Payne's grey

Payne's grey is a dark blue-grey colour used in painting. It can be used as a mixer in place of black. Being less intense than black, it is easier to get the right shade when using it as a mixer. Originally a mixture of iron blue (Prussian blue), yellow ochre and crimson lake, Payne's grey now is often a mixture of blue (ultramarine or phthalocyanine) and black or of ultramarine and Sienna.

The colour is named after William Payne, who painted watercolours in the late 18th century.

The first recorded use of Payne’s grey as a colour name in English was in 1835.

The source of the colour displayed above is the Robert Ridgway color list, entered onto the Internet from his 1912 book Color Standards and Color Nomenclature.