I don't know how to tell you this, but... Mars Black has a permanent place in my limited palette.

Glass shatters. A woman screams. Dogs start barking in the distance. 

I. Know.

Wait, hang on... what's the big deal about that?

I'm so glad you asked. Many artists believe that pre-made black (and white) should never be used in watercolour paintings.

The reasoning is that pre-made black colours can be opaque and overpowering, and can flatten a painting.

In art, black is the absence of colour. But there's not many things in the natural world that have a complete lack of colour and light. Even shadows have other subtle colours dancing and reflecting in them.

What's the alternative then?

Instead of using a pre-made black, it is often recommended that you mix your own black colour, to give it some more life and interest. This can be done by mixing the 3 primary colours together.

That's not always easy though, so some other alternatives are: use another dark colour like Payne's Gray, Sepia or Neutral Tint. Make some yummy dark mixes with Burnt Umber and Ultramarine Blue. Or just mix some blue or purple into a pre-made black to spice it up and make it more interesting.

Can I reeeeally not use pre-made black watercolour?

Well, some say black watercolour is a conspiracy that was invented by Big Pigment to sell more paint. So if that's cool with you... then I guess.

But seriously, of course. A convenience black has a permanent place on my limited palette! I would recommend using one in moderation rather than across large areas of a painting, but you can do whatever you want. It's your art!

Some common black pigments are: Ivory Black, Lamp Black and Mars Black.

So, why Mars Black specifically?

Mars Black has a quality known as granulation, this means (in the simplest terms) it dries with texture.

I like using that delicious granulation to 'cheat' and make texture in my wildlife portraits, as I usually try to avoid painting every little detail in manually.

But! Use it concentrated, and it can also create small opaque details like whiskers and pupils. Handy!

Mars Black is also a 'warm' black, which I think further avoids making larger areas look too 'flat'.

Do you see a difference between these 2 magpies?

Which one do you think was painted with Mars Black and which one was painted with a black colour mixed from the 3 primaries? And which one do you prefer? And that is the most important question - if you prefer one thing over another... then go with what you prefer!

Answer at the bottom of this blog post. Also don't look at their feet.

I said don't look!

Wanna learn to mix your own black watercolour?

Check out Wild Colours, my free online colour theory course! You'll learn how to turn 3 primary colours into 12, how to turn those 12 into 144, and how to mix neutrals including black. 

Magpie answer: left is mixed from the primaries, right is Mars black