Schmincke Horadam Aquarell Artist Watercolor - Tundra Blue, 15 ml tube

Pigment Information

This color contains the following pigments:

PB29-Ultramarine [Blue]

PBr7-Raw Sienna

Pigment Name

PB29-Ultramarine [Blue]

Pigment Type

inorganic

Chemical Name

complex silicate of sodium and aluminum with sulfur

Chemical Formula

Na8-10Al6Si6O24S2-4 or Na6-8Al6Si6O24S2-4

Properties

Ultramarine is the standard warm blue, a brilliant blue pigment that has the most purple and least green in its undertone. It has a moderate to high tinting strength and a beautiful transparency. Synthetic Ultramarine is not as vivid a blue as natural Ultramarine. Ultramarine dries slowly in oil and tends to produce clean, though granular, washes in watercolor. French Ultramarine mixes well with Alizarin colors in oil and watercolor form to create a range of purples and violets. It can dull when mixed with white in acrylic form, but mixes well with other colors. The shade varies based on manufacturer. Considered a great color for glazes, it is not suitable for frescoing.

Permanence

Ultramarine has excellent permanence, although synthetic Ultramarine is not as permanent as natural Ultramarine. It may discolor if exposed to acid because of its sulfuric content.

Toxicity

Ultramarine has no significant hazards.

History

The name for this pigment comes from the Middle Latin ultra, meaning beyond, and mare, meaning sea, because it was imported from Asia to Europe by sea. It is a prominent component of lapis lazuli and was used on Asian temples starting in the 6th century. It was one of the most expensive pigments in 16th century Europe, worth twice its weight in gold, and so was used sparingly and when commissions were larger. Ultramarine is currently imitated by a process invented in France in 1826 by Jean Baptiste Guimet, making blue affordable to artists and extending the range of colors on their palettes.

Pigment Name

PBr7-Raw Sienna

Pigment Type

earth

Chemical Name

hydrated iron oxide

Chemical Formula

α-FeO3+(OH) or Fe2O3

Properties

Raw Sienna is a moderately dull deep earth yellow with medium tinting strength and excellent transparency. It is one of the basic permanent artists' pigments and is made from a form of limonite clay whose yellow-brown color results from ferric oxides. Raw Sienna is preferable to Yellow Ochre for creating flesh tones, due to its higher subtlety of color when mixed with white. It creates a bright Ochre when mixed with Cadmium Yellow and creates greens and grays when mixed with Ultramarine. Raw Sienna dries quickly.

Permanence

Raw Sienna has good permanence.

Toxicity

Raw Sienna has no significant hazards.

History

Raw Sienna has been used as a pigment since prehistoric times, although its current name came about during the Renaissance. It comes from the city of Siena, in Italy, and is short for terra di Siena, meaning earth of Siena. Sienna was famous for the mining and production of earth pigments from the Renaissance until World War II. Due to the depletion of clay deposits in Tuscany, Italian siennas now come from other areas, including Sicily and Sardinia.