A warm purple made from PV19, the same pigment that makes Quin Rose and several other colors in the red/pink/purple spectrum. (Not to be confused with Quinacridone Purple, PV55.)
Experiment Results
Gradient: Lovely gradient from a vivid, blue-toned magenta to a pale lilac. Doesn’t get incredibly dark.
Opacity: Totally transparent
Glazing: Surprisingly crimson glaze
Colors Mixes: All these came out slightly duller than I was expecting.
- The oranges and yellows are muted, earthy red-grays.
- PGBS makes a muted teal.
- PBGS makes a rather pretty periwinkle.
- French Ultramarine makes a really nice purple.
- Transparent Red Oxide makes a warm maroon.
- Quin Gold is a pretty uninspired mauve.
Comparison to Other Colors
PV19 violet is the second color in the spread below. It’s distinctly more magenta/less purple than Quin Purple (PV55), but it’s purpler Quin Fuchsia (PR202) or the reddish DS Bordeaux (PV32). It’s much purpler and darker than the primary magenta options, PR122 magenta and PV19 quin rose.
PV19 Comparison
Here’s another comparison chiefly to other PV19s.
Daniel Smith Quin Rose and Da Vinci Red Rose Deep are rose versions of PV19 that are much lighter and pinker. MaimeriBlu Quinacridone Lake and Daniel Smith Quinacridone Violet are quin violet equivalents that look more or less identical. Da Vinci Alizarin Crimson hue is a red. Finally, at the bottom I have Daniel Smith Bordeaux (PV32), not a PV19, but I think it looks incredibly similar to PV19 violets.
Daniel Smith – Bordeaux (PV32)
Here’s a more specific comparison of DS Quin Violet vs DS Bordeaux.
Quin Violet is bluer and duller. Note that Quin Violet dilutes to lavender and Bordeaux dilutes to a sort of pale peony/lilac. In masstone, Bordeaux almost reads as crimson. See also Finding a Dark Magenta: Comparing Quin Fuchsia, Quin Violet, and Bordeaux.
Comparison to Other Brands
Winsor & Newton – Permanent Violet
The fact that I initially titled the WN color “Quinacridone Magenta” then crossed it out and wrote the correct color name, “Permanent Magenta,” shows my confusion at the naming convention of these warm purples. Anyway, these colors look really similar to me, despite the curveball I introduced by doing them on different paper textures. I had an easier time getting the DV darker, maybe.
Daniel Smith – Quinacridone Violet
Daniel Smith’s version is warmer than the others in masstone, almost more of a magenta, but dilutes to cooler violet hue.
Holbein – Quinacridone Violet (PV19)
One of the coolest hues in masstone, but this strikes me as being the most honest because it has less of a hue change between masstone and dilute.
MaimeriBlu – Quinacridone Lake
Top left. A PV19 violet that is almost precisely the same hue as Daniel Smith. I got some unexpected cauliflowering in my swatchout that didn’t appear until well into the drying stage.
Multi Brand Comparison
It’s hard to tell from the pages above done at different times in different light, but this side-by-side comparison in my sketchbook from a time when I had several dots at the same time reveals that Daniel Smith and Rembrandt are the warmest, Holbein is the coolest and Da Vinci is somewhere in the middle. Rembrandt also appears to have less range than the others, but is very smooth.
Color Mixes
Imidazolone Lemon (PY175)
Near-complements, these make grayish muddy colors.
Imidazolone Yellow (PY154)
Warmer and redder than the lemon yellow mixes, though still quite an awkward middle step between red and brown IMO.
Monte Amiata Natural Sienna (PBr7)
Nicer than the cool yellow but still not extremely nice.
Raw Sienna (PBr7)
PBJ vibes.
Hansa Yellow Deep (PY65)
Moving toward a nicer color but still ugly to me.
Isoindolinone Yellow Deep (PY110)
Getting better, though still bizarre. Kind of “blood orange” colors.
Transparent Orange (PO107)
Dull cranberry sauce.
Pyrrol Orange (PO73)
Similar to PO107 mixes, but slightly lower chroma and more opaque.
Quinacridone Burnt Orange (PO48)
Interesting reddish-purple mixes. I feel like these always look like a mix of their components, not another color category. It doesn’t quite get to red or brown.
Transparent Red Oxide (PR101)
I really like the very dark red that’s the second one from the left.
Perylene Maroon (PR179)
A range of deep, muted crimsons. Nice enough, I guess, but I’m not entirely sure they’re that different from plain Perylene Maroon. Holbein’s Perylene Maroon is on the orangey side, and the mix just makes it look more like DS Perylene Maroon.
Quinacridone Coral (PR209)
This is sort of weird. I don’t see myself using this mix.
Pyrrol Red (PR254)
A range of bricky crimsons.
Perylene Red (PR178)
Also crimsons; more transparent than those with Pyrrol Red.
Indanthrone Blue (PB60)
These are nice partners and make some very atmospheric blue-purples.
Ultramarine Blue (PB29)
Some more interesting violets; kind of in-between bright and muted.
Cobalt Blue (PB28)
QV definitely darkens things here.
Cerulean Blue (PB36)
Some lovely lavenders and lilacs here. On the dull side compared to those made from Cerulean and Quin Rose or Cerulean and Quin Magenta.
Phthalo Turquoise (PB16)
Makes deep low-chroma violets and blues, similar to Diox or Indanthrone Blue hues.
Phthalo Green BS (PG7)
Muted blues, violets, and teals. The blues in the middle can be surprising since it is said that it is impossible to mix a primary color from two secondaries! This also happens with Diox Violet.
What Others Say
PV19 can be used to anchor the “magenta” side of warm colors in a palette: the question is, which hue to use? The rose or red shades of PV19 are more extraverted, producing bright warm mixtures, bright tints, and lighter valued violet mixtures with blue paints. The violet shade of PV19 is more evocative: the dark value and “violet” reflectance mixes unusual, complex browns with orange or yellow paints, moody reds and oranges with orange or red paints, and subdued, atmospheric violets and blues with dark blues such as phthalocyanine blue (PB15) or ultramarine blue (PB29); it also mixes shimmering violet grays with dull blue greens such as cobalt teal blue (PG50) or cobalt turquoise (PB36).
Bruce MacEvoy, handprint.com (2010)
I find the Quinacridone Violet colour less useful [compared to Quinacridone Rose] as you can make a violet by adding a little blue to the rose, though you can’t make a pink by starting with the violet.
Jane Blundell, Multipersonality Pigments – PV19 (2016)
Though Quin Violet will never be the life of party, in actuality, this violet is ready and willing to adapt to a variety of scenarios and could be a painter’s most trusted confidant and best PV19 partner. Like a typical INFP, it’s a true mediator and appears to seek the good in any situation. This personality makes Quin Violet an excellent mixer.
My favorite Quin Violet partners are Phthalo Green (PG7) and Indanthrone Blue (PB60), and these were the only three colors used in the landscape painting for the lead photo of this post. This 3-color palette trinity produces a startling range of colors with atmospheric qualities that I adore.
Tonya @ Scratchmade Journal, Watercolor Comparison: Quinacridone Violet (PV19) (2019)
This color was a new addition to the palette, and it was a surprise favorite. I had been having a hard time figuring out where this color would be useful, and then as soon as I arrived here I was so excited to realize that it was the absolute perfect color to make the purples I saw in the petrified wood. This was really important to me, because the purples and blues were the colors that really stood out to me, and are apparently also the most rare colors to find in petrified wood anywhere in the world.
Claire Giordano, Petrified Forest Residency: Favorite Colors (2022)
My Review of Quinacridone Violet
Right away when I switched from student grade to professional paints, WN Permanent Magenta was one of the first paints I grabbed because I liked the PV19 violet in Winsor & Newton’s Cotman line, Purple Lake. But once I had it in artist-grade, I rarely used it, and when I did, I was unhappy with it. I was picturing myself using it to mix up deep warm plum purples. But its mixes with red and orange looked grayish to me.
I was going for a bold, in-your-face, garish sunset there, and regardless of whether you think that’s a good goal, I think you can agree I didn’t quite get there. Not like I did when I used Quin Magenta (PR122) instead, like below:
Or when I used Bordeaux (PV32):
Clearly, Quin Violet is far too dull to be a primary magenta. It is also not a vivid purple mixer; PR122 mixes much more bright, clear, saturated purples. As long as I expect this color to behave like a magenta or a bright purple, I’m disappointed with it. So if it’s not a bright purple, what is it?
What it is – deceptively, I think – is a muted, moody and atmospheric purple. Every mix is just a little bit more understated than I think it will be. This can be a good thing if you would like your color mixes to be kind of subtle and wistful (like, there’s something I like better about the QV sunset, even though it’s not what I was going for at the time; it’s evocative!) I suppose it’s sort of the violet equivalent of Indanthrone Blue.
I also find it to be a very useful color for mixing your own crimsons (with reds/scarlets/maroons). It lends red mixes just that little bit of coolness without turning them brown or overpowering them as blues can.
Favorite version: They are all quite similar and mix very similarly. I initially preferred Daniel Smith’s warmer hue in masstone, but in practice found it confusing because it still dilutes to a cooler hue. I found the color easier to understand/predict when I switched to Holbein.
Alternatives:
- For fans of DS’s rosier hue, DS Quin Magenta (PR202) looks really similar in masstone but dilutes to the warmer, muted magenta I always seem to expect from Quin Violet. Ultimately, I have found this to be my preferred alternative for this color slot. See also Color Comparison: Quin Fuchsia (PR202) vs Quin Violet (PV19).
- DS Bordeaux (PV32) is another dull cool red/warm purple that falls somewhere between Quin Violet and crimson, though it is not as lightfast and has an odd hue shift.
- If you’re looking for “Indanthrone Blue, but purple,” DS Carbazole Violet (PV23) is worth a look.
- If you’re disappointed by Quin Violet’s mutedness and just want a bright purple mixer, Holbein Quin Magenta (PR122) is my favorite.
- For another deep, complex magenta option, many people are fans of DS Rose of Ultramarine (a mix of PV19 rose and PB29 Ultramarine Blue), but I think it’s an easy self-mix.