Why Black Fur Isn’t Really Black in Oil Paintings
- Natasha Dutton
- Jun 24
- 2 min read
When painting a black dog, many artists instinctively reach for black paint.
The problem is that black fur is rarely truly black.
In this Border Collie oil portrait, one of the most important colours in the painting isn’t black at all, it’s green.
Seeing Colour Instead of Labels
One of the biggest mistakes artists make is painting what they think they see rather than what is actually there.
We tend to label objects as black, white, brown or grey. But in reality, colours are constantly influenced by their surroundings.
In this portrait, the green foliage surrounding the dog reflected subtle green tones into both the black and white fur. These colour shifts help create a more natural and believable painting.
How to Paint Realistic Black Fur
Before applying colour, I established the values using a raw umber underpainting on a white panel.
Once the value structure was complete, I mixed my four major values - two in the light and two in the shadow.
What surprised many students is that the darkest value wasn’t black. Instead, I mixed a very dark green using raw umber, ultramarine blue, yellow and a touch of teal.
Placed within the context of the painting, this dark green reads as black while remaining connected to the colours in the background.
This is one of the keys to creating realistic pet portraits in oil.
The Importance of Reflected Colour
Reflected colour plays a huge role in realism. The background doesn’t simply sit behind the subject. It influences colours throughout the entire painting.
Black fur often reflects surrounding colours more than artists realise. White fur does the same.
By allowing subtle greens from the surrounding foliage to appear in the coat, the portrait feels more unified and believable.
Why Four Values Simplify Colour Mixing
My painting process always begins with four major values.
By premixing these values before painting, I remove much of the guesswork from colour mixing.
The underpainting solves the drawing and value problems first. The four-value system then provides a simple framework for building colour and refinement in later layers. This structured approach helps artists achieve realistic results without feeling overwhelmed.
Watch the Full Border Collie Painting Tutorial
This Border Collie portrait demonstrates how colour relationships can transform the way we paint black fur.
If you’d like to see the complete process, including the underpainting, four-value block-in, colour mixing and final refinement stages, watch the full YouTube video below.
For artists wanting a deeper understanding of classical oil painting techniques, this complete tutorial is also included inside MazArt Academy.
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