blackwhite

Simple to Complex - the shades of black and white works

The members show on display at Rainbow Stew in Yucca Valley represents a true classic - Black & White. Working in this limited palette has likely posed challenges for those artists of all mediums. When it works, it glows, and that is a kind of magic.

The power in black and white, and all of those lovely grays in between, comes from emphasizing contrast. With the removal of color, a significant visual 'distraction' disappears, and other compositional relationships become magnified. A subject's posture, the backlit feathers of a bird in flight, the patchwork shapes of buildings - subtleties become essential in lending emotion to a scene. For those artists with a keen eye for black and white beauties, keep up the great work! For those like me, a newcomer to such a limited palette, let's seek inspiration from others and hone our own skillset.

I, for one, was excited and pleasantly surprised with the array of mediums represented this month. I knew that the photographers would come through with entries. However, I could not predict that we would also receive an excellent balance of pen & ink, watercolor, collage, acrylic, soft pastel, and digital art entries. We accepted twenty-six pieces from eight members. Keep up the great work, Chaparral Artists!

Thanks go out to Z107.7FM who announced the show on the radio and online. If you are interested in reading it, check out this LINK.

Hype Alert: Black & White Show
OPEN CALL ... Membership & Friends Story Submissions