Powdery Blue Been at www.japanese-home-gardens.com

A subtle, powdery blue been blue has been painted on the walls, and the colour is picked up by various pieces of pale blue china. A white-painted Floor lightens the look further and this, too, is echoed with lots of pretty white china dotted across the dresser. Warm wood stops this combination from looking plain or sterile, while a pretty tablecloth adds a subtle touch of pattern.

BLUES Prussian blue—A strong tinting blue, very dark with a greenish cast. Good for producing brilliant greens when combined with yellow. Cobalt blue—A strong blue with a reddish cast. Good for mixing. Cerulean blue—A strong blue with a greenish cast. Ultramarine—Sometimes called French blue. It has a reddish cast and makes a beautiful purple when mixed with alizarin crimson.

Because Clerk Maxwell added red, green, and blue light together, this technique is called additive. An equal addition of the three colors forms white; red and green add to form yellow; red and blue, magenta; green and blue, the blue-green known by photographers as cyan. It is important to bear in mind that this theory holds true only for colored light; the mixture of pigments is another matter.