Hue Knew?? Cerulean Blue

Cerulean Blue

Some time ago, I wrote about the various blue pigments. One of them is cerulean blue. (Trivia point: Movie buffs and fashionistas may remember Meryl Streep holding forth about cerulean blue in the movie "The Devil Wears Prada"). Cerulean is a light, bright blue pigment. It was first developed in the 1860's, and was an important part of the palette used by the Impressionists. Here is a favorite painting by Monet that uses plenty of cerulean:

Claude Monet
"Gare St. Lazare"

Chemically, cerulean is cobalt stannate. It is made by mixing cobaltous chloride with potassium stannate. As it turns out, true cerulean is a very weak color. And it is also quite expensive.

Enter "Cerulean Blue Hue". Many times, when you see the word "hue" on a tube of paint, it is an indication that the paint is of an inferior grade. Not so in this case. "Cerulean Blue Hue" is made from phthalo blue mixed with white. It is actually "stronger" than its namesake--which is to say that it has more tinting power. As as added benefit, it is also less expensive to make than the original cerulean blue. Hue knew?!

For the curious, phthalo blue is a "modern" pigment, first developed in the 1920's. It is VERY powerful...I have always found the phthalo colors too garish. Little did I know that phthalo blue is the basis of the Cerulean Blue Hue that I use every day! In fact, it played a prominent part in the painting below:

"Joucas from Below"
9 x 16, oil on linen
(c) Lesley Powell 2014

So, my exploration of cerulean blue taught me a few new things about the pigments on my palette. And I also discovered that the term "hue" on a paint label is not necessarily a bad sign! I am inspired to return to my series of studies on pigments, and see all the other nifty stuff I can learn...