phthalo blue (green shade)

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

August 28, 2023August 2, 2022 by Billy Idyll

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

Phthalo Blue Green Shade (PB15:3)
Phthalo Blue Red Shade (PB15:6 or PB15:1)

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

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

Color Spotlight: Phthalo Blue Green Shade (PB15:3)

August 28, 2023February 12, 2022 by Billy Idyll

Daniel Smith – Phthalo Blue (Green Shade)

Phthalo Blue (Green Shade) uses PB15:3, a green-toned variant of phthalocyanine blue PB15. (There is also a more middle blue variant, Phthalo Blue (Red Shade), which uses pigment PB15:1 or PB15:6. See my post, What’s the difference between Phthalo Blue (Green Shade) and Phthalo Blue (Red Shade)?)

Every major manufacturer offers some variant of this pigment, and mostly they share some characteristics, like being bright, bold, and highly staining. Daniel Smith’s version is even more bold than usual/than the rest of its line, so expect LOTS of color from this paint! It’s super-vibrant and actually kind of hard to mix because it has a tendency to overwhelm whatever mix it’s in.