Payne’s Grey is made up of a mixture of pigments that combine to make an alternative to black. It is usually very dark in masstone, and reveals very blue undertones when diluted. Payne’s Grey can be found in almost every oil, acrylic and watercolour range – proof of its popularity. This article explores where the colour originated, and how it can be used in the palette.
The History of Payne’s Grey
Payne’s Grey was created by the British painter William Payne. William Payne was born in Exeter, Devon, in 1760 and found acclaim in London as a watercolour tutor. Along with the creation of Payne’s Grey, he is also credited with the technique of splitting a wet brush to make different marks for foliage, and using the side of a dry brush to make rock-like textures in the foreground (perhaps we can think of him as an 18th century Bob Ross?). He was criticised by the ‘serious’ painters of the time for apparently reducing painting to a step-by-step, easy-to-use approach. It should be noted, however, that his mark-making methods were not new. Chinese landscape painters were certainly using these techniques with their brushes in the 15th century, if not long before.
Denham Bridge upon the Tavy
William Payne
Watercolour on paper, 16.5 x 21.6 cm | 6.5 x 8.5 in
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
His primary legacy, however, is the colour Payne’s Grey. It is a deep, stormy grey with a distinctly blue undertone. The ‘original’ colour, used by Payne himself, appears to have been a mixture of Prussian Blue (some sources say it was Indigo), Yellow Ochre, and Crimson Lake:
Mixing Payne’s Grey using William Payne’s formula
His paintings may not be well-known today, but it’s interesting to reflect on the legacy that this British painter continues to have. The vast majority of watercolour, oil, and acrylic ranges carry Payne’s Grey, evidence of its continued demand. Today, a ready-mixed Payne’s grey varies from range to range, so its hue is not consistent across brands.
Colour Mixing
First, I have a confession– I’ve never liked Payne’s Grey. I’ve never found it a very useful or interesting colour. This is probably due to my preference for single-pigment paints and my avoidance of ‘convenience mixtures’ (a term for paints that contain a mixture of pigments which perhaps carries a little prejudice?). However, I often find that in the process of creating these articles I fall in love with the colour I’m writing about. So, what it is about this colour that so appeals to artists? I tried it in mixtures to find out.
Because of its blue undertones, my first instinct was to mix it with some yellows to see what greens it makes. Its deepness was very useful here, as it made some very dark, leafy greens. Because it already contains two or more pigments, adding yet another pigment makes relatively ‘muddy’ mixtures. This can be very useful, but it’s something to be aware of if you prefer clean, glowing mixes. Overall, I didn’t feel that Payne’s Grey was offering anything that a deep-bellied blue like Prussian Blue couldn’t do.
Mixing greens in the palette with Payne’s Grey
The most harmonious mixtures I found were made by adding more of a certain pigment that the colour already contains. For example, if you know that your Payne’s Grey contains Carbon Black (PBk7) and Prussian Blue (PB27) then you can adjust the tube colour by adding more of those existing pigments. This strategy means that you can subtly adjust the temperature and hue of the original colour without adding new pigments into the mixture. This can result in some very controlled colour-work.
Adding various amount of Prussian Blue and Carbon Black to Payne’s Grey
This is less colour mixing, but colour ‘adjusting’. It adds an extra dimension to the colour, and really highlights how knowing which pigments are in your paints can be so helpful.
William Payne really set a precedent, because it’s not the last time we find colour collaborations between paint-making companies and artists. Davy’s Grey, for example, was first made by Winsor & Newton for artist Henry Davy. More recently, Daniel Smith collaborated with artist Laurin McCracken to make McCracken Black watercolour. I would love to know how you use Payne’s Grey, please let us know by leaving a comment.
Further Reading
Pigment Stories: Ultramarine Blue and French Ultramarine
How to Make Oil Paint – a Faster Method
Venetian Red: the Red Earth Pigment That Evokes the Italian Renaissance
Making Your Own Oil Paint With Jackson’s Pigments
Shop Payne’s Grey on jacksonsart.com
I love Payne’s Grey and whilst I understand
your fear of muddying the pigments in
watercolours, this isn’t an issue in oils.
Payne’s Grey is less aggressive than black
and as you say, when mixed with white it
creates a lovely range of blue-greys. It
goes beautifully well with Yellow Ochre,
and thanks to your article I now
understand why that is!
Thanks for your comment, I agree a Yellow Ochre/Payne’s Grey mix is great!
Paynes grey, good for stormy clouds
Thanks for the article on Paynes Grey . It is
useful to know the make up of that colour .
As an artist I just intuitively use it having got
know the colour over many years. I did know
that William Payne “invented” the colour
having researched into him after inheriting
three great watercourse by the man done in
11821. Thanks again for the insights.
Thanks for your very interesting article.
I love Payne’s grey, and use it often in
landscapes. I find it brings the coolness
I’m after, especially when applied
against warmer red hues. The strange
thing is, I’d never seen it as blue/grey,
although it so obviously is! I’ve always
seen it as slightly green.
Great to learn some more about it’s
origins.
Thanks
Lizzie
I like Paynes grey in landscapes as it creates a softer more
mysterious effect than black and goes well next to a variety of
greens and mixes well with them too. I use it in acrylics and
watercolours.
What an interesting article on Payne’s grey,
thank you Evie !
So I myself for along time was not much of a
groupie for Payne’s Grey. The funny thing is I
love it as a color but not as using it precisely
for mixing…
I paint both abstract and figurative, and
currently I have been doing a series on
India, less landscapes while more centered
on faces.
When I paint faces, it has a weird way of
ending looking sort of heavy, a bit thirties
style. My series on India is mostly on
women’s faces, the back ground is mostly a
flat pale yellow, contrastiing with the dark
faces I try to portray.
But I have started using Payne Grey by
adding lots of white, so it becomes this pale
pale bluish gray and I use it to contour my
faces, I really like it… lol…
So this is my current experience with Payne
!!!
Thank you again !!!
Hi Evie, Much like you I shy away from multi-pigment convenience colours, and also don’t really feel a need for a grey in my palette. However, I tried the single pigment PBk26 Payne’s Grey watercolour by MaimeriBlu and was very pleasantly surprised. It tones down blues and violets, mixes good greens and apart from its obvious use for dark skies it’s handy for a surprising number of bird’s plumage:
https://www.jacksonsart.com/maimeriblu-watercolour-paint-12ml-payne-s-grey
Go in, give it a try!
I had no idea a single pigment Payne’s Grey existed! I’ll certainly try it, thank you
Nor did I till I encountered it, lol. Do let us know how you got on with it. I want to thank you again for the pigment articles you’ve done for this blog, they are very, very useful, informative and well crafted.
It’s a useful shorthand colour! If you’re sketching rapidly out of
doors in watercolour and you can see it’s coming on to rain, or if
your model is starting to get restless, you can dab it on quickly
rather than mixing, say, ultramarine and burnt umber. Sometimes
you have to work fast and you need shortcuts.
That’s a really interesting insight, you’re right it can be such a useful shorthand colour in certain situations. Thanks for your comment!
What a great article! Thank you so much
fror sharing your discovery! I absolutely
love Payne’s Grey in certain makers. I no
longer do the brush work as my fingers
don’t work as well as before but turned
to fluid art. And this color is absolutely
stunning in certain techniques.
Very interesting. I love to learn about the
history of colours. Note: PB15 is phthalo
blue, prussian blue is PB 27.
Thank you for pointing that out! I’ve corrected the article
—————————-I findPaynes Grey
usefil in achieving Granulation either as an
admixture or in watered down form
Hi Evie, I only use Paynes Grey to add depth
of shadow in little nooks and crannies. The
colour fades beautifully when the edge is
touched with a clean wet or damp brush as
you have shown.
Hi Evie
L love your articles about pigments and
particularly love Vine black but do you
know why Michael Harding’s Vine black
is PBk11 and not PBk8! Thanks!
Hi Suzy! I’m really not sure, traditionally Vine Black is a carbon black of plant origin but PBk11 is an iron oxide. I suppose it’s a good example of why it’s useful to know your pigment numbers so you can pick up on these kinds of anomalies.
There are too many varieties of Payne’s
Grey to generalise. It is probably better to
mix one’s own P.G, and to learn where it is
most useful. The problem with such greys
is that they tend to dry muddy-looking.
But that can also be a problem due to the
watercolour paper used, whether paint
sinks in or dries on the surface and all
stages between. But late 18th Century
watercolours seem to owe much of their
atmospheric charm to the use of a blue-
grey. Something to ponder!
I agree, paper makes all the difference!
Like most colours I think the more you use it
the more uses you find for it. I’ve seen many
artists put it to great use. Another mixed
pigment colour that I personally like and
many others swear by is Naples Yellow.
I follow Anna Mason and we use Paynes
grey a lot. To make black we use Paynes
grey and burnt sienna. Like you said with
yellows to make greens. Dull colours. To
name a few.
My favorite colour to paint the
Mediterranean Sea, very versatile and you
can dilute it to a veil. In watercolours,
Windsor newton of course for me. Thank you
for the informative article about one of my
favs. Regards, Natasha Lane
I do like Paynes Grey but I rarely mix it. I use
it for monochromatic seascapes, with
touches of white gouache.
I love Payne’s Grey because it’s so
versatile and is a great staple to add to
add depth and definition without the
harshness of black. The blue tones are
particularly useful for my palette of
blues and greens. It can be strong or
subtle. Lush.
First off, I think there’s a typo here:
“Payne’s Grey was created in the 19th
century by the British painter William
Payne. William Payne was born in Exeter,
Devon, in 1760” — I think you meant 1860!
I used to use it to dull colors until I found
Neutral Tint, and I only ever liked the
Winsor Newton Cotman version, which
was less blue than others, including the
professional grade Winsor Newton
version. I do still use it for stormy skies
and the occasional darker, muted greens
when needed. An interesting article –
thanks for sharing it!
I just double-checked and he was born in 1760, but I noticed I got some of my centuries mixed up though so I’ve amended the article, thanks for prompting me!
I was asked, by someone I knew, to paint
them a copy of The Last Supper. I did it in
acrylics to ensure I achieve the necessary
detail. I used Paynes Grey straight out of
the tube and also mixed with other colours
to use as washes in various areas of the
painting. The painting was 5′ x 2’6″ in size.
The largest brush painting I have ever
done. I can email you a copy of the
completed painting if you want to see
what I achieved.
Paynes grey is the only colour that I
have consistently used in 60+ years of
painting. Agreed, it varies from brand to
brand but essentially it remains a warm
blue/grey with, I find, many applications.
In traditional fashion, I don’t use black in
watercolour paintings so Paynes grey is
a valuable shadow tone base. I also
think it makes for great monochrome
studies. I’m sorry you think it such a
superfluous mix, I wouldn’t be without it.
I’m very happy to say I discovered its value through writing this article and I’ve started to reach for it more often. One of the benefits of writing these posts! Thanks for your comment, it’s so good to hear how artists are using Payne’s Grey
I use Paynes grey in everything! And in all
mediums, oil, acrylic, encaustic…. I love it.
Its dark, but has more life than black, I love
the blueyness of it. Its also great to use next
to a ‘proper’ black, for variation. Cool v
warm.
Finally I have found someone else who
uses encaustic in the UK. I have just
started I didn’t realise you can get Payne
Grey in encaustic range I will be ordering
it and trying it out. Thanks!
The easiest way to describe Payne’s
Grey is – a pigeon.
It’s one of my favourite colours and can
be used for lots of things, alone or
mixed. It is extremely versatile. It can
be part of a tarmac road on a hot
summer day, hills and mountains,
shadows, etc, and pigeons.
You’re right, it is a pigeon colour! That isn’t something I’ve considered, I’ll look at pigeons differently now– thank you!
Thank you for this interesting
article. The idea of playing with
Payne’s Gray by adding its color
components is an instiration!
You’re very welcome Elise, I’m glad you found it helpful!
Hi Evie,
I am collaborating with a Greek paint
manufacturer who is soon to enter
European production. We developed and
tubed a colour which I have been mixing
up myself for 30 years primarily for use
in Glazing. Obviously when I mix it
myself the tones change depending on
the quantities and brands used. So with
him, Timos Batinakis, we scientifically
measured and tried out the mix until I
was happy. This oil paint is now officially
called Tomas Watson Sepia and is sold
privately (at the moment) through him.
I use Payne’s Grey in both oil
and gouache. Never use black,
sometimes Indigo to darken. Payne’s Grey is useful
for sea depictions.
I prefer Winsor and Newton watercolour
Payne’s grey, it isn’t opaque, is a
beautiful colour and if mixed with
transparent colours, ie transparent
yellow or lemon to make green , will stay
clean and luminous.
I haven’t yet tried Jackson’s Paynes
grey.
good for shadows
Hi Evie. Love the article by the way. I also
have a love/hate relationship with Payne’s
grey. I belong to Anna Mason’s online
watercolour art school where Payne’s grey is
part of the 20 colours we use. We add burnt
sienna to Payne’s grey to make our black
which seems a warmer version than black
from a tube.
Paynes Grey is a most useful colour – diluted
for stormy skies or far distance in landscape
it does not appear muddy and allows
brighter, single pigment paints in the focus
of the painting to shine out.
I love Paynes Grey, prefer the bluer ones. I
usually now use Daniel Smith Bloodstone
Genuine, which is slightly maroony and
granulates beautifully.
One of my fave colours! However, I
noticed that you indicated Prussian blue
as pigment code PB15 above which I
think was a typo as this would
correspond to the range of Phtalo
pigments.
It should be PB27! Thanks for pointing it out, I’ve amended the article
Isn’t Prussian Blue’s pigment
Pb27 only?
Hi Raffaele, thank you so much for pointing that out– I’ve amended the article!
I find that Paynes Grey is very useful for stone walls and bridges with a little yellow ochre dropped in wet in wet.
Interesting article, thank you.
I use Payne’s Grey at lot in my acrylic seascapes, as
you pointed out, mixed with additional base pigments
it provides a great variety of tone for stormy skies and
steely waves.
Thanks Lesley!
I noted early on that PG was used a lot
by the great James Fletcher-Watson,
thats good enough for me ! I use
Schmincke Paints & they have their own
version plus a more ‘bluey’ one. Adding
their Scarlet Red makes a good stormy
sky.
Some thirty years ago I went mad for
Paynes Grey. On a bright summer hike in
rocky landscapes and adding a portrait
sketch here and there, I found it a very
useful shortcut for all shadows. When I
open that portfolio now, it all looks ashen
and sad.
I find Payne’s Grey Bluish by Schmincke the
perfect colour for the typical overcast en
plein air British sky. I can’t paint without it!