Santa Rosa artists to experiment with black canvases

Fuller Brown, a Pensacola native and accomplished artist, will demonstrate black canvas painting for the Santa Rosa Arts Association. (Special to the Press Gazette)

MILTON — The Santa Rosa Art Association welcomes Fuller Brown, an accomplished artist and Pensacola native, to its next meeting.

The gathering is 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 22 in room 4902 on Pensacola State College’s Milton campus.

Brown — who has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of West Florida, and has taught art at the university, junior and community college level — will demonstrate the art of negative painting to attendees.

While many artists are used to working with a white canvas, Brown will take a different approach by painting on a black canvas.

“With a white canvas, you work from light to dark,” he said. “With a black canvas, you work from dark to light. It’s an interesting process.”

Brown said artists must reverse the process when working with a black canvas while continuing to bring the same seven elements to their artwork — line, space, form, shape, value, texture and color.

Brown hopes attendees will leave with greater understanding of blending or the technique of painting colors, so that there is gentle and gradual transition from one to the other, according to painting.about.com.

“Learn your elements — then you can go and do anything,” he said.

Attendees wishing to participate should bring these art supplies:

12-by-16-inch canvas painted with black gesso or black canvas — can be a different size, if desired.

Tube of white acrylic paint and small set of acrylic colors

Brushes — ¼-inch flat or set of 2-4-6 flat oil or acrylic brushes

Water container

Small plastic lid used for a palette; anything will do

Tabletop easel

Paper towel and newspaper to keep area clean

SRAA yearly membership costs $30; the class is $10 for students or non-members wishing to participate. See santarosaartassociation.com for more information. 

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Santa Rosa artists to experiment with black canvases