Winsor & Newton Blue Paints

Art Shed stocks 60 Winsor & Newton blue colours, every blue in the Winsor & Newton range we carry, across Professional and Cotman watercolour, Designers' Gouache, Artists' and Winton oil colour, and Artisan water mixable oil. We are an Australian art supplies retailer with stores in Moorabbin, Melbourne and West End, Brisbane, and we ship Australia wide.

Blue is the colour most artists reach for first and run out of fastest. It builds the sky, pushes a mountain into the distance, cools a skin tone and holds a night scene together. Winsor & Newton make more than 150 blues worldwide, and the 60 on this page are every one of them we carry.

Five ways to use blue  |  Which blue should you buy  |  All 60 colours  |  Choosing your range  |  Questions

Five ways to use blue

Skies and atmosphere

Clear daytime skies want a clean, slightly opaque blue. Cerulean and Cobalt sit high and light without going chalky. For deep twilight and storm work, drop into French Ultramarine for warmth or Prussian Blue for a colder, more dramatic sky. In watercolour, French Ultramarine granulates in a wash, which reads convincingly as atmosphere and is why it turns up in almost every landscape palette.

Start with: Professional Watercolour Cerulean Blue, Professional Watercolour French Ultramarine, Designers' Gouache Sky Blue, Winton Oil French Ultramarine.

Water and reflections

Water is rarely one blue. Tropical shallows need the green-leaning turquoises, while deep ocean and river shadow want something closer to Prussian or Indanthrene. The Cobalt Turquoise family is the standout here: expensive, but nothing else mixes that particular glowing shallow-water green.

Start with: Professional Watercolour Cobalt Turquoise, Professional Watercolour Phthalo Turquoise, Designers' Gouache Turquoise Blue, Artists' Oil Cobalt Turquoise.

Landscapes, depth and distance

Atmospheric perspective is really just blue doing the work. Cooling and greying your distant hills is what makes the foreground come forward. Antwerp Blue and Indanthrene are quietly brilliant for this, and Winsor Blue (Green Shade) mixed into your greens will stop a landscape looking like a golf course.

Start with: Professional Watercolour Indanthrene Blue, Professional Watercolour Antwerp Blue, Professional Watercolour Winsor Blue (Green Shade), Cotman Ultramarine Blue.

Portraits and skin tones

Blue is the hidden half of every skin tone. It cools a cheek, builds a believable shadow instead of a muddy grey one, and stops warm flesh tones going orange. French Ultramarine mixed with a warm red gives you the most useful portrait shadow there is, because the result is a coloured shadow rather than a grey one. Blue Black is a far better dark than black straight from the tube.

Start with: Artists' Oil French Ultramarine Blue, Artists' Oil Blue Black, Professional Watercolour Ultramarine (Green Shade), Artisan French Ultramarine Blue.

Urban and architectural scenes

Wet streets, glass, night light and industrial greys all live in the cool end of the blue range. Indigo and Indanthrene give you moody near-blacks that still read as colour, and Phthalo Blue brings the hard graphic edge that suits contemporary city work and mixed media.

Start with: Professional Watercolour Indigo, Designers' Gouache Phthalo Blue, Artists' Oil Indigo, Winton Oil Phthalo Blue.

Which blue should you buy?

What is the difference between Cerulean Blue and Cobalt Blue?

Cerulean Blue is lighter, greener and more opaque than Cobalt Blue, while Cobalt Blue is cleaner, slightly warmer and more transparent. Cerulean is the honest choice for a clear daytime sky and for anything that needs to sit back in the picture, because its opacity helps it hold its place. Cobalt mixes far better without going dull, which makes it the more versatile of the two. If you only buy one, buy Cobalt. If you paint skies constantly, buy both.

Should I use Ultramarine or French Ultramarine?

French Ultramarine is the deeper, warmer, more red-leaning version and it granulates more, which is what most landscape and portrait painters want. Ultramarine (Green Shade) is cooler and cleaner, and better if you are mixing bright greens or clean violets. Both are the same pigment family, so they behave similarly on the brush.

What is the difference between Prussian Blue and Indigo?

Prussian Blue is enormously strong, cold and slightly green, and Indigo is Prussian with the lights turned down. Prussian has very high tinting strength, so a small amount goes a long way and it will take over a mix if you are not careful. Indigo is a soft near-black blue that is superb for shadow, storm and night work, but harder to bring back to brightness once you have used it.

Winsor Blue Green Shade or Red Shade?

Green Shade is your mixing workhorse for greens and turquoises. Red Shade leans toward violet and is the better partner for a warm red when you want clean purples. Both are phthalocyanine blues, so both have very high tinting strength. Use less than you think you need.

What does the Winsor & Newton series number mean?

The series number, shown as S1 through S5, indicates the cost of the pigment, not the quality of the paint. A Series 1 colour such as Prussian Blue uses an inexpensive pigment, while a Series 4 or 5 colour such as Cobalt Turquoise uses a genuinely costly mineral. Every colour in the range is made to the same standard regardless of series. Cotman and Winton do not use series numbers.

All 60 Winsor & Newton blues we stock

Winsor & Newton identify every colour by a three digit colour number that stays the same across sizes and formats. If you are reordering the exact colour you used last time, the number is the reliable way to do it. Series (S1 to S5) reflects pigment cost, not quality.

Professional Watercolour (5ml tube) · 17 blues

Cotman Watercolour (8ml tube) · 7 blues

Designers' Gouache (14ml tube) · 13 blues

Artists' Oil Colour (37ml tube) · 11 blues

Winton Oil Colour (37ml tube) · 5 blues

Artisan Water Mixable Oil Colour (37ml tube) · 7 blues

Choosing your range

Professional Watercolour and Cotman: what is the difference?

Professional Watercolour uses single pigments at the highest concentration Winsor & Newton produce, with the best lightfastness and the cleanest mixes. Cotman is the student range: the same manufacturing standards with more affordable pigments and a little more filler. Cotman is an excellent range to learn on and to fill sketchbooks with, and many artists run Cotman for studies and Professional for finished work.

Designers' Gouache: when to reach for it

Designers' Gouache is opaque, matte and re-wettable, which makes it the natural choice for illustration, flat graphic colour and any work that needs to reproduce cleanly. The blues in this range are particularly strong for poster-style skies and bold contemporary work.

Artists' Oil Colour and Winton: what is the difference?

Artists' Oil Colour is the professional range, with the highest pigment load and the widest choice of genuine mineral colours such as Cobalt and Cerulean. Winton is the more affordable range, using hues in place of the costly pigments, and it is the sensible way to cover large areas or work at scale without watching the budget.

Is Artisan Water Mixable Oil a real oil paint?

Yes. Artisan Water Mixable Oil Colour is a genuine oil paint modified so that it thins and cleans up with water instead of solvents. It handles and dries like a traditional oil. If you paint at home, share a space, or simply want the turps out of your studio, this is the range to look at.

Common questions

Which Winsor & Newton blues does Art Shed stock?

Art Shed stocks 60 individual Winsor & Newton blue colours: 17 in Professional Watercolour 5ml, 7 in Cotman Watercolour 8ml, 13 in Designers' Gouache 14ml, 11 in Artists' Oil Colour 37ml, 5 in Winton Oil Colour 37ml, and 7 in Artisan Water Mixable Oil Colour 37ml. That is every Winsor & Newton blue in our range.

What is the best Winsor & Newton blue for painting skies?

Cerulean Blue and Cobalt Blue are the best Winsor & Newton blues for clear daytime skies, and French Ultramarine or Prussian Blue are better for twilight, storms and dramatic weather. Cerulean and Cobalt sit high and light without going chalky. French Ultramarine adds warmth to a deep evening sky, and Prussian Blue gives a colder, more menacing result.

Which blue is best for painting water and ocean?

Cobalt Turquoise and Phthalo Turquoise are the best Winsor & Newton blues for tropical shallow water, and Prussian Blue or Indanthrene Blue suit deep ocean and river shadow. Water is rarely a single blue, so most seascapes need one green-leaning turquoise and one deep cold blue.

Why do I need blue for skin tones?

Blue cools skin tones, builds believable shadows and stops warm flesh tones drifting orange. French Ultramarine mixed with a warm red produces the most useful portrait shadow available, because the result is a coloured shadow rather than a grey one. Blue Black is also a better dark for portraits than black used straight from the tube.

Which Winsor & Newton blue has the strongest tinting strength?

Prussian Blue and the phthalocyanine blues, sold as Winsor Blue and Phthalo Blue, have the highest tinting strength of any blue in the Winsor & Newton range. A brush tip of any of them will change a whole mix, so add them to other colours rather than the other way around.

Do you ship Winsor & Newton paint across Australia?

Yes. Art Shed ships Winsor & Newton paint Australia wide from our Moorabbin warehouse, and you can also buy in person at our Moorabbin store in Melbourne or our West End store in Brisbane. Staff in both stores paint, so ask if you want a second opinion on a colour before you commit.

Finish the kit

New tubes deserve a surface that can take them. Have a look at our watercolour paper, canvas and painting surfaces and brushes while you are here. If you are not sure what pairs with what, call the team in Moorabbin or Brisbane. We use this stuff too.

Written by the Art Shed team. Art Shed is a family owned Australian art supplies retailer with stores in Moorabbin, Melbourne and West End, Brisbane. We have sold and used Winsor & Newton paint for decades, and the recommendations on this page come from painting with it, not from a catalogue.

20% off applies to all Winsor & Newton blue colours in the Art Shed range, as shown on this page, until 5pm on 30 September 2026. Not available in conjunction with any other offer, discount code, coupon, voucher, bundle deal, Creative Rewards redemption or team member discount unless otherwise stated. While stocks last. No rainchecks, stock holds or product reservations. Sets are excluded. School, education and account customers are only eligible where the full order is paid in full at the time of purchase. Art Shed reserves the right to amend, extend, suspend or terminate the promotion at any time. Standard Art Shed shipping, returns and exchange policies apply, and refunds on returned items will be issued at the discounted purchase price.