How to Use Black Oil Paint
For most painters, a great piece of advice is to use black sparingly, especially if your aim is for realism. Black will tend to muddy a picture and dim your colors. While its atmospheric qualities are magnificent, using black creates a very specific tone in most paintings, and some may find that undesirable.
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Instructions
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Use black for painting something that is obviously black or something that you wish to be clearly black, such as the pupils of eyes or a nun's black habit. At other times, consider using very deep shades of other colors as a substitute for black in order to add complexity and depth to your painting. For example, consider using a deep, dark blue for the night sky.
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For a deeper black, mix shades of green or blue, or even red. Although you won't perceive any obvious difference, it will add complexity to an otherwise flat color.
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Don't use Ivory Black or Lamp Black for an undercolor if you're going to paint a flat black background. Use Mars Black, which dries faster (see the rules of "fat over lean" in the references below).
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Different blacks will make different shades of gray when mixed with white. Ivory Black tends to be bluish, while Mars Black is warmer. For different effects while mixing black with white, experiment with different blacks or mix black with other colors.
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Only occasionally use black to create shadows. Instead, experiment with mixing colors with their complements, or mixing colors with the colors beside them on the color wheel. For example, create a shadow on a red object by mixing red with purple or by mixing red with green. This will create dark shadows with a less "muddy" appearance.
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