Secret Lives of Color

 Color #1: Cerulean 

Cerulean, "Stairway to Heaven", fine line pen, water color, 11 x 14

Cerulean was a rare and highly sought-after pigment among artists, and only the very wealthy could afford it. The Persians call it bleu celeste, or heavenly blue. I chose to depict cerulean that way. I sketched out the structure of a staircase and then went in and did all the details in a fine-line pen. I knew I wanted the cerulean to be faint and almost hazy as you would hypothetically climb the staircase to heaven. I did a light wash of watercolor over the top of the paper so the "heavens" would appear to be washing over the stairs.