Tired of Using Black?

"Don't you get tired of using just black?" This is the question my granddaughter asked me when she was five years old. My answer? "No, I like all the other colors, but I love working with black."

I read an article a couple of years ago that said that artists are either very good with color or very good with value, but usually not both. Value is why I love working with black ink. Seeing and getting the values right and on paper--from the darkest to the lightest and all the subtleties in between, is what gets me excited.

I have had painters say that if they get the values right they don't have to worry about getting the colors exactly right. Value also keeps the color from being jarring. I have been told by viewers of my work that they can "see the color" in it. I attribute that to values.

As John Sloan wrote, "When you stop to think that you will put black marks on white paper to represent a pink figure you realize that you have lost the fear of dissimilarity. That is one reason why there seems to be a power in reserve in monochromatic work."