Black and white is a classic combination but some people think it’s too basic but it’s my favorite. Yet, it can produce stunning results and look even better than color. I paint mostly with only black and a few other colors, so I am absolutely obsessed with black and white contrast! If you are looking for interesting black and white painting ideas that are really cool, check my list!
One of the striking advantages of a black-and-white painting is that you can focus on other elements like value, lighting, form, and composition. Black and white looks good on abstracts, portraits, landscapes, and nightscapes.
See below, and you’ll find black-and-white abstract, acrylic, charcoal, pastels, pencils, and watercolor painting ideas.
I’ve also listed DIY black-and-white wall art you can hang in your room. You’ll also find handy tips and tricks along the way!
While you can only use black and/or white colors of your chosen medium, you aren’t limited to what you can do.
You can make a black and white abstract painting! Paint your favorite landscape or scene. Make a portrait of your loved one-may it be an animal or a person.
I hope you discover these colors’ beauty along the way! Have fun!
Black and White Abstract Painting Ideas
First I would like to share some of my works asI mostly do abstract black and white studies on paper or canvas:
One of my works in black and white
Some of studies on watercolor paper:
You can check some more of my works (I am bad at uploading them online in good quality, sorry) on my About Me page. Now let’s explore more bw painting ideas from across the world:
Are you interested in abstract work? Try this simple black-and-white abstract painting idea, then, you only need a gesso (white or tinted) and a black canvas (store bought or painted black).
You’ll need a glossy magazine page, white canvas, and black paint for this particular piece. Fold your magazine and tear it!
Now, use that magazine as a stencil to create an abstract painting!
Snow Landscape
Imperfect Paintings
Paint a horizontal line, a circle, or any shape. Then, paint an abstract of what this shape reminds you of, just like what the artist did in this quick tutorial.
Abstract Painting: Back in Black 1
David Kessler
Kessler loves simplifying everything to essentials. Watch how he does this here.
Do you still need help with how to start an abstract painting? Start with lines and create illusions, shapes, depth with them. A simple line has so much to offer!
Black and White
You should try listening to classical music while working as Mara did here.
Monochromatic Black and White Paintingwith Pouring
Angela Mutavi Art
Do you have limited supplies? No worries! For this piece, you’ll only need a mars black, a white base paint, and a white canvas.
Abstract Seascape
Who said using abstract approach we can only do abstract things? What about painting a landscape?
SurajFineArts – Abstract ART
Foggy morning scene but make it abstract: This composition could pull that off! Watch the full demo here.
Take several photos of your fur baby. Then, choose the angle you’d like for your piece. Painting fur is a bit challenging and time consuming but if you watch closely you can see how the artist used light paint strokes to create fur instead of painting each hair.
Dandelion
SchaeferArt
A dandelion painting would depict the fluffy white head of a dandelion, set against a black background – it will make the flower pop and add volume. The image may show the dandelion seeds blowing in the wind, giving the painting a sense of movement and softness. The full tutorial is here.
A white orb of a full moon set against a black night sky creates some sort of mystery and can be even a little bit scary. You can paint moon’s surface with craters and mountains, and the white light of the moon illuminating the surrounding darkness.
I suggest you use a mini canvas.
Why?
Working on a small canvas, you also invest a small amount of time, paint, and effort. So, there’s nothing to lose. And you focus more on learning the technique.
A mountain landscape always feel majestic and peaceful to me. White-capped mountains set against a deep black night sky or foreground. Dark silouhettes of trees, valleys, lake or river in the foreground to create a sense of depth and dimension, with the white peaks of the mountains standing out in contrast. I think we got a pretty good setup 🙂
Realistic Moon
Createful Art with Ashley Krieger
Ready to upgrade your skills? Try to paint in a more realistic way. Pay attention to shadows, lights and layering paint. Here is a full tutorial on this black and white painting idea:
It can be a single flower, a bouquet or even a field full of flowers. You can also add some golden touches with markers or paint.
Flowers are an ideal muse for simple and close-up composition! And they look pretty, even in black and white.
One Stroke Flower Painting
Artwork Ruchika
Fill up your canvas with interesting shapes and delicate curves with this one-stroke flower painting! You can load your wet brush with one or two colors and once you placed it on the canvas, move it to make a flower or a stem.
Put your feather painting skills into practice by mimicking this powerful and fast-flying peregrine falcon. Start with darker colors and move toward lighter accents, it will make it easier. And don’t give up on the ugly stage of painting, be patient!
Starry Night
Shaikh Adnan
Want to paint a simple starry night scene? Paint the background first using black and white paint, then the black ground.
Splatter white paint to achieve a sky dotted with stars. Add the pine trees last with a fan or flat brush.
Black and White Acrylic Pour Painting
Fiona Art
If you find learning new tricks and techniques fun, try acrylic pour painting at once!
Grayscale Trees Silhouette Painting
Once you know the basics, you can do anything with practice! Use this tutorial as a guide in creating the piece below:
I really love this painting, it is deep and serene. The colors on photo will almost look blue, but this is just a visual effect of working with different values of white and black.
Dancing in the Rain
Pinting faces and human bodies are among most challenging things to paint. Gladly with no to little details black and white painting will still look great!! Look at this one, it is an amazing painting but you don’t have to struggle painting anatomically realistic body.
When we think women in white we may think wedding, white clothing in different cultures, or angel (from the top of my head at least). And again, you don’t have to paint the body realistically.
No model? Snap a photo of a cat in your neighborhood and your own furry baby! If your cat is black and white like this one, you technically only painting white parts – isn’t in crazy?
In love with ballet illustrations? Why not try to paint ballerina dresses or a ballerina in the middle of a dance? Simple painting looks so much better with added texture.
Bamboo has long been admired due to its resilience. Having one at home brings good luck, according to Feng Shui. I’m not sure if painting of bamboo works the same way, but … maybe?
This time, the creator I think used some sort of sponge to actually paint bamboo. Super easy black and white painting idea then to try with kids.
Absolutely stunning mountains! I usually have a reference to paint mountains, it is just easier for me that way.
Where you place the horizontal line in a landscape painting will determine which part of your piece will attract the eyes the most.
A low horizon guides the focus to the sky, while a high horizon draws the eye to the ground.
As for this piece, the focal point is the snowy mountains.
Black and White Canvas Painting Ideas Charcoal
Charcoal requires sometime to get used to it, but I like how soft it is and how easy you can create smooth transitions. Drawing with white charcoal on black paper is super easy and fun.
A still-life setup gives you freedom in choosing the arrangement and lighting. Plus, you can take a photo of your setup to preserve the lighting. Drawing a realistic object with charcoal you need to keep in mind shadows, proportions and highlights.
As I said, it is quite easy to create softness with charcoal, perfect for drawing clouds, steam, smoke, blurr. Again, you can soften it even more with your finger or a piece of paper towel.
Glass
Habib’s Studio
Painting transparent objects is always a challenge but it is easier to get it done right and learn the process if you start with just black and white. These wine glasses look realistic! Check how the artist did it here.
Bottled Water
My Arty Time
Do you want to explore using charcoal further? After learning how to paint transparent objects, you can challenge yourself to paint fluids like water. This video will help you understand more about this medium.
Dark Forest
Rajpurohit Painting
Paint along with this tutorial to create a mystical forest with trees that may or may not move anytime you look at them…
Black and White Canvas Painting Ideas with Pastels
Pastles are very close to charcoal in terms of creating soft shapes and how you interact with them. Water soluble pastels can be reworked with water to act more like paint.
Awake from a bad dream? Or you just finished watching a horror film? Shake the fear off by painting! Or, quite the opposite, paint something that scared you to remember it (you know how sometimes we wake up and we don’t remember what exactly was in the dream).
If you plan to spend outside painting to capture the full moon, you’ll need a bag for your supplies, a bottle of drinking water, insect repellent, a camera, a chair, and snacks!
Great and easy black and white painting idea for St Valentives day or an anniversary! Doesn’t have to be super realistic, again, so it is suitable for beginners and other mediums as well.
Ifyou are single, it is a good way to manifest the man/woman of your dreams by painting this sweet dancing-under-the-moonlight scene 🙂
Black and White Scenery
Paint another starry night scene. This time add the mountains you saw while on your ski trip.
If you are going for something realistic, you’ll need a good reference photo for this, if it is digital, the one in very high resolution so you can zoom in and out.
Yes, you can paint on black paper using watercolor! You can also opt for gouache to make it more opaque and bold.
A white gouache is handy in this piece since it can make transparent watercolor opaque while retaining its solubility.
Foggy Forest
Kalliopi Lyviaki
The secret to create deep misty forest is to gradually layer trees from the very back. Each time you are done with trees, make a white mist to soften that tree line. And proceed to the next trees, closer to us. Finally, you will end up with very close trees that you will paint black.
You can also follow Kalliopi tutorial:
Easy Black and White Painting Ideas for Room and on Wall
Overthinking what painting to hang on your wall leads to a bare wall! Don’t let that happen.
Here are some easy black and white wall art for your room and wall:
Black and white is a classic and versatile combination. This combination can fit into bohemian, whimsical, bold, and natural themes.
What Do Black and White Paintings Represent?
In other cultures, white and black are associated with life-and-death rituals, while in some, these colors represent good and evil.
What Is Painting in Black and White Called?
You can also refer to a black-and-white painting as a monochromatic painting.
What Artist Is Known for His Black and White Paintings?
Kazimir Malevich created Black Square in 1915. Black Square is a black-and-white abstract art of a black square on linen.
Conclusion
I hope my little list of black and white painting ideas for acrylics, watercolor, pastels, charcoals and pens gave you some confidence in working with only two colors. I am happy to share your paintings here as well if you created something in black and white and think it is a good idea!
