A Colour Mixing Delight: Cobalt Turquoise in Watercolour

February 16, 2021

You won’t get bored working with Cobalt Turquoise!

While it is a beautiful colour coming straight from the tube, Opus Essential Watercolour in Cobalt Turquoise (PB36) can add some real charm or drama to your painting, depending on how it’s mixed.

Adding a Permanent Quin. Magenta can give you a greyed violet. A Green Gold mix can transform into a vibrant green Spring-like colour in front of your eyes. Mixing a dab of Payne’s Gray can really set a dramatic mood for your painting. Try adding some Opera Rose for a granulated, wild ride thanks to the size of the particles. A drop of Cobalt Turquoise into a dark wash will push and pop against the darker colour.

Being opaque, thick strokes of Cobalt Turquoise in the final stages of a painting can also add a light value that adds an accent over darks that aren’t possible with a more transparent colour. You can create lovely washes with more transparent qualities by starting with a Phthalo Green & Phthalo Blue combined then rounding it out with a Cobalt Turquoise.

Keep experimenting with Cobalt Turquoise mixes in your palette and you’ll discover a new world of fun and remember sometimes a colour you really dislike can become a new favourite with a good mix. Things that look the best are usually the experiments you didn’t expect.

Opus Essential Cobalt Turquoise is available in 8ml & 15ml tubes plus is in our Opus Essential Compact Watercolour Pan set of 12.