Why Black and White?

Where's the Colour?

When I get asked. "Why only black and white?" "Don't you miss all those beautiful colors?" "Wouldn't it be more fun to paint in full color?"
And here's the honest answer: I tried black and white almost by accident, and it completely fascinated me.

It Started as Pure Curiosity

I was just wondering, really. What would happen if I stripped everything back to the absolute basics? Just black paint, white paint, and whatever magic happens when you mix them together.

No grand artistic vision. No deep philosophical reason. Just... let's see what this does.
Turns out, it does a lot.

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Your Brain Becomes Part of the Process

Here's what completely blew my mind: when you remove color, your brain starts working differently. It fills in the spaces. It creates depth where there shouldn't be any. It sees story in simple contrast.

Your imagination becomes a collaborator in the artwork.

I'm providing the framework of light and shadow, but the viewer's brain is completing the experience. Creating the mood, the atmosphere, the emotional connection.
(Which is honestly pretty magical when you think about it.)

The Discovery

Here's what I learned about the actual process: starting with black-gessoed paper changes everything. Instead of adding darkness to light, you're carving light out of darkness.

The whites that emerge don't just sit on the surface - they seem to glow from within. Like you're revealing light that was always there, just hidden.

Between pure black and pure white lives this entire universe of possibility. And all from mixing just two colors. More variety and depth than you'd expect from such simple tools.

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The Negative Space Revelation

This is where it gets really interesting (at least to me). In monochrome, the spaces you DON'T paint become just as important as the ones you do.

Negative space isn't empty - it's loaded with meaning. The darkness around a subject isn't absence, it's presence. Mystery. Possibility.

Sometimes what you don't paint is more powerful than what you do.

The Joy of Constraint

There's something deeply satisfying about working with just two colors. No stress about color mixing, no "does this work with that?" Just pure focus on form, contrast, and story.
Sometimes the most freedom comes from the simplest constraints.

Every decision becomes about light and shadow, about what to reveal and what to keep hidden. It forces you to really think about what matters most in the image.

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What Surprised Me Most

Here's what I didn't expect: working in monochrome made me see differently, allowed my to turn off my graphic design brain (hey 30 years as a graphic design does make you sometimes suck in work mode).

I started noticing contrast everywhere. The way light falls across a surface. How shadows create shape. The drama that exists in simple black and white.
It's like putting on special glasses that filter out the noise and let you see the essential structure of things.

The Endless Possibility

I thought maybe black and white would be limiting, but it's actually the opposite. When I removed the distraction of color, I discover there are infinite ways to create mood, depth, and emotion.

And  that the limitation  can breed creativity (of a different kind), not restriction. Every piece teaches me something new about what's possible when you embrace that space.

How much story you can tell with just contrast. How much emotion lives in the space between black and white.

But Here's the Thing...

This isn't about black and white being "better" than color. I love color! (don't believe me my hair is currently pink and purple) Bright, vibrant, beautiful color. And who knows? Tomorrow I might pick up a tube of cadmium red and start a completely different artistic adventure.

This is just about what fascinates me right now. What makes me excited to pick up a brush. What keeps surprising me.

Art should be about following your curiosity, not following rules. And right now, my curiosity lives in that space between pure black and pure white, where so much more happens than you'd think possible.

Who knows where this monochrome journey will take me next? That's half the fun of it.

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