Art Spectrum Studio Blend Oil Burnt Umber 40ml

Art Spectrum Studio Blend Oil

Burnt Umber 40ml

Transparent warm dark brown. The richest earth dark in the range.

The darkest of the warm earth colours, Burnt Umber is a deep, transparent, red-brown dark made from manganese-rich calcined iron oxide. Art Spectrum Studio Blend Oil Burnt Umber 40ml is the most chromatic alternative to black for warm shadow work, underpainting, and the deep, resonant darks of still life and portrait painting. Richer and warmer than Ivory Black, more chromatic than mixing from primaries alone: Burnt Umber is the earth colour painters reach for when they need genuine depth with a warm tonality.

Pigment

PBr7 (Calcined, Manganese-Rich)

Opacity

Transparent

Lightfastness

ASTM I

Drying

Medium-Fast

Faster than most oils; ideal for lean underpainting

★ Art Shed Staff Tip

Burnt Umber is darker, warmer, and more transparent than Burnt Sienna, which makes it the better choice for deep shadow glazing and final-stage darkening. Mixed with French Ultramarine Blue it gives a near-black of genuine depth and chromatic interest. Mixed with Titanium White it produces a range of warm beige, fawn, and stone tones that are foundational for portrait mid-values and aged surface textures. Use it thinned with odourless solvent as a lean, fast-drying toning layer to establish a warm-dark ground before beginning the painting.

Perfect For

Deep warm shadow workDark underpainting and toningMixing rich near-blacks with French UltramarineAged wood, leather, and dark still lifePortrait deep shadow and hairLandscape: tree trunks, dark rock, shadow under Australian bush

What Makes This Colour Essential

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Depth

The Darkest Earth Colour

Burnt Umber is significantly darker in value than Burnt Sienna and is the natural choice when deeper, darker warm tones are needed. Its richness comes from the manganese content of the calcined PBr7 pigment, which gives it a darker mass tone than other iron oxide browns.

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Drying

Medium-Fast

Like other calcined iron oxide colours, Burnt Umber dries faster than most oil colours. This makes it a good choice for lean underpainting and first-layer work where speed of drying is useful.

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Mixing

The Foundation of Warm Darks

Mixed with French Ultramarine, Burnt Umber produces near-black dark neutrals that retain warmth. Mixed with Titanium White, it gives the full range from dark brown through to warm stone and fawn. These two mixing relationships cover most of the warm-dark range in oil painting.

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Origin

Australian-Made Since 1966

Art Spectrum has manufactured artists' materials at their Epping, Victoria facility for over six decades. Studio Blend Oil is triple-milled in refined linseed oil with ASTM I rated pigments throughout the 26-colour range.

Mixing With Burnt Umber

Burnt Umber's deep, warm transparency makes it one of the most useful darks in oil painting because it adds depth without the flatness of tube blacks. Mixed with French Ultramarine Blue in varying ratios it produces a complete range of warm through neutral darks from deep rich brown to near-black, all transparent and glazeable. This dark is particularly suited to painting the deepest shadow areas in portraits and figurative work where the shadow needs to retain colour warmth.

Mixed with Titanium White, Burnt Umber gives warm fawn, beige, cream, and stone tones that are essential in portrait painting for pale, warm mid-value skin, and in still life for aged parchment, natural linen, and warm stone. With Yellow Ochre it gives deep golden earth. With Viridian Hue it gives dark, muted ochre-green for deep foliage shadow. As a toning layer (thinned heavily and brushed over a white or cream ground), Burnt Umber establishes a warm, mid-toned ground from which both lights and darks can be developed.

About Art Spectrum Studio Blend Oil: Melbourne Made Since 1966

Art Spectrum Studio Blend Oil is the rebrand of the former Art Prism range, with fresh new packaging and artwork. The formula is unchanged: same pigments, same linseed oil base, same manufacturing standards. Made in Epping, Victoria since 1966. The 26-colour range is fully compatible with all Art Spectrum oil mediums and varnishes, and is also available in 150ml tubes.

What is the difference between Burnt Umber and Burnt Sienna?

Burnt Umber is darker and has a slightly cooler, more neutral dark brown character than Burnt Sienna, which is a warmer, more red-orange brown. Both are transparent calcined iron oxide pigments (PBr7), but Burnt Umber's manganese content gives it greater depth and a more neutral mass tone. Burnt Sienna is better for warm, reddish-brown passages and underpainting; Burnt Umber is better for deep, dark shadow and mixing near-blacks.

Can Burnt Umber replace black in oil painting?

Yes, many painters use Burnt Umber mixed with French Ultramarine Blue in place of tube black. This combination produces a richer, more chromatic dark than Ivory Black and retains colour temperature variation depending on the ratio used. Whether this is preferable to using black is a matter of approach: some painters keep Ivory Black for convenience and use Burnt Umber-Ultramarine for more critical shadow work.

Is Burnt Umber good for underpainting?

Yes. Burnt Umber is one of the classic underpainting colours, particularly for warm, dark-toned underpaintings. Its transparency allows structure to be established with a full tonal range, and its faster drying (relative to most oil colours) means the underpainting layer dries reasonably quickly. Many traditional painters use a Raw Umber or Burnt Umber monochrome underpainting (the dead colour layer) before building up colour in subsequent stages.

Is Art Spectrum Studio Blend Oil the same as Art Prism?

Yes. Art Spectrum Studio Blend Oil is the direct successor to the Art Prism range with new packaging and artwork only. The formula, pigments, and linseed oil base are unchanged.

Is 40ml enough for Burnt Umber?

For most painters, yes. Burnt Umber is used for mixing and as a component of dark mixtures rather than as a coverage colour applied heavily across the canvas. A 40ml tube provides good working volume for studio use. Painters who use Burnt Umber extensively for large-scale underpainting may prefer the 150ml tube.

Art Shed Online is an authorised Australian stockist of Art Spectrum products. All Art Spectrum Studio Blend Oil products are sourced through official distribution channels. We ship Australia-wide.

Available at Art Shed Online, Australia's specialist art supply store. Questions? Contact us at customerservice@artshedonline.com.au.

(APBU4)

SKU	APBU4
Barcode #	93446150
Brand	Art Spectrum
Shipping Weight	0.0660kg
Shipping Width	0.040m
Shipping Height	0.030m
Shipping Length	0.130m
Shipping Cubic	0.000156000m3