blue

What’s the best blue watercolor for the dusk sky?

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When I experimented to find my favorite blue for the sky, I focused mainly on the light blue midday sky, with a quick nod to deep dark night skies. These days, I find myself often drawn to the in-between gradient shades of dusk skies: inky night blue at the top, grading to pale muted cyan … Read more

What’s the difference between Cobalt Blue and Ultramarine Blue?

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Cobalt Blue is a bright middle blue, while Ultramarine Blue is more violet-toned. But Ultramarine Blue also comes in a range of shades, from a Green Shade that is almost identical to Cobalt Blue, to a more violet-toned (and usually more granulating) deep or French shade.

Comparison of DV Cobalt Blue (PB28); WN Ultramarine Blue Green Shade (PB29); DV Ultramarine Blue (PB29); Holbein Ultramarine Deep (PB29); WN Smalt (PV15).

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Color Spotlight: Phthalo Blue Red Shade (PB15:6)

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Daniel Smith – Phthalo Blue Red Shade (PB15:1)

Is Phthalo Blue Red Shade actually red-toned, neutral, or still green-toned but simply less so than its cousin Phthalo Blue Green Shade (PB15:3)? I’ve heard all opinions, and I suppose it’s a judgment call. (Is the color blue you see the same as the color blue I see?) My opinion is that it is a fairly neutral blue without a clear bias toward purple or green. But it’s just as strong and lively as its Phthalo kin.

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Color Spotlight: Cerulean Blue Genuine (PB36)

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Da Vinci - Cerulean Blue Genuine
Da Vinci – Cerulean Blue Genuine

Cerulean, meaning “sky”, is a light sky blue, traditionally made from the PB35 or PB36 pigments, which are both cobalt oxides. It’s an opaque, granulating, light-valued, green-toned blue.

Warning: Be careful to look at pigment numbers. Some brands, like Mission Gold, call their PB15 Phthalo Blue “Cerulean.” Don’t make the mistake I did when I first started painting, and get “Cerulean Hue” (from Da Vinci, Cotman, etc.), made from Phthalo Blue + white. PB15 is not the same color, and will not have the same granulation/magic/mixing properties.

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What’s the difference between Phthalo Blue (Green Shade) and Phthalo Blue (Red Shade)?

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Getting from PBGS to PBRS

Phthalocyanine blue (PB15) is an incredibly intense, staining, transparent, non-granulating, lightfast pigment that comes in two versions:

(I’ll call them GS and RS in this post.)

What’s the difference, and which should you choose?

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Color Spotlight: Cobalt Turquoise (PG50, PB28, or PB36)

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Schmincke Horadam Cobalt Turquoise: Gradient, opacity and glazing tests, color mixes

Cobalt Turquoise is a super bright, true turquoise usually made from the pigment PG50 (same as Cobalt Green), though sometimes from PB28 (same as Cobalt Blue) or PB36 (same as Cerulean Blue). In any formulation, it is derived from the heavy metal cobalt.

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Color Spotlight: Ultramarine Blue (PB29)

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Da Vinci Ultramarine Blue – gradient, opacity and glazing tests, color mixes

Ultramarine Blue is a bright, bold, almost electric violet-blue that is almost always granulating. It typically comes in two flavors: regular and French. French Ultramarine (or sometimes “Ultramarine Deep”) is the more granulating and violet-toned, while the regular Ultramarine is moderately granulating and a bit more medium blue. Some brands also offer a Light Ultramarine or Ultramarine (Green Shade) on the other side of the spectrum.

Let’s start by looking at Da Vinci Ultramarine Blue, a balanced medium color, and then we’ll explore the French and Green shade options as well as other brands.

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