Description
Backbarrow Blue was a grade of ultramarine pigment produced at Backbarrow near Windermere until the 1970s, also known as ‘dolly blue’, this paint is made from that exact pigment - sourced from old stocks. There is an image above of one of the kiln workers involved in producing the pigment, on his blue truck, in his blue overalls! Also shown is the factory itself.
This is the most luminous ultramarine blue I have ever seen.
It also has that wonderful depth that all well-ground ultramarine pigments have due to their semi-transparent nature - this particular pigment really bounces back a lot of blue light!
Leaning more towards violet than green on the colour wheel, the violet edge really vibrates when used thickly, as it is spread more thinly it approaches a more mid-blue.
The tints when white are added are excellent sky blues, the violet element really giving that UV feel of a summer sky.
It is smooth in handling and has a high pigment load.
Technical Overview
Pigment - PB29
Vehicle - Linseed Oil
Opacity - Semi-Transparent
Tint Power - Medium
Munsell - Hue 7.5PB - Value 3 - Chroma 16
Wallace Seymour Paints
