Genuine Vivianite - Blue Ochre - 40ml

This is a special and rare paint, very hard to come by, I don't know of anyone else making it - vivianite oil paint.

The mineral pigment for this paint is sourced from peat bogs in Russia.

Until relatively recently painters throughout history have always deeply respected the colour blue as it is very hard to find natural sources of it. Hence the use of Lapis Lazuli which for a long time came from just one mine in Afghanistan and yet found its way to the Italian and Northern Renaissances and the ancient Egyptians.

This is a natural blue earth.

In masstone, a dark, greyish blue. Under the palette knife It has a quite a thin feel and almost transparent once flattened out on a white ground, however the pigment particles remain very dark, similar to a natural indigo.

You can feel the pigment particles but they are not obtrusive, I suspect pigment size is important in maintaining a good rich hue. It feels earthy.

A gentle tinter but this for me is where it shines, it makes smokey blue tints with a distinct earthy depth. The tints get more beautiful the higher value they are (the more white added) when muted, gentle blue greys are created.

This paint would work very well on a landscape palette.

It is expensive however maybe to help understand why below is a wonderful video showing just some of the work involved in preparing this pigment, never mind sourcing it (very labour intensive) and making it into paint. 

Technical Overview

Pigment - Vivianite/Blue Ochre

Binder - Cold Pressed Linseed Oil

Opacity - Semi-Opaque

Drying Time - Average

Munsell - Hue 7.5 B - Value 2 - Chroma 2