Granulating pigments: making the separation the subject
Granulation is usually treated as a side effect to be tolerated or avoided. This palette inverts that: five pigments chosen specifically because they separate, combined so that every mix deposits a visible, textured layer rather than a flat film.
Ultramarine — Deep, warm-leaning blue. Granulates visibly.
| Pigment | Parts | Hex |
|---|---|---|
| French Ultramarine | 2 : 8 (25%) | #2E4A7D |
| Cerulean Blue Chromium | 2 : 8 (25%) | #4E93B8 |
| Raw Umber | 2 : 8 (25%) | #7A6446 |
| Viridian | 1 : 8 (13%) | #3F7A4E |
| Cobalt Violet | 1 : 8 (13%) | #7B5C8E |
Mixing notes
| Separating sky Both granulate at different rates, so the wash separates into a blue deposit over a grey-violet base. The effect is the point. | 2 ultramarine + 1 cerulean at 20% load | #7A8CA8 |
| Rock face Raw umber granulates in coarse, visible clusters; ultramarine fills between them. Looks like stone without any texture technique. | 2 raw umber + 1 ultramarine at 35% load | #8A7A64 |
| Conifer Two granulating pigments at close values produce a surface that reads as foliage mass rather than as individual shapes. | 1 viridian + 1 raw umber | #2F5B4A |
| Cool shadow The most useful shadow mix in the set: violet at a low value, and the granulation keeps it from going flat. | 1 cobalt violet + 1 ultramarine at 15% load | #6C6489 |
- Wet a 20 x 28 cm sheet evenly and lay each of the five pigments as a separate vertical strip while the paper is still damp.
- Watch the strips for ten minutes without touching them. Granulation is a settling process and it needs stillness.
- Note which pigments settle fastest. Ultramarine and cerulean settle early; cobalt violet and viridian stay mobile longer.
- Paint the four recipes as horizontal bands across the strips so you can see each mix over each single-pigment ground.
- Tilt one corner of the board by three degrees while the bands are wet and watch the deposits migrate. This is how you get a directional granulation.
- Judge the sheet dry. Granulating washes look weak while wet and gain contrast substantially as the water leaves.
- Record the paper you used. Granulation depends entirely on the paper tooth; the same mixes on hot press will show almost nothing.
What granulation actually is
Granulating pigments have coarse, heavy particles that settle out of the water suspension and into the pits of the paper's tooth before the sheet dries. The visible speckle is a concentration of pigment in the low points — the peaks of the tooth stay lighter, which is why the effect reads as texture.
That means granulation depends on three things: particle size, paper tooth, and stillness. It disappears on hot press and it disappears if you keep working the wash, because agitation keeps the particles suspended.
Different pigments, different settling rates
Ultramarine and cerulean begin settling within about two minutes at 20% load on 300 gsm cold press. Cobalt violet and viridian take five to seven minutes. That difference is what produces separation: a wash of ultramarine and cobalt violet will end with the blue sitting in a distinct layer above the violet base.
The practical use is not decorative. A separating wash gives you two colours in one passage with a controlled value relationship, which would otherwise require two separate glazes and two drying cycles.
Directional granulation
A tilted board produces a directional deposit: the settled particles are carried toward the low edge and accumulate in a band. Three degrees is enough. At ten degrees the wash moves fast enough that the deposit becomes a hard line rather than a gradient.
This is the only reliable way to paint a granulated form that has a direction — a rock face, a slope, a receding plane — without drawing it.
What matters
- Granulation needs coarse particles, paper tooth and stillness — working the wash destroys it.
- Ultramarine and cerulean settle in about two minutes; cobalt violet and viridian take five to seven.
- A separating wash yields two colours in one passage with a controlled value relationship.
- Three degrees of tilt gives directional granulation; ten degrees produces a hard line instead.
Handling note — Technique notes only. Cobalt and chromium pigments are heavy-metal compounds; follow the manufacturer's safety data sheet and never sand a dry granulating wash without respiratory protection.