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Key to the Paint Ratings
PIGMENT PIGMENT PAINT
MANUFACTURER CODE Tr St VR Gr Bl Df HA HS Lf
C.I. NAME CHEMICAL NAME MARKETING NAME
alpha copper
PB15:1 winsor blue RS Winsor & Newton 208 3 3 64 0 3 2 274 -20 8,8
phthalocyanine (1935)
PB15:1 phthalo blue RS Rowney Artists 139 3 4 65 0 3 0 269 -21 8,8
PB15:1 phthalo blue red Rembrandt 583 4 4 64 0 2 3 273 -21 7,8
PB15:1 phthalo blue Schmincke 484 4 3 59 0 3 3 252 -15 7,8
PB15:1 berlin blue MaimeriBlu 359 3 3 60 1 3 2 256 -12 6,8
epsilon copper
PB15:6 phthalo blue (red shade) Daniel Smith 119 4 3 66 0 2 0 275 -26 8,8
phthalocyanine (1935)
PB15:6 helio blue RS Schmincke 478 3 3 63 0 2 0 270 -29 7,8
phthalocyanine blue red paint introduced after my last pigment
PB15:0 M. Graham 141
shade tests
beta copper
PB15:3 phthalocyanine (1933, phthalocyanine blue M. Graham 140 4 4 67 0 3 2 271 -32 8,8
1935)
PB15:3 phthalo blue Daniel Smith 053 4 4 65 1 2 1 267 -23 8,8
PB15:3 blockx blue Blockx 254 3 4 65 0 3 0 270 -27 8,8
PB15:3 phthalocyanine blue Utrecht 154 4 4 52 0 3 3 246 -16 8,8
PB15:3 winsor blue GS Winsor & Newton 207 4 4 53 0 2 1 249 -18 7,8
PB15:3 phthalo blue green Rembrandt 576 4 4 56 0 2 3 257 -19 7,8
PB15:3 phthalo blue GS Rowney Artists 140 3 4 66 0 3 0 259 -21 7,8
PB15:3 phthalo blue DaVinci 267 4 4 66 0 2 2 270 -30 7,8
PB15:3 primary blue Lukas 1118 4 4 52 0 3 3 246 -16 7,8
PB15:3 primary blue - cyan MaimeriBlu 400 4 3 55 0 3 4 250 -16 7,8
PB15:3 manganese blue hue Winsor & Newton 107 4 1 24 2 2 1 224 -10 6,7
beta copper
phthalocyanine +
PB15:3+PG7 green blue MaimeriBlu 409 3 3 63 0 2 3 204 -8 8,8
chlorinated copper
phthalocyanine
PB15:3+PG7 transparent turquoise Rowney Artists 157 3 3 56 0 1 1 229 -16 7,7
beta copper
phthalocyanine +
PB15:3+PG36 phthalo turquoise Daniel Smith 064 3 4 64 0 2 1 208 -3 7,8
chlorobrominated copper
phthalocyanine
TOP 40 PIGMENT Phthalocyanine blue PB15 in its various shades
(PB15:1 and PB15:6 are middle blue or reddish shades; PB15:3 is the greenish
shade) is the workhorse industrial blue colorant: a lightfast, transparent,
strongly staining, very dark valued, moderately intense blue pigment, offered
by over 70 pigment manufacturers worldwide for inks, paints, plastics,
automotive finishes, rubber, textiles and cosmetics, as well as artists' paints
(where it is often nicknamed phthalo or thalo blue, as the "ph" is not
pronounced).
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M. Graham phthalo blue and Daniel Smith phthalo blue are both located
toward the red end of this distribution. Either one makes an excellent single
phthalo blue: dark valued, with high tinting strength, good saturation, and
some of the largest hue shifts among phthalos listed here, they apply evenly
at full strength or in tints. The Daniel Smith is slightly lighter valued, with
subtle texture but less movement in wet applications. Blockx blockx blue
dissolves less evenly and is inert wet in wet; however, it is the dullest and
darkest phthalo tested here (the Rowney Artists RS is much more saturated
but with the same hue). At the extreme of greenish hues, Utrecht phthalo
blue is lighter (less concentrated) and will not make strong darks, but is a
sweet, bright color and active wet in wet. Phthalo blues are now frequently
offered as a warm/cool (red hue/green hue) pair (by Winsor & Newton, Daniel
Smith, MaimeriBlu, Rembrandt, Rowney Artists, Schmincke). The most
saturated and widely spaced of these phthalo twins are Winsor & Newton
winsor blue RS and winsor blue GS. These paints bracket the hues of
almost all other paints listed here (only the Utrecht is greener than the winsor
blue GS); the red shade is darker valued than the green, and the GS makes a
very good single phthalo choice, contrasting nicely to the reddish hue of cobalt
blues or ultramarine blue. The Schmincke and Rowney Artists paints are
spaced roughly half as far apart in the CIELAB color space. The MaimeriBlu and
Daniel Smith pair of paints are even closer together. All these brands have
good tinting strength and are moderately active in wet applications, but
typically the RS tends to blotch if applied in long brushstrokes wet on dry (the
pigment particles are apparently coarser). Finally, phthalo blue is sometimes
mixed with phthalocyanine green (usually PG7) to produce turquoise
convenience mixtures. MaimeriBlu green blue is more saturated and
slightly greener than the Daniel Smith phthalo turquoise, which is darker and
more staining.
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equivalent hue with a distinctive pigment texture. See also the section on
phthalocyanine pigments.
metal free
PB16 turquoise green MaimeriBlu 350 4 3 61 0 3 3 222 -7 7,8
phthalocyanine (1936)
PB16 phthalo turquoise Winsor & Newton 526 4 4 71 1 2 2 251 -32 .,.
PB16 marine blue Holbein 302 3 4 66 0 2 2 224 -10 7,7
PB16 caribbean blue Old Holland 232 3 4 68 1 3 0 227 -11 6,8
PB16 turquoise green Utrecht 009 3 4 60 0 3 0 224 -7 6,8
paint introduced after my last pigment
PB16 phthalo turquoise Winsor & Newton 526
tests
TOP 40 PIGMENT Phthalocyanine turquoise PB16 is a lightfast,
semitransparent, heavily staining, moderately dark to very dark valued,
moderately dull green blue pigment, available from 3 pigment manufacturers
worldwide. In watercolors, PB16 undergoes a very large drying shift,
lightening by 20% and losing almost 30% saturation. Like other phthalos, its
chroma greatly increases as it is diluted, and the color can be radiant in
tints. Even so, it is the darkest of all phthalocyanine paints, an interesting
alternative to blue violet paints as a shadow color. The tinting strength of
phthalo turquoise is typically high, but varies by manufacturer. The best
mixing complements for phthalo turquoise are perinone orange (PO43) or
cadmium scarlet (PR108). The average CIECAM J,a,b values for phthalo
turquoise (PB16) are: 23, -36, -27, with chroma of 44 (estimated hue purity
of 52) and a hue angle of 217.
In 1998 I wrote that PB16 was "not widely available in watercolor paints, but
is an attractive pigment". Now that Winsor & Newton has joined the club,
Daniel Smith is sure to follow. The hue is readily mixed from a good phthalo
green BS (PG7) and a phthalo blue GS; or try cobalt teal blue (PG50) for the
"green" paint, which gives a lighter valued and satin textured color. You can
also mix phthalo turquoise with ultramarine blue (PB29) or quinacridone
violet (PV19) for some really celestial dark blues and blue violets. See also the
section on phthalocyanine pigments.
Holbein peacock blue, now discontinued, was the only commercial source
for this pigment in watercolors; however it is still available as Holbein Irodori
"Antique Turquoise". (Note that the Irodori formulations are described as
"delicate hues" that "granulate freely" and are "more opaque".) PB17 is a very
pretty blue turquoise color, inert wet in wet, with a bright undertone. Slightly
less lightfast than the other phthalocyanines, it is just as transparent and
slightly more chromatic; however, the Holbein formulation had a slightly lower
tinting strength than most phthalo blues. Its bright cyan color is quite close to
the artist's "primary" cyan at color point 9 on the color wheel.
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Substitutions. Depending on the other choices for blue, and the mixtures
that those choices imply, PB17 is an inessential pigment. I prefer the greater
value range, mixing strength and lightfastness of a green shade of phthalo
blue (PB15:3) for this hue. See also the section on phthalocyanine
pigments.
hydrous ferric
ferrocyanide;
PB27 ferriammonium prussian blue M. Graham 153 4 3 68 2 2 3 266 -19 8,8
ferrocyanide (1704;
c.1730)
PB27 prussian blue Daniel Smith 036 2 3 72 2 1 2 274 -31 8,8
PB27 prussian blue DaVinci 271 3 4 72 2 2 3 270 -20 8,8
PB27 prussian blue Winsor & Newton 036 4 4 69 0 2 0 266 -25 7,8
PB27 prussian blue Holbein 097 2 3 70 0 2 2 272 -31 7,8
PB27 prussian blue Schmincke 492 2 4 70 0 2 1 270 -27 7,8
PB27 paris blue Lukas 1133 2 4 69 1 3 4 264 -25 7,7
PB27 prussian blue MaimeriBlu 402 2 4 69 1 3 4 264 -25 6,8
PB27 prussian blue Rembrandt 508 3 4 68 0 2 3 268 -22 6,7
PB27 prussian blue Rowney Artists 135 2 4 78 0 1 4 282 -31 6,7
PB27 antwerp blue Art Spectrum 003 3 3 47 0 1 0 265 -13 4,7
PB27 prussian blue Utrecht 158 3 4 65 1 3 3 263 -24 4,6
PB27 antwerp blue Winsor & Newton 003 4 3 49 0 2 1 248 -13 5,6
hydrous ferriammonium
PB27+PY35 ferrocyanide + cadmium prussian green Daniel Smith 128 3 4 62 0 3 2 198 -5 6,7
zinc sulfide
TOP 40 PIGMENT Iron blue PB27 is a fugitive to very lightfast,
semitransparent, staining, very dark valued, moderately dull blue pigment,
now available from only a handful of pigment manufacturers worldwide,
mostly for printing inks and cosmetics.
One of the first synthetic inorganic pigments, iron blue was discovered by
Heinrich Diesbach in 1704 and made available in artist's colors in the early
1730's. Valued for its high tinting strength and pure blue hue, PB27 was
hugely popular from the 18th to the 20th centuries until displaced in the
1970's by phthalo blue. Historical and current uses include inks,
housepaints, wallpaper, fabric dyeing, histological stains and blueprints. There
are two chemical pathways for manufacturing PB27 that can be applied to a
variety of raw materials to produce the same pigment molecule, but the color,
crystal form and particle size of the pigment can be manipulated in many ways
during or after manufacture. (There is even a prussian brown created by
calcining or roasting the finished pigment.) Manufacturing impurities were
once difficult to remove from the finished product, and historically the pigment
was mixed with other colorants to create a greater color variety, especially for
various blues and convenience greens such as hooker's green and prussian
green. As a result, a large number of proprietary or geographic names
(prussian blue, berlin blue, erlangen blue, hamburg blue, haarlem blue,
oriental blue, persian blue, paris blue, milori blue, gas blue, saxon blue,
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cyanine blue, leitch's blue, potash blue, turnbull's blue, etc.) have accumulated
around PB27 to distinguish among the many manufacturers, manufacturing
methods, grades of pigment and mixtures with other pigments or extenders.
The generic name iron blue has replaced these picturesque nuances, though
bronze blue denotes any reddish grade used in printing inks, including the
highest quality pigment known as chinese blue. See also the section on iron
pigments.
The fading was most obvious in paints labeled antwerp blue, historically the
name (with mineral blue or brunswick blue) applied to mixtures of iron blue
with a white pigment or extender (such as alumina, barium sulfate, zinc oxide
or starch). In contemporary watercolors, iron blue commonly fades when
mixed with any white pigment or extender, including titanium oxide. (The
most permanent and apparently purest brands are placed at the top of the list
above.) PB27 also can fade on contact with alkalis such as calcium carbonate,
ammonia or bleach that can be used in paper manufacture ("buffered"
watercolor papers may be slightly alkalinic), but in my experience the alkali
must be fairly concentrated to affect the color in a good quality pigment. It
cannot be used in fresco or casein paints.
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Rembrandt prussian blue has a nearly identical color appearance, but is more
lightfast. The Rowney Artists paint is darker valued and even redder in hue,
but without the texture. The Utrecht prussian blue is lighter valued and is one
of the most saturated iron blue paints, but in my lightfastness tests it faded
noticeably within a few days. (The remaining prussian blues are similarly dark,
moderately dull and untextured; there is little to choose among them. Not
listed above, the VanGogh prussian blue also had excellent lightfastness.) All
these paints have a greener undertone. Finally, both Winsor & Newton
antwerp blue and Art Spectrum antwerp blue are much lighter, greener and
slightly more saturated versions of prussian blue mixed with alumina: both are
fugitive. Daniel Smith's prussian green imitates a dull, dark turquoise or "sea
green" convenience mixture with cadmium yellow introduced in the 19th
century and rarely used since then.
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Available cobalt blue pigments are fairly consistent across manufacturers, with
some variation in texture, chroma, value, and hue shift. M. Graham cobalt
blue is a lovely powdery, dark blue, with a redder and more intense color than
most other brands, but still a nice contrast to ultramarine blue. It is opaque
when applied full strength but will stand considerable dilution, creating
beautifully delicate wash textures. Daniel Smith cobalt blue is apparently a less
concentrated preparation of a similar middle blue pigment, making it more
transparent but less intense. Winsor & Newton cobalt blue is quite a bit more
textured wet in wet and lighter valued, but it is the only completely
transparent and also the least staining cobalt I've tried; the hue is the
greenest and least saturated of any brand, which makes an effective contrast
with ultramarine blue (PB29). The Rembrandt and Rowney Artists cobalt
blues are darker valued and lean toward green, and for that reason are also
less saturated; both also stain aggressively, perhaps due to the presence of a
phthalocyanine pigment. MaimeriBlu's two cobalt blues are very similar to each
other in hue and texture, and relatively opaque; the "light" shade closely
resembles the Daniel Smith paint. The Holbein and Utrecht cobalt blues are
relatively weak (containing a higher proportion of vehicle), but brush out to
satisfying colors. Blockx cyanine blue imitates with phthalo blue the original
cyanine blue formulation (cobalt blue mixed with prussian blue).
Cobalt blue is today often displaced from the palette by ultramarine blue
(PB29) or phthalo blue (PB15), which have very different textural and
handling characteristics but are less expensive. The color and texture can be
approximated by ultramarine (PB29) mixed with a small amount of phthalo
blue (PB15:3). But pure cobalt blue is unique: versatile in mixtures with a
beautiful color that will endure forever, even in the thinnest wash, and a
natural texture that accents the finish of any fine paper. See also the section
on cobalt pigments.
sodium aluminum
PB29 french ultramarine blue Winsor & Newton 068 3 1 64 3 3 1 288 -18 8,8
sulfosilicate (1828)
PB29 french ultramarine blue Rembrandt 503 3 2 64 1 2 1 290 -10 8,8
PB29 ultramarine deep Rembrandt 506 3 2 67 1 3 1 292 -17 8,8
PB29 ultramarine deep Holbein 094 4 1 64 4 2 1 292 -18 8,8
PB29 ultramarine deep Blockx 253 3 2 67 3 4 0 292 -19 8,8
PB29 french ultramarine blue Utrecht 159 3 2 67 2 2 2 293 -17 8,8
PB29 ultramarine blue M. Graham 190 1 3 69 1 3 2 294 -15 8,7
PB29 ultramarine blue Daniel Smith 004 4 3 66 1 3 2 291 -18 8,7
PB29 french ultramarine Daniel Smith 068 4 3 64 2 3 3 289 -14 8,7
PB29 ultramarine GS Winsor & Newton 220 3 3 52 2 2 2 279 -15 8,7
PB29 permanent blue Rowney Artists 137 3 1 58 3 3 1 282 -17 8,7
PB29 french ultramarine blue Rowney Artists 123 3 1 69 3 3 1 294 -20 8,7
PB29 ultramarine light MaimeriBlu 391 3 2 63 2 2 2 289 -20 8,7
PB29 ultramarine deep MaimeriBlu 392 1 3 71 3 2 1 296 -21 8,7
PB29 ultramarine blue Utrecht 151 4 3 58 2 2 0 282 -27 8,7
PB29 ultramarine deep Sennelier 315 1 3 66 1 3 1 292 -18 8,7
PB29 ultramarine finest Schmincke 494 2 2 63 1 1 1 285 -18 8,7
PB29 ultramarine blue DaVinci 284 3 2 67 1 1 2 294 -25 8,7
ultramarine (green paint introduced after my last pigment
PB29 DaVinci 283
shade) tests
TOP 40 PIGMENT Ultramarine blue PB29 is a very lightfast,
semitransparent, staining, very dark valued, intense violet blue pigment,
available from about 20 pigment manufacturers worldwide (mostly for coloring
cosmetics, paints and plastics). The ASTM (1999) rates its lightfastness in
watercolors as "excellent" (I), but in some formulations the color can fade if
exposed to mild acids (vinegar, lemon juice, urban air pollution). In
watercolors, PB29 undergoes a very large drying shift, lightening by almost
30% and dropping almost 20% in chroma. PB29 comes in a range of shades,
contrasted as a red (reddish blue) shade and a somewhat less expensive green
shade. "French ultramarine" is conventionally the darker and redder shade,
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the ideal choice for color point 7 of the color wheel. The best mixing
complements for ultramarine blue are raw umber (PBr7), benzimidazolone
orange (PO62) or quinacridone gold (PO48); unique and beautiful mixtures,
with very dark near neturals and dramatic color variety and wash textures are
possible with burnt sienna (PBr7) or transparent red iron oxide (PR101). The
average CIECAM J,a,b values for ultramarine blue (PB29) are: 21, -19, -68,
with chroma of 70 (estimated hue purity of 73) and a hue angle of 254.
Ultramarine blue is probably included in artist's palettes more often than any
other blue, the modern replacement and color match for the historical pigment
lapis lazuli that appears in the most precious medieval art. (It's a triumph of
modern chemistry that even the cheapest student paint box today contains
the same pigment that medieval artists bought at many times its weight in
gold.) And ultramarine is perhaps the most beautiful of all blue pigments: the
French painter Yves Klein was famous for large canvases painted entirely in a
powdery, intense shade of ultramarine blue, produced through a patented
pigmenting technique. The pigment particles are soft and readily clump into
agglomerates; this causes the characteristic ultramarine flocculating
(clumping) texture that is especially attractive in washes and color mixtures.
Paint manufacturers usually reduce the pigment clumps through extensive
milling, which requires a dispersant to prevent caking; the dispersant causes
many commercial ultramarine watercolors to diffuse aggressively wet in wet.
The tinting strength of ultramarine is somewhat weak, especially in the
reddish violet forms (see PV15).
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blue (PB33) are: 46, -49, -45, with chroma of 66 (estimated hue purity of 65)
and a hue angle of 223.
This crystalline synthetic inorganic pigment, a near perfect cyan hue, imparts
a lyrically coarse texture even after extensive milling. Though never a popular
paint, I feel this is of the loveliest blue pigments ever used in watercolors: it
imparts a unique poetry to sky, water or landscape greens when used in
diluted mixtures that put its granulation on display. Paint manufacturers add
sufficient vehicle to ease the milling process and improve the flow of the paint,
which typically causes the coarse pigment particles to separate from the
vehicle in the tube. The weak, gooey texture of the diluted paint is difficult to
apply evenly as a wash because the pigment immediately settles to the paper,
although it is easily adjusted by rewetting the paint after it has dried.
Substitutions. Most paint brands offer a "manganese blue hue" made from
phthalocyanine blue. The best substitute paints are Holbein's peacock blue
(PB17, which has a nearly identical color but lacks the granulation), or the
green shade phthalocyanine blue from Utrecht, Winsor & Newton, Rowney
Artists or Rembrandt (PB15:3).
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PB36 genuine cerulean blue DaVinci 229 0 2 48 2 2 1 252 -4 8,8
PB36 cobalt turquoise RS Rowney Artists 155 1 4 62 1 2 1 248 -14 8,8
PB36 cerulean blue M. Graham 080 1 2 46 2 3 1 253 -7 8,7
PB36 cerulean blue MaimeriBlu 368 1 2 54 2 1 2 251 -7 8,7
PB36 cerulean blue chromium Utrecht 157 3 1 41 2 1 1 245 -11 8,7
PB36 cobalt turquoise GS Rowney Artists 156 1 3 57 1 2 2 236 -11 8,7
PB36 cobalt green deep Rowney Artists 325 1 3 51 1 3 1 201 -9 8,7
PB36 cobalt turquoise Daniel Smith 027 3 3 48 1 4 2 196 -3 7,8
paint introduced after my last pigment
PB36 cerulean blue deep M. Graham 081
tests
PB36 cobalt magnesium oxide cobalt turquoise DaVinci 238 2 2 38 1 2 2 203 -2 8,8
paint introduced after my last pigment
PB36 cobalt teal M. Graham 097
tests
TOP 40 PIGMENT The many shades of cobalt tin oxide (PB35) or cobalt
chromium oxide (PB36), named cerulean blue, cerulean blue GS, cobalt
turquoise or cobalt green deep, are very lightfast, semiopaque, moderately
staining, granulating, dark valued, moderately dull to moderately intense blue
to green blue pigments. PB36 is available from 9 pigment manufacturers
worldwide (primarily as a colorant for ceramics, cement and industrial paints).
The ASTM (1999) rates the lightfastness of these pigments in watercolors as
"excellent" (I); manufacturer and my own tests agree. In watercolors, PB35
and PB36 show a very small (cerulean hues) to moderate (turquoise hues)
drying shift, not lightening at all but losing from 5% to 20% in saturation.
The pigments lumped under the color index names PB35 and PB36 are highly
variable across manufacturers in hue, value and saturation, as shown in the
diagram below (manufacturer names are keyed by letters).
The span of hues ranges from the warm, moderately saturated M. Graham
cerulean blue to the cool, dull Daniel Smith cobalt turquoise another
instance of the poor relationship between the color index name and the color
appearance of pigments. (Hilary Page's quirk of adding "G" or "R" to the color
index name has no sanction from either the Colour Index International or the
paint manufacturers.) Note that the saturation and transparency of these
pigments declines steadily as the hue shifts toward green: this is caused by
the increasing proportion of chromium in the cobalt crystal. The paints above,
ordered by hue angle (from red to green) fall into two main color categories:
CERULEAN BLUE. The span of colors here is very broad. For this reason,
some paint brands offer two shades of cerulean blue: the green shades are
often darker valued (suggesting increased pigment load), and in all cobalt blues
the color typically gets duller (less saturated) as the hue shifts toward green. A
major consideration in the choice of a cerulean paint is its handling in washes,
since it is often used for skies or other large, even color areas. The best paint
from this point of view is perhaps Winsor & Newton cerulean blue, which
gives beautifully flocculating, satiny wash textures, though at the expense of
color intensity; its relatively subdued texture also makes it a better mixer with
other paints. M. Graham cerulean blue is a mid valued, lovely muted blue with
a hint of red; its assertive texture needs careful handling in a wash, but can
produce dramatic textures or subtle flocculation (especially if the paint solution
is first decanted), and it gives a radiant drama to skies. Rowney Artists
coeruleum is significantly darker with coarser pigment grains. The Holbein
paint is the most intense cerulean available, more granulating and less
staining than any other brand. Rembrandt cerulean blue is a finely
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granulating, average cerulean hue, dark valued with sutble texture and good
saturation, a very pretty color. MaimeriBlu cerulean blue is very dark in
masstone, looking almost like a phthalo blue; it is much more attractive in
tints. At the "green" end of the cerulean color range, the Winsor & Newton
cerulean blue and Daniel Smith cerulean blue are both dull and
semitransparent; the Winsor & Newton is exactly a dull cyan hue, the
greenest of the cerulean paints listed here. The two Utrecht paints have
average saturation and are contrasted more on value than hue, which makes
them a less useful pair (however, in 2001 Utrecht adopted a new GS pigment,
not tested here); both paints leave a streaky, spotty wash texture. Rowney
Artists has adopted an idiosyncratic labeling that only mucks things up: their
"coeruleum blue" is the pigment PB35, a light valued, dull cerulean near the
middle of the hue range; their "cobalt turquoise" paints are opaque, middle to
greenish shades of cerulean (the hue of the "turquoise" RS is the same as
their coeruleum!); and their "cobalt green deep" is what everybody else calls a
cobalt turquoise. All the Rowney paints are also the darkest and dullest of the
paints listed here. (In all, Rowney Artists offers six cobalt blue paints: the
obvious question is, why?) Finally, Daniel Smith cerulean blue GS is an
interesting color situated exactly between the clusters of "cerulean" and
"turquoise" paints. The tinting strength of cerulean blue is weak. The best
mixing complements for cerulean blue (depending on hue) are venetian red
(PR101), burnt sienna or burnt umber (PBr7). The average CIECAM J,a,b
values for cerulean blue (PB36) are: 37, -36, -45, with chroma of 58
(estimated hue purity of 57) and a hue angle of 231; for cerulean blue GS
(PB36) are: 35, -39, -34, with chroma of 52 (estimated hue purity of 53) and
a hue angle of 221.
COMMENTS. The greenish blue and turquoise part of the color range (which
includes phthalocyanine cyan, PB16, and cobalt teal blue PG50) has a
peculiar status within the family of cool colors, much like red orange
pigments on the warm side of the color wheel. Like orange (a mixture of red
and yellow), turquoise is the mixture of two basic hues (blue and green); like
orange, it is not anyone's favorite color, not a color that works well with other
colors and not a color popular in clothing or interior decor; and as with burnt
sienna (a dull red orange), cobalt turquoise, or phthalo turquoise PB16) (a dull
blue green) is useful to mute the hue of other paints, or to adjust the color
temperature of related blues or greens. This makes the cobalt cerulean and
turquoise paints in many respects the "earth colors" on the cool side of the
palette, providing texture, color stability, and muting effect to the brighter and
more strongly tinting synthetic organic pigments. You should evaluate them
from that point of view, and not just on their unmixed, full strength color
appearance.
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The cobalt cerulean and turquoise pigments are a definite preference among
some artists, who rely on them to temper warm mixtures and create subtly
textured pale blue washes (cerulean skies really are unique). The hue, value
and texture of these pigments are highly variable across manufacturers
(depending on the milling and the exact proportions of chrome, tin or
aluminum in the pigment), as is apparent transparency (from the nearly
transparent Winsor & Newton cobalt turquoise to the opaque M. Graham
cerulean blue); but hue, texture and transparency all change as the paints are
diluted, so evaluate them across a wide range of concentrations and mixtures.
Cerulean blue is an excellent palette complement to ultramarine blue. (I find
that cobalt blue PB28 is too close to the hue and value of ultramarine to
provide distinctive mixing effects; but explore the variety of color choices in
artists palettes that include cerulean blue.) If PB35/PB36 appeals to you, it is
worth your time to sample various brands.
indanthrone
[aminoanthraquinone +
PB60 indanthrone blue Daniel Smith 018 2 4 74 0 3 1 298 -28 8,8
potassium hydroxide]
(1901; 1958)
PB60 indanthrene blue Winsor & Newton 223 3 4 75 1 2 1 286 -20 8,8
PB60 indanthrene blue Rembrandt 585 2 4 69 1 2 4 291 -20 8,8
PB60 old delft blue Old Holland 220 1 3 72 0 3 0 287 -20 8,8
PB60 faience blue MaimeriBlu 377 2 4 70 1 2 4 288 -30 7,8
PB60 royal blue Holbein 303 2 3 76 1 3 2 298 -28 7,8
PB60 indanthrene blue Rowney Artists 107 3 4 74 1 2 1 286 -23 6,7
PB60 delft blue Schmincke 482 2 4 73 0 3 4 295 -33 6,7
PB60 dark blue indigo Schmincke 498 3 2 67 1 1 1 277 -14 6,7
paint introduced after my last pigment
PB60 anthraquinone blue M. Graham 012
tests
TOP 40 PIGMENT Indanthrone blue PB60 is a lightfast to very lightfast,
semiopaque, heavily staining, very dark valued, dull blue violet pigment,
available from 13 pigment manufacturers worldwide. Discovered in 1901, it is
the oldest vat dye. The correct name (for example, as used in the Handbook of
Industrial Chemistry) is indanthrone; "indanthren" is an obsolete and generic
term for a high quality vat dye of any color. Unrated by the ASTM, my own
and manufacturer tests assign it an "excellent" (I) lightfastness. In
watercolors, PB60 undergoes a very large drying shift, lightening by 50% (!)
and losing saturation. As a lake pigment, it is used in paints, bank notes and
automobile finishes. PB60 has a moderate to high tinting strength. The best
mixing complements for indanthrone blue include most of the deep yellows, lightfastness test samples
such as hansa yellow deep (PY65), benzimidazolone orange (PO62) and raw unexposed (left); exposed 800+ hours
umber (PBr7). The average CIECAM J,a,b values for indanthrone blue (PB60) (right)
are: 18, 0, -32, with chroma of 32 (estimated hue purity of 35) and a hue Schmincke, Rowney
angle of 271.
The pigment is fairly consistent across manufacturers. Even so, the Daniel
Smith indanthrone blue is notably dark and lustrous, more intense and
redder than other brands, transparent in tints with a very large hue shift
toward blue. Holbein's paint is equally dark and the most intense of all. Both
are redder than other brands. The Winsor & Newton and Rowney Artists paints
are slightly less saturated with a greener hue; though the latter is darker and
smoother. The Old Holland tends to bronze when applied full strength and is
duller than the others. Schmincke misnames the pigment and offers a much
darker, duller and impermanent color; I suspect some carbon black is mixed in,
though this is not listed in the pigment ingredients.
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example phthalo blue (PB15) with quinacridone violet (PV19) or quinacridone
maroon (PR206). These mixtures are comparably as dark as PB60 and do not
show as large a drying shift. PB60 is a useful alternative to dioxazine violet
(PV23) for a dark blue violet color; by itself it is also an effective indigo or
payne's gray hue in tints (see the recipe for synthetic black described under
indigo paints). See also the section on anthraquinone pigments.
NB N/A powdered lapis lazuli genuine lapis lazuli Daniel Smith 113 2 0 40 2 4 2 238 -70 8,8
Although lapis lazuli can be acquired as a powdered pigment from some
pigment retailers, Daniel Smith genuine lapis lazuli is the sole source of
the pigment in watercolors. My sample of paint (and the lapis lazuli reflectance
curve) looks exactly like a davy's gray there is no discernable blue tone. This
is apparently because Daniel Smith has simply pulverized and washed the raw
lapis stone, rather than using the traditional pigment extraction method
invented in and known since the 13th century; the grayish pigment instead
resembles the extraction residue that in the 18th century was called
"ultramarine ash.") The newer formulation, released in 2003, seems to have a
coarser granulation in order to preserve the dark blue color. The tinting
strength is very low. I am reluctant to buy it, at $16 a tube, because it does
not resemble a good quality medieval ultramarine, and because the color
compares poorly to both ultramarine blue (PB29) and cobalt blue deep
(PB72), which provide much more reliable and cheaper modern substitutes
with similar granulation effects. See also the section on natural inorganic
pigments and the page on PrimaTek watercolors.
However, if a potent, achromatic dark gray is the goal, then it is more efficient
to use two mixing complements. The darkest and most efficient mixture
along the red/green contrast consists of perylene maroon (PR179) and
phthalocyanine green BS (PG7), roughly in the proportions 5:1; along the
orange/blue contrast the darkest mixture is quinacridone orange (PO48) and
iron blue (PB27) in roughly 4:1 proportions. (Exact recipes depend on paint
brands; alternative mixtures are listed in the page on watercolor mixing
complements.) Daniel Smith, M. Graham, and Da Vinci offer all four paints;
Winsor & Newton, Rowney Artists and MaimeriBlu make a quinacridone
maroon (PR206) that you can substitute for the perylene maroon and
quinacridone orange.
In the correct proportions, either the three paint or two paint mixtures give an
extremely dark, dead on black color; tweaking the proportions of the paints will
shift the hue to mimic any commercial dark shade paint (sepia, perylene
black, indigo, neutral tint, payne's gray), as well as dark shades that are
magenta, turquoise or deep yellow. In masstone applications these mixtures
are actually darker valued than most lamp or ivory blacks (PBk9). They create
a velvety luster, rather than the usual carbon black dullness, that harmonizes
well with other dark valued paints; they can be used to produce shades of any
paint, and when applied wet in wet or used in diluted glazes, color separation
among the pigments will produce subtle and shimmering color effects.
KEY TO THE PAINT RATINGS. Summarized as numbers: Tr = Transparency: 0 (very opaque) to 4 (transparent) - St = Staining: 0
(nonstaining) to 4 (heavily staining) - VR = Value Range: the value of the masstone color subtracted from the value of white paper, in
steps of a 100 step value scale - Gr = Granulation: 0 (liquid texture) to 4 (granular) - Bl = Blossom: 0 (no blossom) to 4 (strong
blossom) - Df = Diffusion: 0 (inert) to 4 (very active diffusion) - HA = Hue Angle in degrees of the CIELAB a*b* plane - HS = Hue
Shift as the undertone hue angle minus the masstone hue angle, in degrees of the CIELAB a*b* plane - Lf = Lightfastness: 1 (very
fugitive) to 8 (very lightfast) for paint in tint,full strength - Mentioned in pigment notes: Chroma: For the masstone paint on white
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watercolor paper. - Drying Shift: Change in masstone color appearance from a glistening wet to completely dry paint swatch, in units of
lightness, chroma and hue angle in CIELAB. For more information see What the Ratings Mean.
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