Blue Color Charts

Artist's Magazine had an article and color chart in their Brushing Up section on blue oil paints by Michael Chesley Johnson, October 2013.

I decided to do a blue color chart of my own and here's what I discovered:

I love Ultramaine Blue and Cerulean Blue Hue. I know how to use them, they're creamy, opaque and mix well with the other colors on my palette.

Many blues are so close in color that my eye isn't sensitive enough to see a distinctive difference.

Manganese Blue Hue (Gamblin) is surprisingly transparent.

My chart shattered my belief that hues (mixtures) were inferior to pure colors. It depends on the color and manufacturer, e.g. Cerulean Blue Hue (Utrecht) is more opaque than Cerulean Blue Pure (Utrecht).

Cobalt Teal is a lovely color and it would make a great addition to my palette.

I knew that tinting a color with white would lighten it but may make it look chalky. Adding a bit of Naples Yellow to the white will dull it down but keep it light (I did that to the last three colors of my chart and will try it with the rest in the future).

I used all the blues in my studio for this chart. I hardly ever used all of them in the past and that won't change.

Magazines colors are pretty accurate but sometimes they are off.