Best Non Granulating Cerulean Blues

[RFRafferty]

Looking for a good cerulean blue for sky with minimal granulation.  Daniel Smith’s granulated too much & competes with my clouds.  Turner seems to have the least granulation, but the color is a little “off” for lighting at my spot on the planet. I don’t want to spend any additional money trying to find the perfect cerulean. I checked Jane Blundell’s swatches and can see which do not granulate as much, but the colors on my screen don’t show well & I cannot decipher some of the notations in the bottom boxes.

Has anyone found a good one for sky in aviation art and landscapes? And, why?  Thanks.

http://rrafferty.faso.com/
NBAL, CLAG, WAS-H, PSST, Plein Air Austin

“Every artist was first an amateur.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

[Mullanphy]

I have one tube of Daniel Smith cerulean and finally opened it to see if I could answer your question.  Regretfully, I can’t because it is the only watercolor cerulean I have and I don’t use it.  I didn’t think it granulated an unacceptable amount, but that’s just my opinion. Compared to some other blues, though, it definitely has a greenish bend.

Have you considered mixing your own or shifting to a new blue? Pthalo blue + a translucent white might be just the ticket.  Or move to French Ultramarine – it makes a wonderful sky.

Save lives, mask up. ?

[RFRafferty]

Thanks for the feedback.  My DS Cerulean globbed like NW raw umber does.  Maybe it’s just a bad batch? I love the thalo blue for skies around here, but…it stains too much & I cannot lift out when I need to.  I do alot of lifting in skies. UMB doesn’t work for Texas skies unfortunately.  Have ordered

Just ordered Holbein Manganese Blue Nova and Holbein Horizon Blue.

I’ve never heard of a “translucent” white.  I’m trying to stick with 1) Transparent or semi-T and 2) No staining or low staining.

http://rrafferty.faso.com/
NBAL, CLAG, WAS-H, PSST, Plein Air Austin

“Every artist was first an amateur.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

[Mullanphy]

Zinc white is called transparent, but the pigment is considered translucent.  Golden, the maker of QOR watercolors, has a blurb comparing it to Titanium white at https://www.goldenpaints.com/technicalinfo/technicalinfo_faq_xv_titanium

D. Smith is a respected brand, so a bad batch is probably not the culprit.  A number of factors could be contributing to the dissatisfaction, though – an old batch/tube, the paper, the water, even the ratio of water:paint.

I’ve added a photo of a quick test of D Smith Cerulean Blue paint in two different ratios on two different papers.  1. on both papers is about a 90:10 paint to water ratio and the #2 on both papers is about a 20:80 paint to water ratio.  Paper on the right is Arches 1# cold press and the one on left is a piece of El Cheapo 140# cold press (almost a hot press smoothness, though).

The more watery mixes have more granulation, and the El Cheapo has more granulation in both swatches then the Arches.   I’d consider the granulation in any of the swatches as acceptable, but that’s a personal preference, only.

Save lives, mask up. ?

[RFRafferty]

I used Arches pad & with medium mix of water. Granulation was much more than that, so I must have an old batch.  Thanks!!!

http://rrafferty.faso.com/
NBAL, CLAG, WAS-H, PSST, Plein Air Austin

“Every artist was first an amateur.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

[Kaalia]

Are you looking for a genuine cerulean blue or just a similar hue?

W&N Manganese Blue Hue granulates a little, but nowhere near as much as their genuine Cerulean Blue.  The Manganese Hue is some sort of mix of phthalo blue with white, a bit brighter than classic cerulean, but nowhere near as harsh as straight phthalo blue.  I like using it in skies where I want less granulation from the blue.  If you prefer Daniel Smith, I believe they have a similar hue.

You can also try mixing phthalo blue with white yourself.

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