PaintwellPaint mixing, from the tubes you own

How to mix sky blue paint

The recipes below come from Paintwell's pigment model, worked out from the real tube paints named, in oil and in acrylic. Percentages are by volume of paint on the palette.

Sky blue
#87bfe0
Oil, any brand
  • 75%Radiant White Gamblin
  • 22%Scheveningen Blue Deep Old Holland
  • 3%Cobalt Blue Winsor & Newton
Very close match
Winsor & Newton oil
  • 81%Flake White Hue
  • 19%Winsor Blue Red Shade
Very close match
Gamblin oil
  • 83%Flake White Replacement
  • 12%Phthalo Blue
  • 5%Radiant Blue
Very close match
Acrylic, any brand
  • 70%Titanium White Golden
  • 20%Cobalt Blue Hue Liquitex
  • 10%Manganese Blue Hue Golden
Very close match
Golden acrylic
  • 65%Zinc White
  • 35%Phthalo Blue Green Shade
Very close match
Liquitex acrylic
  • 61%Titanium White
  • 22%Cobalt Blue Hue
  • 17%Bright Aqua Green
Very close match

How to get there

Put out the Radiant White first: it is 75% of the mix.

Add the Scheveningen Blue Deep and Cobalt Blue a little at a time, mixing fully between additions. The smaller shares are usually the stronger paints, and it is far easier to add more than to take it back.

Because sky blue is a light color, work the darker paints into the lighter one, never the other way around, or you will end up mixing a pile far bigger than you need.

Every brand's version of a pigment is a little different, which is why the recipes change from brand to brand. If you own other tubes, Paintwell works the recipe out from those instead.

Match any color from your own photo

Take a photo of your reference, tap any color, and Paintwell gives you the recipe from the paints you actually own. Then point your camera at your mix and it tells you which way you're off.

Related colors

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