The Non-Colors and Metallics: All About Color, Part III

Gray scale in five steps, from black to white

Technically, black is not a color, but rather the absence of color. If we are talking about light, there isn't any. (For more background, see All About Color Part I and Part II.)  If we refer to pigment, black has absorbed all the colors. Theoretically, if you want to make black pigment, you can do so by combining the 3 primary colors, the 3 secondary colors, or the 6 tertiary colors in the right proportions. Most of us just buy the black materials. 

Raven sculpture from J.D.'s collection

Culturally, black has been handicapped by negative connotations, particularly in Western cultures. It is associated with death and mourning,  When I was a child, people still placed black mourning wreaths on the doors of homes where someone had died. In old Western movies, the "good guys" could always be identified by their white hats, while the "bad guys" wore black hats. In some cultures, black cats, dogs, and birds like crows and ravens were messengers of disaster.  Black signifies night, the unknown, mystery and intrigue. We talk about "black moods" caused by depression or suppressed anger.  "Black magic" indicates witchcraft.  A "black mark" against us is harmful to our reputations.  Even when opinions and customs change, such expressions linger in the language.

Ancient Egyptian agriculture

On the other hand, the "little black dress" is the height of fashion —  sophisticated (and slimming). Black satin, velvet. and lace are romantic fabrics. If we are out of debt, we are "in the black". Black automobiles and other vehicles are extremely popular.  A black tuxedo evokes elegance and important occasions. Black print is still the easiest to read. (Please take note, manufacturers of who think printing contents and directions in pale yellow on light blue is even slightly effective!) I think the ancient Egyptians had the right idea. They celebrated black. It was the color of the soil in the Nile delta, which gave them life, health, and prosperity.  Black is indeed beautiful.

Annake's "Red, Red Rose" needlepoint, in progress

A black background makes other colors in a composition appear lighter, and brighter, making them appear to advance toward the viewer.  Artists who made good use of this effect were the Dutch still life painters who painted large, fanciful floral bouquets against deep black backgrounds.  I like using the technique in needlepoint.

Wrought iron wine rack

Black does not "clash" with colors. This makes it great for trimming, framing, hanging, etc.  It is a mainstay in many kinds of needlework I use black back-stitching in all sorts of needlework and make many samples of blackwork diaper patterns (for instance, see this post or this one.) Wrought iron furniture and accessories can be used indoors just as well as on patios.

White light is the presence of all colors. White pigment is the absence of all colors. It is useful for all sorts of backgrounds, from paper, canvas, and walls to picture frames and mats.  White wicker furniture is also fashionable indoors as well as outdoors.  White garments are associated with celebrations — weddings, christenings, graduations, etc.  White statuary and ceramics are elegant.  Many kinds of needlework are done on white canvas or linens. Colors appear darker on white than they do on other colors.  The colors that we call black and white are often just very dark or very light values of primary, secondary, or tertiary colors.

In Western cultures, white symbolizes innocence, from a baby's christening dress to a bride's gown. But in many Asian and some African countries, white is the color of mourning. A white flag is the signal for surrender;  a white feather, a sign of cowardice. A frightened person is "white as a sheet". To cover up something unsavory, we "whitewash" it. Again, we usually buy white fabric, paint, or yarn instead of trying to bleach the raw materials.

Begin with black and gradually add white and you get gray. Begin with white and add black to it gradually and you get gray. "True" gray is 50% black and 50% white. "Cool" grays have a bluish or greenish tint.  "Warm"  grays have a reddish or yellowish tint.

Cool gray vs. warm gray

"Barred Owl",  print by Annake

Gray also has negative connotations — gray skies, gray hair, gray clouds, ashes, lead. We talk of "gray areas" where there is confusion and inactivity and problems often don't get solved. It is considered a dull or depressing color.  In Nature, however, gray is a color that camouflages and supports gray wolves and whales, elephants, tree bark, fur, feathers — and on and on.

"Snow Leopard", print by Annake

An art instructor in a class I took in Panama called me a "color freak" and said that if something didn't have color in it that I didn't want to look at it. How wrong she was! Most of my serious artwork is done in #2 pencil, grades of graphite, charcoal, pastels, diluted ink, ashes — anything that gives me the effect that I desire. To me, gray is the color of structure — the contours of flesh and muscle, the bones beneath the skin — and of surfaces — the softness of fur,  sleekness of feathers, coarseness of bristles, roughness of scales, sharpness of spines.  Gray is the most tactile color I know.

You certainly don't need color to recognize the message in The Tiger Vanishes.

Poinsettias in gold and silver

Finally, I would like to say something about metallics.  This might refer to metal objects used to decorate a room, frames or hangers for artworks,  objects grouped for a still life painting or photograph — even to the settings for jewelry. But they also refer to metallic thread or floss, fabric, trimming, foils and paint. The first working of metals is usually credited to the ancient Middle East. Ancient cultures in that area, Egypt, and areas in and around the Aegean Sea used gold, silver, copper and bronze.

Pre-Columbian 24k Inca gold

Gold is a warm, shiny color. Gold (or gold-colored) ribbon, thread, rick-rack, beads, foil, etc., can enhance many kinds of compositions. In painting, golden objects have bright yellow highlights and darker yellow or orange overtones. Remember that objects — particularly shiny, reflective ones — cast shadows in their complementary colors. Therefore, a golden object will have a violet or blue-violet tinted shadow. Pure gold is very soft. My husband brought home a gold charm from the Orient.  I was surprised and disappointed to find out how soft it was and how little handling it took to blur its features. In order to be used for coins and jewelry the gold must be alloyed with a harder metal, usually silver. Pure gold is designated 24 k (karat); most jewelry is 14k to 18k.

Hammered copper pot

Copper is a very warm-colored metal with reddish and orange overtones. It was produced by smelting about 8,700 years ago in what is now Serbia, and is one of the most versatile metals. I like copper pots for decorating and copper wire for embellishments. Copper's shadows should contain blue or blue-green tones.

Cast bronze belt buckle

Bronze is an alloy of copper, tin, and occasionally other elements. It has many commercial uses. Artistically, it is very popular for casting large statues, smaller figurines, and trophies. Remember that Olympic medals are awarded in gold, silver, and bronze. Bronze was widely used in the Near East and the Aegean civilizations, gradually spreading as far as Scandinavia by about 2,300 BC (BCE). It was such a popular metal in Europe from at least 2,800 BC (BCE), to 1,200 BC (BCE), that this period was called the Bronze Age.

Brass insignia (US Army)

Brass is essentially an alloy of copper and zinc, widely used in some kinds of musical instruments.  Although it is used less frequently for jewelry and designer items, it is also warm. Brass can take a fairly high polish, but when it is placed next to gold. the difference becomes obvious. Its use as uniform buttons for military and police officers has led to the nickname for higher officials — who have more insignia and braid on their uniforms — to be referred to collectively as "the Brass". I use brass buttons occasionally for decorative purposes.

Silver concho

Silver is cool and shiny; it is widely used in jewelry, serving utensils, coinage and medals. Silver buttons and trims of various kinds can be used on garments or needlework. One art form in which gold and silver foil (very thin sheets) are used, and copper foil is becoming popular, is scratchboard. A picture or design is incised in very fine lines on the foil so that a black background shows through. A heavier copper foil can be used in embossing.  The foil is placed over a mold of fairly hard material and then pressed over the mold with an embossing tool.  All kinds of foil, including the decorative ones used by florists, can be used in collages.

Pewter tankard

Pewter is made of tin and lead. It was used widely in dishes until the toxicity of lead was realized. I love the soft look of it, only slightly reflective. Look at this pewter tankard.  Think of the challenge in portraying it accurately with graphite and pastels.

Embrace the non-colors!

"Winter Scene", print by J.D.

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More Needlework Tips, Tricks, and Hacks

Paul Scarlett rose in Annake's garden

I made a needlepoint from your rose chart (August 26, 2013). I know roses don't come in blue, but it is my favorite color, so I made the rose in shades from baby blue to navy and I love it! Now I'm ready to do the background and I don't want just a plain color. How can I make the background really interesting without making my rose disappear?

Rose Needle Arts Chart from August 26, 2013 post

Bravo to you for choosing your own colors! It sounds lovely. I'm going to suggest you try a patterned background (and learn a new type of canvas work at the same time). First, look at this rose (“our” rose) done in continental stitch in tones of baby pink to burgundy. The background is a bargello pattern. Bargello is an old form of tapestry work — stitched on needlepoint canvas to provide an inexpensive fabric that looked like the much more expensive woven tapestries of the late Middle Ages. It is done in straight up-and-down stitches over a varied number of canvas threads. It is done with yarn and a tapestry needle, just like continental stitch. As you can see, the pattern did not overwhelm my rose. Blue is a cool color, so I don't recommend using the warm browns that I used for this rose. A silvery gray (you will need a light, a medium, and a darker shade) or perhaps a lavender might be a good choice. Take your rose with you so you can see the colors side by side before you buy the yarns.

Rose needlepoint with bargello background, made from chart

I'm going to take you through the stitch process with pictures. Outline the shape of a frame on your canvas in pencil, centering your rose. You are going to begin in the upper right-hand corner of the frame, but leave an empty row of canvas squares at the top, just under the frame line, and another empty row down the right-hand side, just inside the frame line. Begin with the medium shade of your chosen color. Don't use a strand longer than 18 inches. Bring your needle up from the back in the row to the left of the empty row on the side and two rows down from the empty top row. Stitch over the thread just above where your needle entered and immediately push your needle to the back again. You have made a stitch over 1 thread. Now make a stitch that passes over the thread below your stitch, your stitch, and the thread above your stitch (3 threads in all). Moving left, make another stitch over 1 thread. You have made a design that looks like a plus mark (+). Moving left, leave an empty row, then make another plus. Continue in this pattern across the frame. If you cannot make a whole plus at the end of the row, make as much of it as you can. Your first row should look like this:

Working from either the left or the right, put a plus (or a partial plus) directly underneath each plus (or partial plus) in row 1. The tops of the second row of long stitches share the same “holes” as the bottoms of the long stitches in the first row. Rows 1 and 2 should look like this:

End your medium-colored yarn for the time being and run the end under the backs of established stitches. Thread your needle with the darkest shade of yarn. Secure the ends under the backs of some of your plus stitches. Remember those empty spaces between the horizontal arms of your pluses? Now you are going to fill them with stitches over one thread. Your first two rows should now look like this (I have used plastic canvas so that the individual stitches are easy to see): 
 

Finally, fill in the remaining spaces with upright stitches in your lightest color. Each stitch covers 2 threads. No empty canvas shows between the stitches when you are using the size of yarn or floss appropriate for that canvas. Your completed rows should now look like this:

Detail of needlepoint rose and background interface

As you come to the edges of your rose, do as much of each pattern stitch as the space allows. I did all the plus stitches first, to establish the vertical rows of the pattern all over the canvas. Then I did the dark stitches to establish the horizontal rows. Finally, I filled in the light stitches. You, however, may prefer to work just one row of stitches at a time. Here is an enlarged picture of an area where the background pattern meets the edge of the rose. Don't forget to fill in the empty top and side rows.

The “plus” stitch you just learned is called Hungarian stitch. I hope this project has given you an interest in bargello stitching. If so, go to the post for April 10, 2014 or use the terms “bargello” or “Hungarian stitch” in our search engine for much, much more.

I have trouble with doing needlework from charts. I keep losing my place. Any suggestions to help me?

It is certainly important to keep track of the line in the chart that corresponds with the line of stitches you are working, as well as to keep an accurate count of the number of stitches you have completed. Otherwise, your finished project may not look very much like the chart! It is a good idea to keep the chart on a flat surface where it is easy to see all of it from your working position. I use a clipboard to hold mine in place. I keep a pencil with it. If I'm interrupted or have to be away from my work for any length of time, I make a small pencil mark by my last completed stitch.

If you are primarily losing the horizontal line in the chart and are not concerned with losing count of your stitches, the simplest solution is to place a 12-inch ruler with its top edge just under the chart line you are following. If you need to add weight to the ruler to keep it in place, glue a couple of coins to the underneath side of the ruler, near the ends.

Chart and ruler

For an easy-to-make tool to mark both the horizontal and the vertical lines in your chart, cut two pieces of stiff cardboard about 2 inches (5 cm) wide and 6 inches (15 cm) long. Staple or glue them together so that they form an L-shape. Place the L on the chart so that the bottom part of the L is directly below the horizontal line of the chart that you are following, and the upright part of the L is just behind the first stitch you are going to count. Mentally remind yourself to move the upright part of the L every 5 or 10 stitches you complete. This takes some practice, but will soon become automatic. Slide the bottom of the L up (if you are working from the bottom of the chart) or down (if you are working from the top) one space at the end of every completed row of stitches.

Chart and cardboard "tool"

When I am doing latch-hook, I place my (much larger) chart above my canvas. I always start my rug or wall hanging at the bottom. At the end of each row, I turn that row of the chart under, crease it, and secure the ends with clips. I hope these suggestions make reading a chart easier.

Thanks so much for the article on counted cross-stitch (June 12, 2017). I used to do a lot of that but I haven't done any for years. Now I look forward to doing it again. Could you help me with a problem that I have always had? My floss gets twisted and I end up cutting a lot of it off and wasting it.

I'm so happy that you are going to start cross-stitching again! Encouraging people to do activities that they enjoy is one of the main aims of this blog.

First of all, I would suggest using shorter lengths of floss. I don't use anything longer than 18 inches (45 cm), whether I'm using floss or yarn. I tend to use shorter pieces of floss because the strands can separate and fray. Twelve inches (30 cm) often works better for floss. There are two ways to handle the twisting problem. The first is to hold the floss away from your work so that the needle hangs straight down. The floss should start un-twisting. Stop it before it begins to re-twist and smooth the floss between your fingertips before you begin stitching again. The second method is to put the fabric down and hold the loose end of the floss in one hand and the needle between your thumb and forefinger on the other hand. Gently slide the needle up and down the length of floss until the twists straighten out. Be careful not to fray the strands in the process. These techniques should save you both floss and frustration. Good luck!

Happy stitching.

Iris Needle Arts Chart; download from our June 18, 2015 post

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Roses Redux and Colorful 4-ways – Recent Questions

I loved the “Big Bouquet of Roses” post, but I wonder why you haven't done a picture of a red rose? They are my favorites.

Preliminary sketch for red rose needlepoint

I'm so glad you enjoyed the post (July 7, 2014). I have indeed made a red rose. Our jewelry-maker gave me some leftover yarn that was variegated in red-violet, red, and red-orange. I wondered if I could make a realistic rose using only those three colors. I also had some variegated green yarn left over from a past project. I cut the variegated reds into separate pieces so I could control exactly where they appeared on the rose, but I used the variegated greens just as they came off the skein to make the leaves. As usual, I started with a sample on plastic canvas. I had just completed the rose and leaves on a white background when a dear friend arrived for a visit. She loved the sample and said that she had just the place for it on a wall at home. So J.D. framed it for her in a simple black frame. She has written that it has “place of honor” on her wall.

Finished red rose needlepoint

I was happy with the sample experiment, so I traced my original sketch onto needlepoint canvas. Because the mesh was so much smaller, I needed to split the yarn and use three strands instead of four. I rearranged the leaves and added a partially opened bud. This time I used a black background. Unfortunately, I was far from done when the time came to post the “Big Bouquet of Roses” post, so the red rose was not on it. It is now completed. J.D. matted it with a burgundy mat that matches the deepest tones in the rose and framed it under glass in a gold frame. We showed it at an outdoor event last weekend. In the sunlight, it really glows! Here is “Love Is Like a Red, Red Rose”, before framing, so that you can see the detail. Enjoy your red rose.

You made a comment some time ago that I don't understand. It was about color schemes completely changing the way a four-way bargello looks. I can see that they make a difference, but not how it could be that big a difference. Can you show me what you meant?

"Midwinter Blues" Four-way bargello needlepoint

Traditional four-way bargello starts with a pattern worked identically in each of the four corners of the canvas. Usually the baseline of the pattern is laid in a small distance from the center of the canvas and is then worked in rows of stitches of (mostly) equal length outwards to the edges of the canvas. Shorter stitches are needed along the diagonals. The pattern may be worked inwards toward the center of the canvas in the same way (see the July 20, 2014 post), using partial stitches where necessary. Or the center can be worked all in one color – and perhaps in a different filling stitch. The outer edges and corners can also be worked in a solid-color filling stitch, leaving the pattern as a medallion shape in the center.

Four-way bargello sampler with broken spirals

Color schemes may vary from closely related shades of the same color (pink, rose, burgundy), to closely related colors (red, red-orange, orange), to contrasting or complementary colors (black/white, red/green, blue/orange), to the whole color spectrum. The same basic pattern can be worked in all of these ways, producing a series of vastly different effects ranging from subtle to “WOW!” For example, this is the same pattern I used to make “Midwinter Blues” (see above) worked in red-orange, yellow-green, blue-green and blue-violet, with the colors of the pattern rotating 90 degrees each time. We no longer have diamond shapes, but rather broken spirals.

Four-way bargello sampler with 'fantasy chessboard'

Here's another swatch worked in the same stitch pattern, but with only two colors, which alternate for each row. This effect reminded me of a chessboard, so I back-stitched it in gold. If I ever do it full-sized, I'll present it as a fantasy chessboard. While it is not as extreme as the sample above, it certainly differs from “Midwinter Blues”. I could do any number of additional examples. As we explore more complex patterns, I'll try to show alternate color schemes for at least some of them so that you can see a range of possibilities.

Vintage four-way bargello pillow

This is another argument for doing sample “swatches” on plastic canvas. Colors that look good together when you are holding skeins next to each other do not always work as well together in a pattern. Some may turn out to be too strong for the pattern, while others are too weak. In addition, effects change – sometimes greatly – as a centered pattern expands outward toward the edges of the canvas. A good example of that is this vintage pillow I made in the 1970's. See how much more complex the pattern becomes? Note how a solid-color border contains and emphasizes the pattern. Don't be afraid to experiment and to discard patterns and/or colors that don't please you. (This is much easier to do with a small plastic sample than with a project on needlepoint canvas!)

I'm always glad to answer questions, particularly ones that help me make or clarify a point. Keep those questions coming!

Finished and framed needlepoint "Love is Like a Red, Red Rose"

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