I originally had this on the page with Yellow Ochre, but I decided it had a different enough hue to merit its own Color Spotlight. Much more orange than a traditional Yellow Ochre, this is a useful color for autumn.
Observations of Gold Ochre
Hue: Butternut squash-colored, a muted warm yellow to orange.
Granulation: Little to none.
Opacity: Semi-opaque.
Handling: A bit of cauliflowering/backruns. A little tricky.
Comparison to Other Earth Yellows
Gold Ochre (third row) is much more orange than Yellow Ochre or MANS. It is similar in hue to Raw Sienna, but more opaque, a bit stronger tinting strength, and higher chroma. In dilute it also appears warmer/more yellowish.
Color Mixes
Hansa Yellow Medium (PY97)
Quinacridone Coral (PR209)
Very vibrant, yet earthy oranges. To me these look like golden hour sunlight on red rocks.
Pyrrol Red (PR254)
This mix is also very foliage-y.
Indanthrone Blue (PB60)
While Yellow Ochre (and MANS) tend to gray out PB60, the more orange Gold Ochre deep swampy browns.
Ultramarine Blue (PB29)
Fairly neutral grays possible here.
Phthalo Turquoise (PB16)
A muted foliage green mix is possible here.
Phthalo Green (PG7)
Greens continue to be vibrant but are darker, warmer, and more naturalistic than you can achieve with PG7 alone. Much higher chroma than the PB16 mix.
My Review of Gold Ochre
I really enjoy this color. It’s an earth color made from a common earth pigment – synthetic yellow oxide – but it’s brighter and more cheerful than a typical yellow ochre or raw sienna. It has a very similar hue to Quinacridone Gold, but it is more opaque and muted, and mixes more like a traditional yellow ochre.
It’s a handy desert color, and (with Pyrrol Orange) formed the basis of sandstone colors for this Monument Valley sketch.
It’s also a lovely color for fall in New England, as it’s the perfect color for the mixed tones of yellow, orange, and red foliage in distant deciduous trees, or for the shadows of yellow foliage.
I also like it for certain bird/animal colors! For example, the belly of a Carolina wren.
The things that Gold Ochre does well, it does really well. The main downside, at least for the WN version which is the only one I’m reviewing here, is that it can be bit finicky and prone to dry in unpredictable ways.
Earth yellow is a high-competition slot, and this is just about my fourth-favorite. It doesn’t create chameleonlike mixes like Quin Gold or earthy textures like MANS, and it’s too orangey for sunset golds (for which I prefer Naples Yellow Deep). Still, while it may not go on my general travel palette, it’s a really special one to have around.
On my palette? Seasonally, for fall, and on the B-team.
Favorite version: Winsor & Newton (only version tested)