Learning new things in art is always fun, and today I came across the term achromatic color scheme. Now, for starters, that’s definitely a contradiction in terms, or what is known in popular parlance as an oxymoron. If something is achromatic it lacks color, so how can you have an achromatic color scheme?

Well, as my husband always says, if you look at things differently, things look different, so let’s look at achromatic from another angle. Basically, achromatic means black and white. Again, lacking in color.

Of course, we can get technical here and turn to the scientific use of achromatic. It refers to a specific type of lens that is designed to minimize chromatic aberration, and if that means anything to you, great. It means very little to me.

For purposes of art, achromatic refers to our basic black and white, with a few grays thrown in if we…