Color Spotlight: Lemon Yellow (PY175)

PY175, typically known as Lemon Yellow or Imidazolone Lemon, is a bold, transparent, green-toned bright yellow.

Holbein also has a color called Imidazolone Yellow which is PY154, so pay close attention to the color name.

Experiment Results

Color Family: Lemon Yellow

Hue: Cool, green-toned, very bright yellow.

Gradient: Makes a nice smooth gradient that lightens to a pale pastel yellow.

Transparency: Absolutely transparent.

Color Mixes: Slightly subdued oranges, and extremely bright, neon-ish greens.

Comparison to Other Yellows

Hansa Yellow Light (PY3)

Light yellows made from PY3, such as Daniel Smith Hansa Yellow Light, are extremely similar-looking to PY175 Lemon Yellows. They are both extremely cool (green-toned), light yellows. I would say the difference is that Hansa Yellow Light is a bit more opaque, which can make it look bolder.

Color mixes are similar in hue, but I think they behave a little different. While Lemon Yellow makes the entire color more yellowy (a traditional mix), Hansa Yellow Light (at least DS’s) seems to like to stay aloof from the other color, typically settling in a gradient instead of a regular mix. This may be what you want if you’re painting a sunset or another situation with a gradient, but not what you want if you’re trying to use it as a regular ol’ mixer.

Bear in mind that some brands, such as Schmincke, use the term “Lemon Yellow” for their PY3 (Hansa Yellow Light pigment) offering.

Azo Yellow (PY150)

Azo Yellow is a transparent yellow that looks more middle-toned (less green-toned) unmixed, but mixes very similarly PY175 lemon.

Comparison to Other Brands’ PY175

Winsor Lemon (PY175)

My second favorite PY1754, Winsor’s version is very bold as well, though it tends to dry harder than Holbein.

Daniel Smith – Lemon Yellow

Daniel Smith calls this a “brilliant primary yellow” though I find it to be more green-biased and not that brilliant. More transparent, and less tinted than Winsor & Newton’s version. I find it hard to get good juicy color from this one, and it’s easily overwhelmed in mixes. However, its transparency makes it great for subtle glazes and undercoats, and for making delicate, luminous sunrises.

MaimeriBlu – Permanent Yellow Lemon

Like many MaimeriBlu colors, I found this one a bit low in tinting strength and streaky. It’s a nice bright cheery color, similar to WN, but I find WN more bold and usable.

Lightfastness Tests

I tested Holbein Imidazolone Yellow (PY175).

I don’t see any difference between these swatches. Grade: A!

Color Mixes

Transparent Orange

A gorgeous range of very bold, vibrant, vivid oranges! The mixes remind me of more middle oranges including Yellow Orange and Perinone Orange. These are the opposite of muted.

Quinacridone Rose

Slightly more subtle golds and coral-y oranges. These, to me, are fantastic sunset/sunrise colors.

Carbazole Violet

Purple is yellow’s complement, so the mix should make gray. I guess this is gray, but I find it more of an ugly, muddy, dark khaki.

Indanthrone Blue

The Lemon brings brightness and the Indanthrone brings muted darkness. The more pigmented, Indanthrone-y mixes border on Perylene Green in their dark green-ness!

Ultramarine Blue

If you’re expecting this to make green you’ll probably be disappointed, but there’s something wonderful to me about the way it doesn’t mix. Wonderful for sunrise/sunset skies fading zenith blue into horizon yellow.

Cobalt Blue

These greens are far more bold and green than the Ultramarine Deep mixes above, though far less so than the Phthalo Blue mixes below. In dilute, blue granules float above washed-out greens.

Phthalo Blue

Extremely bright neon greens and turquoises! Because both colors are strong, I found it easy to get a mostly-blue or mostly-yellow mix (turquoise or lime), but difficult to get a “true green” balance.

Cerulean Blue

I really like the granulating light-value blue-greens, but I found it difficult to keep the Lemon Yellow from overwhelming them and turning them all yellow-green.

Cobalt Turquoise

I thought the Phthalo Green mixes were bright, but these make them look positively muted! Super-neon mint and lime shades. The most neon greens I know how to make!

My Review

PY175 is a great lemon yellow because it’s lightfast and mixes reasonably good oranges in addition to its cool-yellow-specialist greens. It can dry a bit hard, but generally has a nice texture and is easy to use.

Favorite version: Holbein Imidazolone Lemon – it’s bold and has a nice texture. WN also has a great color but dries very hard. I found DS and MMB too weak.

Alternate Colors: Any Lemon Yellow.