When I was in high school, my painting teacher , when admiring a painting of a chair I was working on, noticed a particular shade of green paint I was using. He said something to the effect of "Oh I just want to EAT that!" My adolescent brain at once thought both what was in this paint that would make it so delicious and what was the chance that my teacher shouldn't be around children? My response to him was "Uh.... Yeah I guess"
He may have been onto something.
One of the great things about painting to me is discovering new shades of paint and what they can do. Sure, you cold just stick to the basics: blue, red, yellow, green, black and white, but why? If I had the time back that I spent mixing all those colors when I could have just used Portrait Pink, I'd sail a boat to China! Well, I wouldn't go THAT far, but yes it was a lot of time.
In comes Prussian Blue, my new favorite paint color. It's dark, it's intense, it's dreeeeeaaaammmy!
He may have been onto something.
One of the great things about painting to me is discovering new shades of paint and what they can do. Sure, you cold just stick to the basics: blue, red, yellow, green, black and white, but why? If I had the time back that I spent mixing all those colors when I could have just used Portrait Pink, I'd sail a boat to China! Well, I wouldn't go THAT far, but yes it was a lot of time.
In comes Prussian Blue, my new favorite paint color. It's dark, it's intense, it's dreeeeeaaaammmy!
Prussian Blue (aka Berlin Blue or in Crayola terms Midnight Blue) is the first synthetically produced pigment and one of the first known synthetic compounds. It was well known for it's stability and light-fast nature making it a great replacement for the expensive Lapis Lazuli popular at the time.
Prussian blue [Fe4[Fe(CN)6]3] was probably synthesized for the first time by the paint maker Johann Jacob Diesbach in Berlin around the year 1706. He was attempting to create a red lake pigment from the insect Cochineal but obtained the blue instead as a result of the contaminated potash he was using. Don't you just HATE it when your potash gets contaminated?! I know I do!
In 1752 the French chemist Pierre J. Macquer made the important step of showing the Prussian blue could be reduced to a salt of iron and a new acid, which could be used to reconstitute the dye. This new acid? Hydrogen Cyanide... yeah THAT Cyanide... the killy one. Think eating your paint is a good idea now? Hmm?
Well actually, in this case it is.
Despite the fact that it is prepared from cyanide salts, Prussian blue is nontoxic because the cyanide groups are tightly bound to Fe. Pharmaceutical-grade Prussian blue in particular is used for patients who have ingested thallium or radioactive caesium. Prussian blue works by trapping thallium and cesium in the intestine, so that they can be passed out of the body in the stool rather than be re-absorbed. According to the FDA, if persons are exposed to radioactive cesium, radioactive thallium, or non-radioactive thallium, taking Prussian blue may reduce the risk of death and major illness from radiation or poisoning. It makes a great addition to any Bioterrorism Kit too!
Despite this handy dandy end-of-the-world tip, the reason I like Prussian Blue is because of it's deep, jewel-like, intensity.
Prussian blue [Fe4[Fe(CN)6]3] was probably synthesized for the first time by the paint maker Johann Jacob Diesbach in Berlin around the year 1706. He was attempting to create a red lake pigment from the insect Cochineal but obtained the blue instead as a result of the contaminated potash he was using. Don't you just HATE it when your potash gets contaminated?! I know I do!
In 1752 the French chemist Pierre J. Macquer made the important step of showing the Prussian blue could be reduced to a salt of iron and a new acid, which could be used to reconstitute the dye. This new acid? Hydrogen Cyanide... yeah THAT Cyanide... the killy one. Think eating your paint is a good idea now? Hmm?
Well actually, in this case it is.
Despite the fact that it is prepared from cyanide salts, Prussian blue is nontoxic because the cyanide groups are tightly bound to Fe. Pharmaceutical-grade Prussian blue in particular is used for patients who have ingested thallium or radioactive caesium. Prussian blue works by trapping thallium and cesium in the intestine, so that they can be passed out of the body in the stool rather than be re-absorbed. According to the FDA, if persons are exposed to radioactive cesium, radioactive thallium, or non-radioactive thallium, taking Prussian blue may reduce the risk of death and major illness from radiation or poisoning. It makes a great addition to any Bioterrorism Kit too!
Despite this handy dandy end-of-the-world tip, the reason I like Prussian Blue is because of it's deep, jewel-like, intensity.
In my new painting for Trader Joe's, the lettering and the bell hop's hat all use Prussian Blue but in different ways. Oftentimes when you mix white with a color, it makes it more muted- it makes it a pastel shade. In the case of Mr. PB here, it develops different levels of color with out loosing any of it's intensity.
And when mixed with black, PB gives it a warm and deep highlight that simply adding white can't provide.
"The Great Wave off Kanagawa" by Hokusai, a famous artwork which makes extensive use of Prussian blue. Isn't it perrrrrty?! It's a wonderful warm blue that's is a great compliment to deep yellows like mustard and ocher, and is a prefect level of intensity for paintings of sky or sea.
Prussian Blue is a great paint color and a great cure for poisoning! I don't know if my teacher was really onto something or not so, may not be dining on Prussian Blue anytime soon, but I'm glad to have it around just in case.
Prussian Blue is a great paint color and a great cure for poisoning! I don't know if my teacher was really onto something or not so, may not be dining on Prussian Blue anytime soon, but I'm glad to have it around just in case.
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