Art Spectrum Studio Blend Oil
Cobalt Blue Hue 40ml
A clean, mid-value blue with genuine chromatic reach. Student-friendly alternative to genuine cobalt.

Art Spectrum Studio Blend Oil Cobalt Blue Hue 40ml captures the characteristic hue of genuine cobalt blue at a studio-friendly price point. Cobalt Blue Hue is a clean, mid-value blue that sits between the cooler Cerulean and the deeper French Ultramarine: not as bright or sky-toned as Cerulean, not as dark or violet-leaning as Ultramarine. As a hue colour it delivers the distinctive cobalt blue character with ASTM I lightfastness throughout. It is the blue of still water, clear sky, and the cool mid-tones of shadow passages in many landscape and figurative contexts.

Pigment
PB29, PW6 (Ultramarine + Titanium White blend)
Opacity
Semi-Opaque
Lightfastness
ASTM I
Drying
Medium
Typical for a synthetic pigment oil colour
★ Art Shed Staff Tip
Cobalt Blue Hue is the most neutral-value blue in the range: not as sky-bright as Cerulean and not as violet-dark as French Ultramarine. If you find French Ultramarine too dark for your sky passages or Cerulean too light and greenish, Cobalt Blue Hue fills that middle register. It mixes clean violets with Alizarin Crimson or Magenta, clean greens with Lemon Yellow or Sap Green, and produces bright, clear blue-grey passages when lightened with Titanium White.
Perfect For
Clear sky and atmosphere in landscapeStill water and reflective surface bluesCool mid-value shadow tonesClean violet mixing with Alizarin or MagentaSea and coastal paintingPortrait: cool mid-value atmosphere and background

What Makes This Colour Essential

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Hue Position
The Middle Blue
Cobalt Blue Hue occupies the central position in the blue family: warmer and slightly darker than Cerulean Blue Hue, cooler and lighter than French Ultramarine. This mid-range position makes it the most versatile of the three blues for general colour mixing and direct sky painting.
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Opacity
Semi-Opaque
Cobalt Blue Hue is semi-opaque, giving it good covering power while still allowing some translucency in thinned applications. This makes it suitable for both direct painting and glazing in thin layers over a lighter underpainting.
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Mixing
Exceptional Chromatic Range
Cobalt Blue Hue produces brilliant, clean violets with Alizarin Crimson or Magenta. With Lemon Yellow it gives bright blue-green. With Titanium White it gives the clear, luminous mid-blue of the open sky. It is one of the most productive blues for colour mixing across a wide range of subjects.
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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 Cobalt Blue Hue

Cobalt Blue Hue's balanced, mid-value position in the blue family makes it exceptionally useful for colour mixing. It produces clean, bright violets when mixed with Alizarin Crimson or Magenta, giving a range from warm red-violet to blue-violet depending on the ratio. With Lemon Yellow it gives bright blue-green; with Yellow Ochre it gives more muted olive and teal tones. All of these mixtures retain the inherent brightness that Cobalt Blue Hue brings.

For sky and atmosphere, Cobalt Blue Hue mixed with Titanium White produces the characteristic clear, mid-value blue of open sky. As the blue is lightened toward the horizon, reducing the Cobalt Blue Hue and adding a small amount of Cerulean or even a touch of Yellow Ochre to the mix gives the warmer, lighter values at the sky edge. For cool shadow passages in portrait or figurative work, a small amount of Cobalt Blue Hue mixed into a shadow grey gives the cool, clear, reflected-light quality of shadows in strong sunlight.

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 Cobalt Blue Hue and French Ultramarine?

French Ultramarine is a deeper, darker, violet-leaning blue ideal for dark shadows, deep sky, and warm-cool contrast work. Cobalt Blue Hue is a lighter, more neutral, purer blue with less violet bias, better suited to mid-value sky passages, atmospheric blues, and clean colour mixing. Both are ASTM I lightfast. Many painters use both: Ultramarine for dark, deep passages and Cobalt Blue Hue for mid and lighter blue work.

What is the difference between Cobalt Blue Hue and Cerulean Blue Hue?

Cerulean Blue Hue is lighter in value, cooler (slightly green-biased), and more sky-bright than Cobalt Blue Hue. Cobalt Blue Hue is darker, warmer, and more neutral. Cerulean is better for pale, high-key sky and water; Cobalt Blue Hue is better for mid-value blue passages and more versatile colour mixing.

Is Cobalt Blue Hue as good as genuine cobalt blue?

Cobalt Blue Hue uses a combination of lightfast pigments (typically PB29 ultramarine and PW6 titanium white) to replicate the characteristic hue and value of genuine cobalt blue at a lower cost. The lightfastness is rated ASTM I throughout the Art Spectrum Studio Blend Oil range. The mixing behaviour and transparency of a hue formulation differs slightly from a single-pigment cobalt blue, but for most studio and educational purposes the result is very similar.

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 Cobalt Blue Hue for an oil painter?

For most painters, 40ml is a practical working size. Cobalt Blue Hue is primarily used as a mixing colour and for specific passages rather than as a heavy-use coverage colour, so a 40ml tube provides good working volume. Painters who use blue extensively for large sky or water compositions 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.

(APCB4)

SKU APCB4
Barcode # 93446228
Brand Art Spectrum
Shipping Weight 0.0650kg
Shipping Width 0.040m
Shipping Height 0.030m
Shipping Length 0.130m
Shipping Cubic 0.000156000m3

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