Da Vinci Dot Cards Part 4: Greens

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Da Vinci Dot Cards – All Greens

I’m working my way through the Da Vinci Dot Card set. This time: Greens!

Cool to Medium Greens

Da Vinci Dot Cards – Greens

Top Row:

  1. Cobalt Green Hue (PG7, PB27)
  2. Phthalo Green (PG7)
  3. Viridian Green (PG18)
  4. Phthalo Green Yellow Shade (PG36)
  5. Perylene Green (PBk31)

Bottom Row:

  1. Hooker’s Green Dark (PG7, PY42)
  2. Emerald Hue (PG36, PW6)
  3. Chromium Oxide Green (PG17)
  4. Denise’s Green (PB60, PY129)
  5. Hooker’s Green Light (PG7, PY42)

Most of these are mixes and I don’t have a ton to say about them. I’m not a big fan of the Hooker’s Green mixes with Yellow Ochre which I find a bit weak. Denise’s Green is a useful sap color similar to pine needles that grades from cooler to warmer, but it’s possible to mix from Indanthrene and Green Gold (Nickel Azo Yellow also makes a similar mix), which are colors I often have on hand anyway.

Phthalo Greens

The Phthalo Greens are fine – very findable in every brand. My general impression is that the color DV just called “Phthalo Green,” which is PG7 (Phthalo Green Blue Shade), is a bit more medium and less blue-toned than some PG7s. This makes it a reasonable middle color if you prefer that. I like the shade of the bluer WN or DS one.

Da Vinci Phthalo Green Blue Shade and Yellow Shade vs Winsor versions of same.

Viridian

I do not at this time have another viridian to compare this to, but this one looks pretty reasonable to me. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it painted out. That said, this is still quite a weak pigment in any line.

Perylene Green

This is quite a standard color and usually it’s pretty similar between brands.

Perylene Green (PBk31) comparison: Da Vinci vs Winsor & Newton

I found the WN slightly easier to get dark. DV is a bit more saturated; although I usually like that, in this case I find the WN more moody/muted color a bit preferable.

Chromium Oxide Green

This is a pretty standard color across brands as well. Here’s a comparison to the WN version, Oxide of Chromium.

PG17 comparison: Da Vinci Chromium Oxide Green vs Winsor & Newton Oxide of Chromium

I wasn’t really able to see a difference here. I’m pretty sure the only reason I got darker color in masstone for WN is that I had more paint.

Yellow Greens

Here are the remaining greens.

  1. Sap Green (PG7, PY42)
  2. Olive Green (PG7, PY42)
  3. Joyce’s Mother Green (PG7, PBr7, PY42)
  4. Green Gold (PY129)
  5. Leaf Green (PG7, PY65)

Mostly, more weak mixes with PG7 + PY42. Joyce’s Mother Green is a pleasant enough color that has the desirable quality of going from cool to warm as it lightens.

Green Gold

This is the equivalent of Daniel Smith’s Rich Green Gold.

PY129 comparison: Da Vinci Green Gold vs Daniel Smith Rich Green Gold

They’re very similar but if I’m nitpicking, I find the DV version slightly duller, it doesn’t paint out quite as nicely or have the same mid-tone glow. In mixes, though, these subtle differences disappear.

Leaf Green

Leaf Green is DV’s spring bud green; as is typical, this is a mixed phthalo yellow-green (i.e. a mix of Phthalo Green and yellow, in this case Hansa Yellow Deep). The use of a deep, orangey yellow slightly mutes the green in this which gives it a more realistic color, but because it’s mostly yellow, it’s still extremely bright and saturated. This looks like the color of early spring maple flowers to me.

The closest comparison in my collection is Schmincke’s May Green (PG7, PY151), a much cooler bright green.

Spring green comparison: DV Leaf Green (PG7, PY65) vs SH May Green (PG7, PY151)

The use of a cool yellow in the Schmincke color (Azo Yellow) makes the resulting color much cooler. I have seen both of these colors in nature in early spring. DV’s is perhaps more natural, but I find SH’s more pleasant and useful as a mixer – I can add yellow or yellow-orange to make it more like DV’s color, but I can’t really make DV’s color more like Schmincke’s without also darkening and dulling it.

Shopping List

I have to say that none of the greens made it to my shopping list. I don’t usually get mixed greens, and these mixes aren’t my favorite anyway (Joyce’s Mother Green was my favorite). The single-pigment Phthalo, Perylene, and Chromium Oxide greens are all perfectly good if Da Vinci happens to be the cheapest/easiest brand for you to get, but for me, they’re not superior enough to be worth changing from the Winsor & Newton ones I already have. Viridian looks fine, but it’s not a color I usually keep in stock. Green Gold isn’t bad, but I found it slightly less likable than the DS one I have.

Next time, I expect the earth tones to fare better – since DV is already my favorite brand for earth tones!

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