Watercolor Dirtbag
Today was a swatching day! For today’s Advent Calendar, I drew Quin Violet (PV19). I previously did a three-way comparison of Quin Fuchsia (PR202), Bordeaux (PV32), and Quin Violet (PV19 beta). I no longer have Bordeaux, but I want to do some more comparing of PR202 and PV19b. Color Mixes In the assortment below, I’ve … Read more
My last Earth Yellow showdown is not, it turns out, the last word on earth yellows! I love earth yellow and I collect them. I’ve added a few more to the comparison. Here’s every color in the map above. I tried to put these in roughly cool-to-warm order (greenest undertone to orangest undertone). Top row: … Read more
Today I’m comparing two colors that are both named Perylene Red, but use different pigments.
In this Color Comparison, I’ll compare two similar yellows that I love: Imidazolone Lemon (PY175) and Imidazolone Yellow (PY154). Both are very bold, lightfast yellows that can be used as a primary yellow in a palette. Either one of them, if you showed it to me, I would be like “yup that’s the platonic ideal of yellow,” but next to each other I can see how they are actually kind of different.
I’ve always found Phthalo Green Blue Shade (PG7) to be the most useful mixer for bold, bright, new, spring shoots. Compared to blues, even the very bright and greenish Phthalo Blue Green Shade (PB15:3), Phthalo Green consistently makes cleaner, brighter greens. In my post Mixing Watercolor Greens for the Foliage of the Northeast, Season by Season, I recommended PG7 and Lemon Yellow (PY175 or PY3) for the best spring green mixes. After doing a tutorial with Paul George, I began mixing up spring greens with another color: Cobalt Turquoise (PG50). So how do these colors really compare?
Both of these colors are muted violet reds. Naphthamide Maroon (PR171) is slightly more reddish while Perylene Violet (PV29) is slightly more violet, though they’re nearly indistinguishable.
Previously, I’ve asked What’s the difference between MANS and Yellow Ochre? Today, I’m adding a couple more earth yellows for a big showdown between Da Vinci Yellow Ochre, Da Vinci Raw Sienna Deep, Daniel Smith Monte Amiata Natural Sienna (MANS), and Da Vinci Raw Sienna. Which of these belongs in the earth yellow slot in my palette?
I did this a color comparison of ACQ vs PR264 back in November 2022, but at that time, my PR264 was DS Pyrrol Crimson, which I did not really like. How do they match up if I use a PR264 I like better: Holbein’s Pyrrole Rubin? Both read a crimson (dark red) to me. The … Read more
Most watercolor brands offer a PB60 paint, often called Indanthrone or Indathrene Blue. As far as I know, there is no official distinction between the words Indanthrone (with an “o”) and Indanthrene (with an “e”) – I think they are synonyms. But I own two PB60 paints, one called Indanthrone and one called Indanthrene, and … Read more
Indian Red and Venetian Red are both very opaque, granulating earth reds made from synthetic iron oxide (PR101). Indian Red is more violet-toned (earth maroon), diluting to dusty pink; Venetian Red is more orange-toned (earth scarlet), diluting to peach. In the versions I used, Da Vinci Indian Red was significantly more granulating than Winsor & Newton Venetian Red, especially noticeable in masstone.