Color Spotlight: Shell Pink

This bright, springy, pastel pink-peach is a Holbein-specific color. In terms of pigments, it’s mix made from PO73 (Pyrrol Orange) and Titanium White.

Experiment Results

Gradient: I found this a bit too thick and creamy to make a smooth gradient, sort of like gouache. It doesn’t get super dark. This probably all is a result of the mix with opaque white.

Opacity: Semi-opaque to opaque; very visible over the dark line.

Glazing: Opaque glaze to masstone.

Lookalike: I used Winsor Orange Red Shade (PO73) and white gouache to make a lookalike. Since these are like the exact colors in the mix, it’s unsurprising that it looks very close! I maybe didn’t use enough white since it’s a bit more intense and orange.

Color Mixes: Mixes all the colors to opaque pastels, similar to how it would look if you mixed with white. (Because… that’s basically what you’re doing.)

My Overall Review

This is an “I don’t know what I expected” paint. Like, yeah, it’s… what you would predict from a mix of white and PO73. I really don’t know why I bought it because I already had a PO73 (Winsor Orange Red Shade) as well as white gouache, so I can easily mix it myself; and I knew how to read pigment labels when I bought it, so that’s no excuse! I think I was just desperate for a new spring pink.

Even as a convenience mix I’m not sure this is worth it because it’s not my favorite pastel pink. It already has to be mixed with Quin Rose before it looks cherry blossom-ish to me.

This one is going to be passed on to a friend, I think. My experience with this paint just reinforces that I don’t like colors with white in them in my palette; they look heavy and chalky to me. If I’m going to make a pastel with white, I’d rather mix it up myself sparingly, and have the option of making my preferred type of glowing pastel by diluting watercolors.