[Aquanet] ultramarine blue vs French ultramarine blue

[NitaLeland]

If I recall my pigment history, the original ultramarine was made from the gemstone lapis lazuli and was extremely expensive. So much so that  it was rarely used except by royalty or in small quantities in illuminated manuscripts. In France, a prize was offered for the best affordable substitute for ultramarine and the winner was dubbed "French Ultramarine." 

As with other pigments, manufacturers have different processes for turning a pigment into paint. This  may result in variations in the pigment hue. Some regrind the pigments, others add extenders to the paint (clay or chalk, e.g.) to lower the cost. Even though PB 29 is ultramarine, it may look different in watercolor, acrylic, or oil paints after the binder is added. 

My personal experience has been with French ultramarine, a warm blue with a violet cast, being more intense in most brands, but some might not see it. Invariably, if I switch from WN to another brand and use ultramarine instead of the French, I'm disappointed. 

Now, if the label says "hue", that's another matter. That means something else has been substituted to look similar to PB29 and that usually isn't very successful (especially with cobalt blue PG 28).

Another example is PR 108 cadmium red (light, medium and dark) are the same pigment and vary to extremes in some brands. Still another, PR 101, which might be Indian red, burnt sienna, Venetian red, English red, or a host of other reddish earth colors.)

Bottom line: color is very personal, so all that matters is whether you like the paint color and the way it handles. And whether it's lightfast.

Nita

Nita Leland
nita at nitaleland.com
www.nitaleland.com
http://nitaleland.blogspot.com
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Patrick Davis 
  To: aquanet at thedigitalbraintrust.com 
  Sent: Wednesday, February 03, 2010 12:35 PM
  Subject: [Aquanet] ultramarine blue vs French ultramarine blue


  Hi, gang.

  I notice that there are paints labelled both French UB and just UB. Is there any real difference?

  I checked Handpring, and it appears that all are PB 29. I also notice DS sells under both names- and it's PB 29. As is often the case, I am confused. Can anyone shed light on this? Why are both names used?

  the world is soooooooo confusing
  :-)
  Pat





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