Into the deep. A deep iron blue-grey, Payne's Grey paint offers a less intense option for those seeking drama with a deep shade. Often referred to as the painters black, this shade was first mixed by the 18th-century watercolourist William Payne. It combines a complex of deep blues and burnished tones to soften the impact of black paint. Hues of ultramarine hint at stormy seas and the mystery of the deep blue, but without drowning out the warmth.