I have finally finished my first drawing dealing with place and visual culture. I have placed two images up that I would love to have your opinions on. I placed neutral colors (white and black) behind the cutout areas. I prefer the black background, but I wanted to have some opinions on which is a stronger composition. 
Visually, I prefer the black! I think it depends on what you are trying to say though. If you want the trees to stand out then yes, do the black. If you want the trees to be a subtle message in the background, then use white. Either way, great job and I hope you keep these kinds of things going!
I agree with Lindsay. Visually, the black really stands out and makes the image really pop. The white itself however is interesting in which when clicking on it, I can see the cutout itself. It could be interesting to experiment with putting something behind it that can demonstrate this separation between the image and the background.
There is actually a fashion illustrator named Shamekh who creates really interesting pieces that combine his own drawings with the world around him that this sort of reminds me of.
I think it depends on what you want to convey with this — did you try anything else? different imagery or texture?