Art Spectrum Studio Blend Oil Phthalo Blue 40ml | Intense Transparent Cool Blue

Art Spectrum Studio Blend Oil

Phthalo Blue 40ml

The most intense blue in the range: cool, transparent, and enormously powerful.

Art Spectrum Studio Blend Oil Phthalo Blue 40ml is the most intensely saturated, highest-tinting-strength blue in the Studio Blend range. Based on PB15:3 (Phthalocyanine Blue, Green Shade), it is a cool, slightly greenish blue with extraordinary brilliance and transparency. A small amount goes a very long way: Phthalo Blue can overwhelm a mixture quickly. Used with discipline, it produces the cleanest, brightest turquoise and teal greens when mixed with yellow, the most intense dark blues for deep water and night sky, and luminous transparent blue glazes over lighter grounds. It is the technical complement to French Ultramarine: where Ultramarine is warm and violet, Phthalo is cool and green.

Pigment

PB15:3 (Phthalocyanine Blue, Green Shade)

Opacity

Transparent

Lightfastness

ASTM I

Drying

Medium

Consistent drying for phthalocyanine pigments

★ Art Shed Staff Tip

Phthalo Blue has one of the highest tinting strengths of any pigment in the Studio Blend range. Use a very small amount and add it carefully. To make the most intense, brilliant turquoise blue-green, mix Phthalo Blue with a little Lemon Yellow. For deep ocean blue, apply Phthalo Blue very thinly in a glaze over a mid-blue ground: the transparency gives extraordinary depth. Mixed with Burnt Sienna, Phthalo Blue gives cool, neutral dark tones that are excellent for cool shadow areas in coastal and marine subjects.

Perfect For

Brilliant turquoise and teal: blue-green mixing with yellowDeep ocean and water: transparent dark blue glazingClear tropical water: intense blue-greenCool night sky and deep atmospheric blueIntense, saturated blue passages in decorative workUnderpainting for cool-dominated subjects

What Makes This Colour Essential

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Intensity

The Most Saturated Blue Available

PB15:3 is one of the most intensely saturated pigments available in any medium. Phthalo Blue gives colours that no other blue can match for sheer chromatic intensity. Use sparingly.

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Temperature

Cool, Green-Biased Blue

Phthalo Blue (green shade) sits at the cool, green side of blue. It mixes the cleanest, most vivid greens and turquoises with yellow, and gives a crisper, more contemporary blue than the warmer French Ultramarine. For cool-light seascape and contemporary subjects, Phthalo Blue is often preferred.

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Transparency

Fully Transparent

Phthalo Blue is transparent: in glazing applications over lighter grounds it gives extraordinary luminous depth. Deep water, night sky, and tropical ocean are all subjects where the transparency of Phthalo Blue gives results that opaque coverage cannot.

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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 Phthalo Blue

Phthalo Blue is most often used as a mixing colour rather than applied directly from the tube. With Lemon Yellow it gives the most saturated, brilliant emerald and turquoise greens possible in oil painting. With Cadmium Yellow Hue it gives a slightly warmer, more classic green. With Titanium White it gives a vivid, clear light blue with cool, clinical precision. For deep ocean colour, a small amount of Phthalo Blue mixed into French Ultramarine gives extraordinary depth and darkness without going purple.

Because of its extreme tinting strength, Phthalo Blue should usually be treated as a tinting agent: pick up a tiny amount on the palette knife and pre-mix it with a neutral or white before incorporating it into a larger mixture. This prevents a single accidental overshoot from tinting an entire batch of paint. In landscape, Phthalo Blue with Sap Green gives the deep, rich green of dense rainforest canopy. With Viridian Hue and Titanium White it gives the cool, translucent teal of shallow tropical Australian water.

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 Phthalo Blue and French Ultramarine?

Phthalo Blue (PB15:3) is cool, green-biased, transparent, and extremely high in tinting strength. French Ultramarine (PB29) is warm, violet-biased, semi-transparent, and gentler in tinting strength. Phthalo Blue gives brighter, more intense colours and cleaner greens. French Ultramarine gives warmer, softer, more classically atmospheric blue. Most painters use both.

Is Phthalo Blue good for seascape painting?

Yes: Phthalo Blue is one of the most useful colours for seascape and marine subjects. The intense, cool blue-green of tropical Australian water, the deep dark blue of open ocean, and the luminous turquoise of shallow coral-reef water all call for Phthalo Blue in the palette.

Can Phthalo Blue be used for sky?

Yes, but with care. Phthalo Blue gives a more intense, cooler sky blue than French Ultramarine. Many painters find it too intense for directly applied sky, so it is typically used in small amounts mixed into French Ultramarine and white for the most saturated parts of a clear sky, or as the dominant blue for very bright, contemporary, open-sky passages.

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 Phthalo Blue lightfast?

Yes. Art Spectrum Studio Blend Phthalo Blue carries an ASTM I lightfastness rating. PB15:3 (Phthalocyanine Blue) is one of the most lightfast pigments available, with exceptional permanence for professional fine art use.

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.

(APPB4)

SKU	APPB4
Barcode #	93446112
Brand	Art Spectrum
Shipping Weight	0.0630kg
Shipping Width	0.040m
Shipping Height	0.030m
Shipping Length	0.120m
Shipping Cubic	0.000144000m3