Diarylide yellow, often marketed as Indian Yellow, is a warm orange yellow similar to Hansa Yellow Deep (PY65) or Isoindolinone Yellow Deep (PY110), but a bit less orange/more yellow than either. Typically only found in student ranges these days, it seems to have fallen out of favor somewhat as it is night quite as lightfast as similar colors. It’s one of those colors that’s most stable in masstone and fugitive in tints, so it’s still a useful color in gouache.
The watercolor example shown is Indian Yellow from the Van Gogh brand (Royal Talens student grade line). I also have it in gouache as Holbein’s Marigold.
Note that the term “Indian Yellow” can refer to other warm yellows, including Dioxine Yellow (PY153) and various mixes.
PY83 is also found in some popular commercial mixes, such as:
- Sennelier’s Sennelier Yellow Deep (PY153 + PY83)
- Holbein’s Permanent Yellow Deep (PY74 + PY83)
- Da Vinci’s Gold Ochre (PY43 + PY83)
- Art Spectrum’s or Daniel Smith’s Australian Red Gold (PR101 + PV19 + PY83)
- Sennelier’s or Jackson’s Hooker’s Green (PG36 + PY83)
Pigment Stats for PY83
Pigment Description: Disazo, or diarylide, benzidine condensation
Lightfastness: Very Good (II) per ArtisCreation
Toxicity: Nontoxic (A) per ArtisCreation
Opacity: Semi-transparent
Observations of VG Indian Yellow
Hue: Warm yellow, in hue somewhere between Brilliant Hansa Yellow (PY74) and Hansa Yellow Deep (PY65)
Gradient: Very smooth.
Chroma: Very high chroma.
Tinting Strength: Nice and strong; doesn’t feel weakened as many student grade paints do.
Dispersion: Feels a bit more dispersive than some of the similar hue alternatives, making it feel more similar to discontinued PY153 Indian Yellow than does, say, PY65.
Conclusion
I like the hue and transparency, but the combination of it being hard to find and reportedly poor lightfastness (though I haven’t tested it myself) give me pause. There are permanent warm yellows that work just as well. That said, lightfastness is not the end all be all especially for beginners/hobbyists, and this is a good deal for a nice paint in a quality student grade line.
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Van Gogh Watercolor – Indian Yellow, 10 ml tube: Blick