I love black and white.  I don’t know why exactly, but this combo is simply beautiful.  Perhaps that’s why I like it- it’s so simple, so clean and uncluttered.
I started by writing out poems by Ella Wheeler Wilcox on India ink.  I wanted to simply print out some fancy writing because it looks better than my own, but I hate what printer ink looks like after I adhere it to the canvas- it bleeds and changes color and looks horrible.  India ink is much more permanent and stays a solid black.

I used masking tape to mark off sections of the canvas so that when I applied the charcoal texture paste, the edges would be crisp and straight.  I put my paper pieces directly into the wet paste and allowed it to dry.

The paint splatters are always the funnest part.  :)  I love the spontaneous feel they bring to this otherwise clean and straight looking piece.
As always, let me know what comes to mind when you see this piece.  I’d love to hear your thoughts!