A nongranulating, transparent black. MaimeriBlu, a single-pigment only line, uses this as their ‘Neutral Tint’ (most brands have a mixed neutral tint). Rembrandt calls it Spinel Grey.
Pigment Characteristics for PBk26
Pigment Description: Manganese Ferrite Black Spinel
Lightfastness: Likely Excellent (I) per ArtisCreation.
Toxicity: Nontoxic (A) per ArtisCreation.
Observations of Rembrandt Spinel Grey
Hue: A totally neutral, inky black.
Gradient: Smooth gradient to a pale gray.
Opacity: Totally transparent, which is rare for a black!
Lifting/Staining: I wanted to note that this pigment is totally lifting. I assumed it would be staining and I was wrong. For example, I painted clear water over dry silhouettes painted in this black… and they all smeared!
Lightfastness
No effect at all from six months of sun!
Comparison to Other Brands
MaimeriBlu – Neutral Tint
MaimeirBlu is the only other brand besides Rembrandt that I am aware of that carries PBk26. I haven’t noticed a difference between the two. This is one of my favorite MMB colors. In other brands, the color called Neutral Tint is usually a mixed transparent dark color made from black, phthalo blue, and a quinacridone red of some kind, but MMB is an all single-pigment brand.
My Review of Spinel Grey
I was using this as the black/gray in my palette for awhile, but I came to realize that it had pretty limited use cases. I think this is not necessarily a fault of this black but my attitude about any black. I use black for:
- Flat black detail on birds/animals.
- Foreground silhouettes.
For #1, any black or mixed black will do, and for #2, an opaque black is better. I switched to using black gouache for silhouettes.
The transparency makes this an ideal black or neutral tint to mix darks, though that’s not something I really enjoy doing much. I find mixes with black pigments a bit dull. Still, it’s useful for a DIY Indigo, Payne’s Gray, etc., and can be swapped for the more common Lamp Black in tutorials.
Wanna buy it? You can support the blog by shopping through my affiliate links.
Rembrandt Spinel Grey, 10ml tube: Blick | Utrecht
