Used since the early Egyption times, Indigo has been a very important colour in fabrics as well as art materials. Natural Indigo is a deep blue colourant named anil. It is obtained from the sprigs of the indigofera plant. In the late 1600's, the major source of indigo was the French West Indies, where large crops of indigofera was grown and harvested just before the plant bloomed. Once picked, the plant was processed in vats where it was water filtered, then dried into cakes for export. Our Indigo formula mixes Indanthrone Blue with Lamp Black for an extremely lightfast, intense dark that closely matches true Indigo. Transparent, yet high in tinting strength, this Indigo leaves a gentle faded blue denim stain when blotted from a damp state paint. Blueberries, blackberries and plums are a few subjects to play with using this technique. Use Indigo wherever dusty purples are desired. Indigo evokes a feeling of atmospheric depth used for expressive, moody skies. Try flowing short strokes of Indigo into water, add touches of Sepia and Quinacridone Burnt Orange to create branches and birch trees. For a special treat, try this with Indigo and Cote d'Azur Violet. ASTM Lightfastness Rating: Excellent - Not yet rated by ASTM - Rating based on Daniel Smith's independent testing. Transparency: Transparent Granulating: No Staining: Medium (PB60 PBk6)
