diff --git a/mediagoblin/static/css/base.css b/mediagoblin/static/css/base.css
index 8d9756b9..d61292a2 100644
--- a/mediagoblin/static/css/base.css
+++ b/mediagoblin/static/css/base.css
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ text-align: center;
 }
 
 .empty_space{
-  background-color: #222;
+  background-image: url("../images/empty_back.png");
   font-style: italic;
   text-align: center;
   height: 160px;
diff --git a/mediagoblin/static/images/empty_back.png b/mediagoblin/static/images/empty_back.png
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3522ddd3
Binary files /dev/null and b/mediagoblin/static/images/empty_back.png differ