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Key to the Paint Ratings
PIGMENT PIGMENT PAINT
MANUFACTURER CODE Tr St VR Gr Bl Df HA HS Lf
C.I. NAME CHEMICAL NAME MARKETING NAME
chlorinated copper
PG7 phthalocyanine (1927; winsor green BS Winsor & Newton 209 3 4 53 0 1 1 178 -2 8,8
1938)
PG7 phthalocyanine green M. Graham 150 3 4 64 1 2 2 184 -5 8,8
PG7 phthalo green BS Daniel Smith 055 3 4 59 0 2 1 179 -2 8,8
PG7 phthalo green Rembrandt 675 4 3 59 0 3 4 176 -1 8,8
PG7 cupric green deep MaimeriBlu 324 4 3 52 0 3 4 177 -2 8,8
PG7 phthalo green DaVinci 268 4 4 62 1 2 2 175 -1 8,8
PG7 blockx green Blockx 263 4 4 58 1 1 3 175 -3 8,8
PG7 phthalocyanine green Utrecht 167 4 3 55 0 3 1 174 -3 7,8
PG7 phthalo green Rowney Artists 361 4 3 50 0 3 1 175 -2 7,8
convenience greens made with PG7, listed in hue angle order from blue green to yellow green
chlorinated copper
PG7+PY150 phthalocyanine + nickel hooker's green deep Rembrandt 623 2 3 58 0 3 2 161 0 7,8
azomethine yellow
chlorinated copper
PG7+PY175 phthalocyanine + zinc winsor emerald
Winsor & Newton 054 2 4 27 0 3 2 160 -13 3,6
+PW4 oxide + benzimidazolone [discontinued in 2005]
lemon
chlorinated copper
PG7+PY151 phthalocyanine + permanent green light M. Graham 130 2 3 63 0 3 2 160 -7 7,8
benzimidazolone yellow
chlorinated copper
PG7+PY3 phthalocyanine + arylide permanent green light Utrecht 161 2 3 52 0 4 1 159 -16 7,7
yellow 10G
chlorinated copper
PG7+PY3 phthalocyanine + arylide permanent green Daniel Smith 022 2 3 44 0 3 0 158 -13 7,8
yellow 10G
chlorinated copper
PG7+PY175 phthalocyanine + permanent green deep MaimeriBlu 340 3 2 43 0 2 4 158 -9 7,8
benzimidazolone lemon
chlorinated copper
PG7+PY154 phthalocyanine + permanent green Rembrandt 662 2 3 57 0 3 2 157 -7 7,8
benzimidazolone yellow
chlorinated copper
PG7+PY3 phthalocyanine + arylide
hooker's green #2 [dark] Rowney Artists 354 4 3 36 0 3 1 153 -5 5,6
+PV19 yellow 10G +
quinacridone rose
chlorinated copper
PG7+PY3 phthalocyanine + arylide permanent green light Daniel Smith 047 1 3 35 0 4 2 148 -15 6,7
yellow 10G
chlorinated copper
PG7+PY153 phthalocyanine + nickel hooker's green #1 [light] Rowney Artists 353 4 3 60 0 3 1 140 -12 4,4
dioxine yellow
chlorinated copper
PG7+PO49 phthalocyanine + hooker's green MaimeriBlu 325 3 3 60 0 2 3 139 -14 7,8
quinacridone gold
chlorinated copper
phthalocyanine +
PG7+PY110 hooker's green M. Graham 108 1 3 63 0 4 1 139 -5 7,8
tetrachloro-isoindoline
yellow
chlorinated copper
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PG7+PY3 phthalocyanine + arylide phthalo yellow green Daniel Smith 124 2 3 28 0 3 2 135 -18 7,7
yellow 10G
chlorinated copper
phthalocyanine +
PG7+PO62 sap green M. Graham 174 1 3 61 0 4 1 132 -11 7,8
benzimidazolone orange
H5G
chlorinated copper
PG7+PY138 phthalocyanine + vivid green Rowney Artists 047 1 3 31 0 4 2 131 -12 7,8
quinophthalone yellow
chlorinated copper
PG7+PY150 phthalocyanine + nickel sap green Rembrandt 623 2 3 55 0 3 2 131 -12 7,8
azomethine yellow
chlorinated copper
PG7+PY1 phthalocyanine + arylide
permanent green #1 Holbein 266 2 1 33 1 0 1 128 -10 5,6
+PY42 yellow G + synthetic
yellow iron oxide
chlorinated copper
PG7+PY42 phthalocyanine + yellow sap green DaVinci 277 3 3 45 2 1 1 128 -1 7,8
iron oxide
chlorinated copper
phthalocyanine + nickel
PG7+PY153
dioxine yellow + sap green Rowney Artists 375 4 3 62 0 3 1 123 -10 7,8
+PR101
transparent red iron
oxide
chlorinated copper
PG7+PO49 phthalocyanine + sap green Daniel Smith 043 3 3 51 1 2 0 119 -12 8,8
quinacridone gold
chlorinated copper
phthalocyanine +
PG7+PBr7 terre verte Schmincke 516 4 1 31 1 2 2 107 -2 8,8
natural iron manganese
oxide
chlorinated copper
PG7+PY150 phthalocyanine + nickel
olive green Rembrandt 620 2 3 48 0 3 2 103 0 7,8
+PV19 azomethine yellow +
quinacridone rose
chlorinated copper
phthalocyanine +
PG7+PY42 olive green Winsor & Newton 033 4 0 38 1 1 1 99 -4 7,8
synthetic yellow iron
oxide
chlorinated copper
PG7+PY153 phthalocyanine + nickel
olive green Rowney Artists 363 4 3 69 0 3 1 95 +3 2,4
+PR264 dioxine yellow + pyrrole
carmine
TOP 40 PIGMENT Phthalocyanine green PG7 (blue shade) is a very
lightfast, transparent, heavily staining, dark valued, moderately dull blue
green pigment, one of the most widely used modern industrial colorants,
offered by 60 pigment manufacturers worldwide. The ASTM (1999) rates its
lightfastness in watercolors as "excellent" (I); all manufacturer and
independent tests agree. PG7 is twin to the yellow shade of phthalocyanine
green (PG36) and cousin to the phthalo blues (PB15); like them, its tinting
strength is very high.
Both phthalo greens PG7 and PG36 are notable for their intense tinting
strength and strong tendency to stain paper, attributes that arise from their
small particle size. They easily stand up to or even dominate other strongly
tinting pigments such as the quinacridones, dioxazine violet or pyrrole red, and
they are an excellent choice as the foundation paint when nonstaining
pigment glazes are to be laid down and then partially lifted or blotted away.
The drawback is that phthalo green must be applied exactly where you want it
on the first pass make a mistake, and you'll be scraping paper to remove it!
Nearly all convenience greens are a mixture of a green and a yellow or yellow
orange pigment, which locates the hue somwhere between middle to yellow
green. Why don't artists just mix these greens themselves? Many do. But
greens can be hard to mix, and repeatedly mixing the same green hue gets
tedious very quickly. However, the real benefit of convenience greens is that
they reliably locate a specific hue, value and saturation of middle or yellow
green, which can then be modulated with a little added color from any other
paint on the palette. This home base mixing strategy creates a cluster of
related greens centered around a specific and familiar point in the color space.
These mixing points are standardized as a handful of widely sold generic paints
which, despite their conventional labels, do not adhere to a specific color
standard and typically do not resemble the historical color.
The major convenience greens, from blue green to yellow green, are:
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than phthalo green YS. Few paint companies make this color; few artists seem
to use it.
OLIVE GREEN. The conventional label for a dark valued, dull green yellow
paint, with a hue angle of around 100, yellower and lighter valued than sap
green. Few companies make it, as sap green is a close neighbor in the color
space. The name is sometimes used for chromium oxide green, PG17, which
is significantly duller and less yellow. Winsor & Newton olive green is a
familiar convenience mixture. The Rowney Artist's paint is exceptionally dark,
which gives it a very large value range, worth investigating. If you have a good
sap green, you can easily get the olive green hue by adding a little deep yellow
or orange paint and diluting a little to lighten the value.
It's worth your time to review the ingredients in these convenience greens
(listed at left, under the color index name): a few yellow, orange or earth
paints turn up repeatedly. You may want to consider these ingredients as
paints for your palette.
CAUTION. The phthalo greens PG7 or PG36 are very colorful and versatile
green pigments in themselves, but some convenience green paints made
with them can be far less lightfast if the yellow or orange pigment is not
equally durable. It is always prudent to put the convenience greens on your
palette through your own lightfastness tests. See also the section on
phthalocyanine pigments.
anhydrous chromium
PG17 sesquioxide oxide of chromium Winsor & Newton 072 0 4 53 1 3 1 140 -13 8,8
(1809; c.1840)
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Substitutions: You can reproduce the same color and powdery pigment
texture with a mixture of cobalt blue (PB28) or reddish cerulean blue (PB35)
and a transparent yellow iron oxide (PY42). See also the section on
chromium pigments.
hydrous chromium
PG18 sesquioxide viridian M. Graham 195 4 2 39 3 1 1 175 -2 8,8
(1838; 1862)
PG18 viridian Daniel Smith 077 4 2 38 3 3 2 176 -4 8,8
PG18 viridian Winsor & Newton 077 3 3 44 2 3 2 176 -4 8,8
PG18 viridian Rowney Artists 381 4 1 50 3 2 2 175 -2 8,8
PG18 viridian Rembrandt 616 4 1 40 3 2 2 174 -2 8,8
PG18 viridian Utrecht 164 4 1 43 2 3 0 174 -1 8,8
PG18 viridian green DaVinci 290 3 1 53 0 1 2 176 0 8,8
PG18 viridian MaimeriBlu 348 3 1 36 1 3 2 174 -4 8,8
PG18 viridian Lukas 1154 4 1 38 2 3 2 175 -8 8,8
PG18 emerald green Blockx 261 4 1 38 2 3 2 175 -8 8,8
PG18+PG7 viridian Holbein 260 4 1 33 3 2 2 174 -1 8,8
hydrous chromium
PG18+PY37 sesquioxide + cadmium cobalt green Holbein 268 1 1 36 2 3 1 185 -3 8,8
sulfide
hydrous chromium
PG18+PBr7 sesquioxide + natural terre verte Daniel Smith 048 3 3 46 2 3 3 156 -13 8,8
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iron oxide
TOP 40 PIGMENT Viridian PG18 is a very lightfast, transparent,
moderately staining, moderately dark valued, moderately dull blue green
pigment, offered by 6 pigment manufacturers worldwide. The ASTM (1999)
rates its lightfastness in watercolors as "excellent" (I), and all manufacturer
and independent tests agree. In watercolors PG18 undergoes a small
drying shift, lightening slightly and losing saturation. In most brands it has a
slightly gritty and gummy texture; useful for glazes that need to be lifted, for
light tints, and for mixing very natural looking greens with moderately intense
yellows such as nickel azomethine (PY150). The tinting strength of viridian
green is moderate to low. The best mixing complements for viridian are
pyrrole red (PR254), naphthol scarlet (PR188), quinacridone maroon
(PR206) or perylene maroon (PR179). The average CIECAM J,a,b values for
viridian (PG18) are: 42, -48, 3, with chroma of 48 (estimated hue purity of
48) and a hue angle of 177.
Viridian color is fairly consistent across manufacturers, though the texture and
concentration of the pigment vary. M. Graham viridian is in the middle of
the pack in value and saturation, but contains no whitish additives and
provides a beautiful fine granular texture. Winsor & Newton viridian is the
darkest and one of the most saturated viridians, with one of the bluest hues.
The Utrecht and Rembrandt paints are slightly yellower still, more finely milled
but less concentrated. Blockx emerald green (vert meraude is the French
term for viridian, not to be confused with emerald green, PG21) is a similar
color but more heavily granulating and somewhat difficult to use in mixtures.
The Daniel Smith, Rowney Artists and MaimeriBlu paints were by a small
amount the least intense of the group tested here. The Old Holland viridian
deep is actually an unpleasant yellowed shade. Holbein's "viridian", although it
provides a nice granulation, is formulated with phthalo green, their "cobalt
green" doesn't match the color of genuine cobalt green, contains no cobalt,
and doesn't use the word "hue" in the name to indicate it contains no cobalt:
four strikes, you're out. Finally, the Daniel Smith terre verte is viridian
darkened with umber, and is not a natural clay pigment: the term "hue"
should be used.
Viridian was formerly the most common watercolor green, used by past
masters such as J.S. Sargent and John Marin, and by contemporary
traditionalists such as Trevor Chamberlain. It creates a glowing, granulating
green in the right concentration and setting Sargent's use of it in a backlit
parasol is perfect. It is now commonly replaced by the darker, more saturated
and staining phthalo green (PG7), but especially for landscape work viridian
has many good points, though it is a pigment that requires experience to use
effectively. (Viridian paints need patient mulling with the brush to dissolve
completely; if you are careless your washes can be streaked by tiny dark clots
of undissolved pigment, and the paints require patient rewetting if they have
dried. Mixtures must be frequently stirred to keep the viridian from settling
out. The paint's granulation is put to best effect in diluted, near neutral
mixtures, and works well with flocculating ultramarine blue ... and so on.) For
mixing with opaque or iron oxide paints, the recently developed cobalt green
(PG50, blue shade), which is the same hue and chroma but slightly more
granulating, may work better. See also the section on chromium pigments.
The three paints listed here are nearly identical. Rowney Artists cobalt
green is a heavily granulating, powdery pale blue green; the Daniel Smith and
Rembrandt paints closely match it, but seem to have less tinting strength.
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Like chromium oxide (PG17), PG19 might make a useful "earth green" to
complement earth colors on the red and yellow side of the color wheel.
However, PG18 is a more intense pigment with essentially the same hue. This
is essentially of interest as a historical pigment. I have never seen PG19 used
or recommended by contemporary artists, and apparently 19th century
painters (other than Paul Signac) didn't regard it highly either. (See also the
cobalt greens under PG50 below, and the section on cobalt pigments.)
Blockx terre verte and Daniel Smith bohemian green earth are very
similar pale, transparent yellow greens made of pure earth, no additives.
MaimeriBlu terre verte is in the same hue neighborhood, but is a much darker,
more saturated color. In contrast, Winsor & Newton terre verte is a muted,
darker bluish green hue (it looks like a less intense cobalt green PG26) that
also stains. The new Winsor & Newton terre verte YS has a color I would call
"chromium oxide light," useful as a dulling color in flesh tones and botanicals.
Old Holland cobalt green deep is the darkest PG26 available, with a distinct
blue green tone; it blossoms actively when rewetted, lifts easily, but is inert
wet in wet. Schmincke cobalt green dark is slightly lighter, grayer, stains
heavily, and is more active wet in wet.
PG26 is an excellent dark middle green for an "earth palette" of dull paints;
it produces an interesting smoky slate gray when mixed with a touch of
venetian red and applied in a diluted wash, and is a very effective paint for dry
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pine forest or oak tree foliage (in trees represented at a distance, the pigment
granulation creates the effect of clumping branches). For most other painting
purposes, it is not a very versatile pigment. See also the section on cobalt
pigments.
chlorobrominated copper
PG36 phthalo green YS Daniel Smith 054 4 4 48 1 1 2 161 -2 7,8
phthalocyanine (1938)
PG36 cupric green light MaimeriBlu 322 4 3 49 1 3 4 160 -3 7,8
PG36 bright green Rembrandt 615 4 3 44 1 3 4 159 0 7,8
PG36 bamboo green Holbein 278 3 4 41 0 2 3 160 0 7,8
PG36 winsor green YS Winsor & Newton 210 3 4 44 0 3 2 163 -6 7,7
phthalocyanine green paint introduced after my last pigment
PG36 M. Graham 151
yellow shade tests
convenience greens made with PG36, listed in hue angle order from blue green to yellow green
chlorobrominated copper
PG36+PO49 phthalocyanine +
hooker's green Daniel Smith 110 3 3 53 0 3 2 147 -12 7,7
+PY3 quinacridone gold +
arylide yellow 10G
chlorobrominated copper
hooker's green
PG36+PO49 phthalocyanine + Winsor & Newton 202 3 4 45 0 2 2 140 -4 7,7
[discontinued in 2005]
quinacridone gold
PG36+PY110 hooker's green Winsor & Newton 311 3 4 49 1 2 3 137 -8 .,.
chlorobrominated copper
PG36+PY175 phthalocyanine + permanent green light MaimeriBlu 339 3 1 26 1 3 4 137 -7 5,6
benzimidazolone lemon
permanent sap green
PG36+PO49 Winsor & Newton 204 3 4 53 0 2 1 130 -6 7,7
[discontinued in 2005]
PG36+PY110 permanent sap green Winsor & Newton 503 3 4 56 1 2 3 126 -9 .,.
PG36+PO49 sap green MaimeriBlu 358 3 3 50 2 3 4 118 -7 7,7
chlorobrominated copper
PG36+PY17 phthalocyanine +
sap green Holbein 275 3 2 54 1 3 1 117 -8 4,6
+PG8 diarylide yellow + nitroso
iron complex
TOP 40 PIGMENT Phthalocyanine green (yellow shade) PG36, the
brominated (rather than chlorinated) version of copper phthalocyanine, is a
lightfast, transparent, staining, dark valued, moderately intense green
pigment, offered by 16 pigment manufacturers worldwide. The ASTM (1999)
rates its lightfastness in watercolors as "excellent" (I) and my tests agree,
though the paint seems marginally less lightfast than phthalo green (blue
shade, PG7). In watercolors the green phthalocyanines undergo a moderately
large drying shift, both lightening and losing saturation by 20%. PG36 is
usually lighter valued and less staining than PG7; it has good tinting strength
but is weaker in mixtures than PG7 and diffuses more actively in washes. The
hue is very close to the psychological unique green, as defined in the section
on color vision. The best mixing complements are quinacridone rose
(PV19), benzimidazolone maroon (PR171) and quinacridone carmine
(PR N/A). The average CIECAM J,a,b values for phthalo green [yellow shade]
(PG36) are: 39, -54, 18, with chroma of 57 (estimated hue purity of 49) and
a hue angle of 162.
See under PG7 for information on the major convenience greens mixed
with phthalo green. Notice in PG7 and PG36 the variations on hooker's green,
sap green and permanent green: the same names are used for different
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pigment mixtures, or different names for the same mixtures. Often a golden
or brownish yellow, such as quinacridone gold (PO49) or an azomethine
yellow (PY129 or PY150), is mixed with PG7 or PG36 to produce
convenience greens.
CAUTION. The phthalo greens PG7 or PG36 are very colorful and versatile
green pigments in themselves, but convenience green paints made with
them can be far less lightfast if the yellow pigment is not equally durable. I
think it is always good practice to put the convenience greens on your palette
through your own lightfastness tests. See also the section on
phthalocyanine pigments.
The same color index name refers to a range of cobalt spinel pigments of
different hues, caused by differences in the proportion of aluminum, nickel or
zinc in the crystal. (A "spinel" is a crystal framework formed of magnesium
aluminum oxide; other atoms chemically fit into this lattice to produce
different colored compounds.) The paints are listed above in order of hue
angle, from blue to yellow. The major hue categories are:
BLUISH GREEN. Currently Winsor & Newton cobalt green is the only
commercial source for this shade of PG50. It has a hue and saturation very
similar to viridian (PG18) but with a powdery texture similar to a cobalt blue
and a slightly lighter value; it has the same mixing complements as viridian or
phthalo green BS. It makes an excellent blue green to mix light valued,
whitish turquoise and cyan hues with a green shade of cerulean blue (PB35).
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In heavy concentrations these mixtures will be more saturated and lighter
valued than cobalt turquoise (PB36). The average CIECAM J,a,b values for
cobalt green [blue shade] (PG50) are: 50, -48, 0, with chroma of 48
(estimated hue purity of 45) and a hue angle of 180.
YELLOWISH GREEN. All the remaining paints are the yellow shade of
cobalt titanate, though they vary in tonal value and saturation. The tinting
strength is weak; the best mixing complements for this hue are
quinacridone magenta (PR122), quinacridone violet (PV19) or manganese
violet (PV16). Daniel Smith cobalt green YS and Holbein cobalt green YS
are similar in hue, value, granulation and activity in wet applications: the DS
paint is more transparent and slightly less staining. MaimeriBlu cobalt green
deep is a very similar yellow shade, but more opaque; Maimeriblu cobalt
green light is a pale, opaque paint, with the yellowest hue and lightest value
of any listed here; it has the same titanium whiteness of cobalt turquoise light
(PG50) but bronzes slightly when applied full strength. The Schmincke paint
is labeled as PG19 by the manufacturer, apparently in error; its color
resembles no other paint in that pigment category. The Winsor & Newton
cobalt green YS, which was useful as a more saturated, lighter valued
alternative to chromium oxide green, has been discontinued. The average
CIECAM J,a,b values for cobalt titanate green [yellow shade] (PG50) are: 42,
-41, 20, with chroma of 46 (estimated hue purity of 36) and a hue angle of
154.
The teal and blue green shades of PG50 are among my favorite paints. The
pastel quality is not added but integral to the pigment, which make interesting
whitened mixtures with violets, blues, and greens. The teal blue alone provides
bright, light greens with cadmium lemon (PY3) or copper azomethine
(PY129), can be used to whiten and dull cadmium yellow deep (PY35) into
an unusual "naples yellow," mixes with phthalo green BS (PG7) to make a
lovely emerald green, mixes well with cobalt blue (PB28) to mimic the cloudy
green tone of cerulean blues, provides an incomparable greenish blue glow in
sky washes and landscape foundation tints, and makes a gorgeous soft violet
gray when mixed with a dark bluish red quinacridone (PR122 or PV19). (Did
I mention this is one of my favorite paints?) The PG50 green pigments are
relatively flat, often granulating, and yet have a subtle, unique color quality.
Using them has helped me to see new avenues of design and color
composition. I urge you to give them a look: as relatively novel paints, they
have interesting potential, worth investigating. See also the section on cobalt
pigments.
KEY TO THE PAINT RATINGS. Summarized as numbers: Tr = Transparency: 0 (very opaque) to 4 (transparent) - St = Staining: 0
(nonstaining) to 4 (heavily staining) - VR = Value Range: the value of the masstone color subtracted from the value of white paper, in
steps of a 100 step value scale - Gr = Granulation: 0 (liquid texture) to 4 (granular) - Bl = Blossom: 0 (no blossom) to 4 (strong
blossom) - Df = Diffusion: 0 (inert) to 4 (very active diffusion) - HA = Hue Angle in degrees of the CIELAB a*b* plane - HS = Hue
Shift as the undertone hue angle minus the masstone hue angle, in degrees of the CIELAB a*b* plane - Lf = Lightfastness: 1 (very
fugitive) to 8 (very lightfast) for paint in tint,full strength - Mentioned in pigment notes: Chroma: For the masstone paint on white
watercolor paper. - Drying Shift: Change in masstone color appearance from a glistening wet to completely dry paint swatch, in units of
lightness, chroma and hue angle in CIELAB. For more information see What the Ratings Mean.
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