When I was recently trying to mix a Perylene Violet hue, Bordeaux (PV32) was one of the colors I used. Then I realized I had it backward: Bordeaux is LF2 and not as lightfast. Anyone trying to replace less-lightfast colors with more-lightfast colors would be trying to go the other way round. So I thought I’d try and make a Bordeaux hue with more lightfast colors.
The top left is Daniel Smith’s Bordeaux (PV32). The rest are self-mixed hues.
- DS Naphthamide Maroon (PR171) + HO Quin Magenta (PR122) – This is a pretty good match and also gets the dark tones. It’s a bit warmer in dilute which in my opinion is a good thing.
- HO Quin Violet (PV19) + HO Quin Magenta (PR122): Far too blue and bright.
- HO Quin Violet (PV19) + HO Pyrrol Red (PR254): This is quite a good match which also has the thing of being warm and cranberry-colored in masstone and cooler in dilute. It actually gets darker in masstone. This is the same color mix I use to make a Pyrrol Crimson hue, but with the balance shifted more toward violet.
- HO Quin Violet (PV19) + DS Pyrrol Scarlet (PR255): A bit warmer and more muted, this is a good match in masstone though too warm in dilute.
- HO Quin Violet (PV19) + HO Pyrrol Rubin (PR264): Another good match! Very similar to the PR254 match, a bit more muted. Pyrrol Rubin is also LF2 so this may not be a lightfastness improvement.
- DS Naphthamide Maroon (PR171) + HO Quin Violet (PV19): Too muted. Closer to a Perylene Violet mix.
- DS Deep Scarlet (PR175) + HO Quin Violet (PV19): Also too muted and warm. I could see this color being called Bordeaux, though. It’s very red wine-y.
- DS Quin Red (PV19) + HO Quin Violet (PV19): Too bright, but a very lovely intense floral color.
- DV Quin Red (PR209) + HO Quin Violet (PV19): Too purple and bright.
- DV Red Rose Deep (PV19) + a bit of Ultramarine Blue (PB29): Not at all right.
- DS Transparent Red Oxide (PR101) + HO Quin Violet (PV19): Too muted; similar to Naph. Maroon mix but warmer. I like this but it’s not right for what I’m goin gfor.
Conclusion
As you can see I went a bit wild with Quin Violet, which gave me the best results in matching the red-violet color (with various reds). It’s worth noting that one of my original qualms with Quin Violet was that it got too cool and muted in mixes (I preferred Bordeaux for that reason), so this still could be an issue.
Independent of whether they match Bordeaux, I really like these mixes, and I think any of them would be great for florals. I also find them generally easier to handle than Bordeaux. One of the things I really like about Bordeaux when I first painted it out was that it had a mind of its own, but this can be difficult when you have an opinion about what you’d like the paints to do.
Favorite mix: Quin Violet + Pyrrol Red or Pyrrol Crimson