (especially the first two weeks), drawing and painting with wet and dry media including soft pastel and/or watercolour; negative painting; making a decorative notan with positive and negative shapes; and using pearlescent and/or metallic paints or inks if you have any. For those who enjoy working in fine detail we’ll also discover the effectiveness of starting with a black support.

For this week’s project you will need either a white paint marker (Posca or similar) or a pen and white acrylic ink. Alternatively a white gel pen, or white gouache or thinned white acrylic and a fine brush. You will also need some watercolour, a tube of permanent white gouache and perhaps a couple of soft pastels or pastel pencils. best to read, find the materials and experiment.

1.Open and closed shapes;

Lines can be used to show the boundaries of shapes. Where a line completely encloses a shape the shape is often referred to as a closed shape as in the letter “O”. Where the line fails to completely enclose a shape the “shape” is often describes as an “open shape.” In reality an open shape is just a line as when you draw the letter “U” or “V”, but all these lines can be harnessed to create pattern within larger shapes as in the surface of the fish drawing below.

Draw or paint some open and closed shapes on an A4 sheet. Fill some of these with more open and closed shapes. Allow to dry then try painting thin veils of watercolour to fill some of the shapes. You could also try surrounding some shapes with a different colour of watercolour or pastel. Experiment with straight sided and curved shapes. Try to leave some of the surface unpainted.

**Open and closed shapes:**
A shape that is completely enclosed by a line, like a circle or square is considered to be a closed shape. Shapes like the letter “U” are not completely closed and can be considered as open shapes. Open shapes are best considered as lines which may be straight, irregular, zigzag, wavy etc.. Here the pattern on the fish is composed of mostly closed shapes and dots. The small shapes that are not completely closed are open shapes.
Note how effective the use of pastel surrounding the large fish shape is.

2.Draw a closed shape (e.g. pear or fish shape or an abstract shape like a circle,)

Scribble with white lines so that the shape is densely marked on one side and the marks gradually become less dense toward the other side lending a form to the shape (this might be top to bottom if you choose a fish shape! When dry overlay a veil of watercolour or pastel over all or part of the shape. Try something similar if you have time using hatching and cross hatching instead to show the form. In practice sometimes the rather organic texture of the scribble would be preferred and at other times hatching techniques are best. I’m a compulsive scribbler and when using pencil usually prefer continuous tone rather than hatching BUT we all work differently and either way the marks made by any individual are unique and contribute toward their style of drawing.

Use of “scribble” and wash of diluted opaque yellow watercolour to give form to the pear shape. The yellow was was lemon yellow plus a little permanent white gouache. The shape behind was scribbled most densely against the dark side of the pear accentuating the effect.

3.Make a more considered drawing, still life, land form or natural form like a pepper or fish using similar techniques.

Jo’s experiments with white line, watercolour and pastel on A3 black paper

The scribbling technique can be very useful for rocky landscapes or to show the form of a fruit like an apple. Open and closed shapes can be useful for the patterns on a variety of natural forms and vegetation. If using very wet watercolour, black watercolour paper would be best for the more considered drawing but any black paper or a reasonable weight would be fine for mark making and pastel or small areas of watercolour.

Your Drawings: