Believe it or not, that bar in the middle is ALL the same shade - it looks different because it is against the varying background... this is perhaps the most effective way to show how context in rendering is everything in governing the drama which is played out in the black and white universe of pen and ink... if the same intensity of shade changes so much depending on what it is played against, consider how much more the variations which could be involved if that shading itself changed - a whole range of values from the black of night to the white of day - which could be used to serve the purpose of whatever is desired, themewise, to the rendering...
Way to prove a point...and one of the many reasons I love pen and ink and its endless possibilities.
ReplyDeleteYes - it is claimed the world is not black and white, but shades of grey - but, then, from whence comes the grey? in truth, it comes from black and white - something those rendering in pen and ink are more aware of than most anyone...
ReplyDeleteWhen I first started...I thought my drawings would be black and white...but then as they progressed, I found they were shades of grey. It seemed remarkable to me and still does for that matter...the depth and diminsion. It is a creative and fascinating medium...with endless possibilities for anyone willing to take the time...
ReplyDeleteI'm starting to repeat myself...would like to come up with something outrageous here...to inspire some of the eighteen or so "ISPIA'ers" to jump in here...but alas...I have no idea what it will take...
How about...Robert needs someone more qualified than I to bounce these wonderful ideas around with...please...
Very good Robert! An interesting point, but when playing with color, a similar 'drama' unfolds and a color will appear lighter or darker than its true nature when set against a darker or lighter background respectively.
ReplyDeleteOf course, that truth doesn't set the (color) ink artist apart from the painter.
Quite agree - but for me, am inclined to see color, as a pen/ink artist, from a printing standpoint, as in the old offset printing, where the colors were overlaying the b/w, sort of like TV did [does yet?]... in other words, 'true nature' itself is contextual, whether color or otherwise...
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