Almost a grey, and the figures say so plainly. A value of 8.0 is high on the light scale and a chroma of 2.5 is very close to neutral. Holbein gets there with PB29 ultramarine, PBk11 black iron oxide and titanium white, so there is a genuine black in the recipe rather than simply a dilution. Hue 3.0PB keeps the little colour it has on the blue side. A soft, cool, faintly dusty pale blue-grey.

Near-neutral tints are the ones that get used up quietly. This is mist and haze, weathered galvanised iron, distant water, pale winter sky, uniform cloth, and the shadow side of anything white. It is also a natural moderator: a small amount will take the plastic edge off a bright blue or green without dirtying it, because it is a blue itself. Designers and illustrators use colours like this as the calm ground that lets a single bright accent do its job, and it goes down evenly over large flat areas.

What Makes This Colour Special

Pigment, lightfastness and series as published by Holbein. Holbein does not publish an opacity rating for individual colours; the range as a whole is described by Holbein as opaque.

Acrylic Gouache, Not Traditional Gouache

The name is a mouthful and the category still puzzles people. Holbein Acrylic Gouache dries to a matte opaque finish and is water resistant once dry, so it does not reactivate with water like traditional gouache. In other words you get the flat matte surface of gouache and the permanence of acrylic in the same tube. It suits anyone who builds an image out of flat shapes, and it photographs and scans cleanly without the glare a glossier paint gives you. Every colour we carry is on our Holbein Acrylic Gouache page.

Worth separating from standard acrylic colour. Much of a normal acrylic range is built to be transparent so colours can be glazed over one another. Acrylic gouache is designed the other way round, for dense flat colour laid on in one pass. A difference of intent rather than quality, and it is why the two look so unalike together.

Why Holbein Acrylic Gouache Is in Serious Studios

• Genuinely opaque. Holbein describes the range simply as an opaque acrylic paint. It covers, including over darker colour, which is the whole point of reaching for gouache rather than watercolour.
• Velvety matte, no sheen. Holbein describes the colour as opaque, intense, smooth and velvety. It dries flat, which is why it photographs and scans without glare.
• Water resistant once dry, so you can layer. Holbein’s own wording, and the reason the range exists. A dry layer will take another one over the top without lifting.
• The colour you mix is the colour you get. Holbein states it does not shift in colour tone from wet to dried colour. Anyone who has watched a perfect grey dry into a different grey will appreciate that.
• Built to use straight from the tube. Holbein says it is specifically designed to be used directly from the tube and will dry to even, uniform paint layers.
• Works on more than paper. Holbein lists paper, canvas, cloth, stone, wood, leather, plexiglass and concrete, with excellent adhesion, and full compatibility with all acrylic mediums.

Getting the Most Out of This Tube

Straight from the tube is the default. This is what Holbein designed it for, and it is where you get those even, flat, uniform layers. Add a little water to loosen it, but go easy: very diluted washes can dry streaky across a large flat area, so build coverage in thin even coats rather than flooding it on.

Watch the palette, not the clock. Holbein gives an open time of roughly 10 to 30 minutes and notes the drying time is much like ordinary watercolour. The practical consequence is that paint left sitting on the palette will go off and will not come back, so squeeze out small amounts as you need them.

It plays well with acrylic mediums. Holbein states the range is compatible with all acrylic mediums, so you can change the body or extend the working time if you want to. Soft synthetic brushes suit it, since they hold enough paint to lay a flat area without dragging.

Questions About Holbein Misty Blue