Don't Use Black!

Finally my Sennelier PastelCard has arrived and I can get started on a new landscape, I've actually finished "The Tuscan Diva" too and I'll post it next Saturday! 

This time I really am breaking totally with one of my unwritten rules, "never use black" in landscape paintings. Black is actually my fave, clothes, shoes, I love black but not in landscapes. Very often used for shadows it dulls everything and is a "cheap" solution, if you squint hard enough when painting you will see other shades in shadows and darkness, so I try to use cool purples or blues, but this time I'm diving into the inky black waters of my favourite part of the canal.

I paint or sketch here so often and still am fascinated by the complete change in the colour of the water, ranging from icy grey, over zingy blue and on this particular day, inky green/black. The bridge although not quite Monet style is silhouetted against a myriad of green foliage and I am decidedly trying to keep that feel. 

Gone a bit further now and am starting to get the foliage contrasting with that black/ green, as usual I move around the support to get the balance of the hues. 

The painting has moved on and I like to check my values by putting a b/w filter over the painting, this really is a great help, at the least I think you should be looking for 4 values, and here we are .......... 

Yep, happy with that, but still a long way to go, come to think of it it's a long time since I did a landscape in just black and white ..........., but with Autumn nearly here mmmmh those gorgeous hues really need to be done in colour don't you think?