Often before I leave on a trip, I often paint several pages in my art journal with black gesso.  I have a few favorite pens that I use that I have tested and the show up beautifully against the dark background.  Here is how I prepare my page and my favorite pens to take along on my journey.
1.  Put a piece of wax paper behind the page you are going to paint to protect the pages beneath from getting black on them.
2.  Coat the page with a light layer of black gesso.  I use watercolor journals with Arches paper and they coat very nicely.
3.  Let this dry.  Your page is ready for art and journaling!

This page was started with just a black background