Throughout history specific colors, and even more specifically shades of those colors, have had major impacts on the world. None has done so, more than the color blue – the most popular color in the world, and your Birmingham Alabama Painters at Prestige Painting have been asked to paint this color many times.
Blue has long been a color used to signify importance: important items, moments and even people and events throughout various cultures on our lovely little (blue) planet. If you’re in the mind to use this common yet complex shade in your home, well, have we got the first in our series blues to share with you today!
Lapis Lazuli – The Original Blue
Obviously there’s a lot of blue to see in nature from the sky to the ocean, but the thing about those blues is that they can’t be extracted for use on other things. This made blues incredibly rare and valued in ancient times. Eventually, once mining became a possibility, people started finding a beautiful blue stone known today as lapis lazuli.
It’s estimated that the stone was first mined in the Mesopotamia area (now Afghanistan) by the Egyptians. They went absolutely crazy for the color and started using it on all sorts of royal items. As a color, lapis lazuli is a very bright blue for the most part, though many hues can be found in just one stone, ranging from very deep to somewhat pale greyish blues.
The Origin of Ultramarine
From lapis lazuli, the ancients were able to grind a pigment that we still know today called ultramarine. Far from being some sort of insanely powerful military unit, ultramarine refers to a very bright, very deep blue that was extremely difficult to accurately recreate. Eventually, in the 13th century, the process was refined and this blue became the most prized paint color for many artists, though it was still very expensive.
Today there are two types of ultramarine:
Natural Ultramarine – These are made of raw materials, which are heated in a kiln to a solid, solitary lump that is then ground down.
Synthetic Ultramarine–Particles are more uniform and smaller in size resulting in a brighter blue. Because it is cheaper than natural ultramarine, the synthetic version is often used in paints.
Regal and relaxing, blue has been a color of choice for hundreds of years. Thanks to technology we no longer have to grind it out, and instead it is readily available in more shades than we can keep up with. On your wedding day, celebrating the birth of a son (or daughter), just repainting a room – blue is a color for all occasions.
Original Source: https://paintedbyprestige.com/diy/my-baby-baby-blue-historically-important-blues
Image Source: slodive.com
