[Aquanet] Peacock Blue

[pat davis]

No experience, Miriam, but once again, here's the Handprint lowdown 
below. BTW, handprint.com is a good source of information on many, many 
subjects about watercolour. I refer you to this site:
http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/water.html

I should note that the information is often subjective and the author 
does pontificate, so be aware of that. Saying that, I personally know of 
no other site with so much information.

cheers
pat

*PB17* 	/trisulphonated copper phthalocyanine (1935)/ 	peacock blue
/[discontinued in 2005]/ 	Holbein 	101 	3 	3 	51 	0 	2 	0 	238 	-16 	7,8

	<http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/IMG/RC/rcPB17.jpg>  Phthalocyanine 
cyan PB17 is a lightfast, semitransparent, staining, moderately dark 
valued, moderately dull *green blue* 
<http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/palette1.html#greenblue> pigment, 
available from only 2 manufacturers worldwide (one of them in China). In 
watercolors, PB17 undergoes a moderately large *drying shift* 
<http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/cds.html>, lightening by 20% and losing 
saturation. The best *mixing complements* 
<http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/mixtable.html#PB17> for phthalo cyan 
are cadmium scarlet (*PR108* 
<http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/waterr.html#PR108>) or quinacridone 
maroon (*PR206* <http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/watere.html#PR206>).

Apparently *Holbein peacock blue*, now discontinued, was the only 
commercial source for this pigment in watercolors. It's 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 has a slightly lower tinting strength than most phthalo 
blues. Its bright cyan color is quite close to the artist's *"primary" 
cyan* <http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/color13.html#primary> at *color 
point 9* <http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/color16.html#point9> on the 
color wheel.

*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 
<http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/waterb.html#PB15>*) for this hue. See 
also the section on *phthalocyanine* 
<http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/pigmt1d.html#phthalocyanine> pigments.