Mixing Colorful Grays & Blacks (Synthetic Blacks)

Question:   What paints can I mix to get a dark black color?  I’ve tried many mixtures that make interesting grays, but they are never dark enough. 

Answer:   Here are three combinations.  My favorite is Burnt Sienna (PBr7)* plus French Ultramarine Blue (PB29)*.  The range of warm and cool blacks, grays, rich browns, taupes, and deep blues is beautiful.  This range is so wide, I’ve painted several paintings with just these two paints!

Two other great combinations are Perylene Maroon (PR179) plus Phthalo Green (PG7), and Venetian Red (PR101) plus Prussian Blue (PB27). 

*PB27 and the other designations are standardized pigment numbers by ASTM International (formerly, American Society for Testing and Materials).  PB means “pigment blue”,  PY means “pigment yellow”, and PR means “pigment red”. 

PBr7 is “pigment brown 7”.   Most traditional earth colors share PBr7;  the main difference is some have been heated to get a different color (e.g. burnt sienna, burnt umber).

Most artist-grade (professional grade) paints list pigments on the label.   Www.handprint.com is my favorite reference for the physical properties of pigments used in watercolor (like lightfastness, granulation, and staining).  For those with a geeky delight in theory and science (that would be me…), it goes far beyond the basics, covering topics like historical palette choices all the way to light science.