BLACKS - research

As I dyed my 'blacks' on silk, I also dyed news print, which dyes beautifully. These dyes are Procions. The Dor beetle, the Australorp chicken and the flower are all called 'Black' and yet they are rich in other colours.

Bluey black. 1.5G Yellow MX4R
2.0G Navy MX4RB (ratio)
1.0G Red NX5B

Browny black 1.0G Yellow MX4R
1.0G Red MX5B "
1.0G Navy MX4RB
1.0G Black PN

Aubergine black 1.0G Yellow MX4R
1.0G Red MX5B "
1.0G Blue P7RX






Bluey Black
As above


Browney black
As above


Green
2.0G Yellow
1.0G Blue
.5G Red




Colours Black and Aubergine as above.

Terry Frost says of his study of blacks:-

" When you are in a bit of a hurry, its O.K. to mix spectrum black and just put some red in it. It doesn't work in a poetic sense when you're trying to stretch your imagination and your mixture of colour together to get your concept out. It's a different thing. It's not to do with trying to write a poem in black and it took me bloody weeks, all those fifteen different blacks from red, yellow and blue."

Mixing blacks gives the colour a warmth and a depth - a uniqueness. My samples have, in many cases, not been quite dark enough. I want to achieve something darker and richer. This research is ongoing.