Cobalt Blue watercolor is a pure transparent non-staining watercolor that has a distinctive color that is rarely used on its own as a primary blue.
It is the “blue” in the transparent non-staining watercolor palette used for the glazing technique and mixing with other colors.
Measured against a gray scale value finder, transparent non-staining watercolors are generally light in value ranging from 10% to a maximum of 70% value.
So, the colors in the transparent non-staining category are adequate for a complete palette, except for where darker passages require colors with values higher on the gray scale.
PAINT CHARACTERISTICS
Cobalt Blue is considered to be a neutral blue, neither warm nor cool, that can be used to tone down other colors it is mixed with.
Like other transparent non-staining watercolors, Cobalt Blue can be lifted from a dampened watercolor paper without leaving a strong stain behind.
COLOR MIXING WITH COBALT BLUE WATERCOLOR
Mix Cobalt Blue with Permanent Rose to create delicate transparent violet colors.
Add Aureolin or New Gamboge to Cobalt Blue to mix a variety of green colors that look more natural than using Viridian or Hooker’s Green straight from the tube.
Mix Cobalt Blue with Aureolin plus Rose Madder Genuine to create interesting light to mid-value transparent gray colors.
It also makes beautiful, luminous washes when glazed or mixed with the other watercolors in the transparent non-staining category.
Cobalt Blue can also be successfully mixed with watercolors in the semi-transparent non-staining category.
Mixed with semi-opaque or opaque colors, it will create a combination that is cleaner and more transparent than using only opaque colors.
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… and the recommended transparent non-staining watercolors for glazing or color mixing with Cobalt Blue
… also the recommended semi-transparent non-staining watercolor for mixing with Cobalt Blue
To learn more about transparent watercolors, click the link to my blog post “Which watercolor paints are transparent.”
See my YouTube playlist “Watercolor Paint Characteristics & Color Mixing” for more videos. And, subscribe to my YouTube channel.