Color Spotlight: Moonglow

A granulating gray-purple made from a mix of Viridian (PG18), Ultramarine (PB29), and Anthraquinoid Red (PR177). This is one of those colors that super appeals to people who like granulation. It is not a straightforward, boring gray; it’s interesting. It settles and blooms in odd ways, with the green and blue sometimes granulating away from … Read more

Color Spotlight: Violet Iron Oxide (PR101)

Da Vinci – Violet Iron Oxide (PR101)

Da Vinci’s Violet Iron Oxide is a color I haven’t seen anywhere else. It’s a transparent, highly granulating, cool purple-toned maroon brown made from the PR101 pigment, the same that is used for Transparent Red Oxide and the opaque Indian Red.

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Color Spotlight: Sodalite Genuine

Daniel Smith – Sodalite Genuine

Sodalite is one of Daniel Smith’s exclusive Primatek colors made from real minerals. This one is a granulating, very dark blue. I’d say this is a good substitute for Indigo (which is traditionally blue + black) if you’re looking for something in that color family that is more granulating and/or single pigment.

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Color Spotlight: Lemon Yellow Deep (PY159)

PY159 is a granulating, low-strength primary yellow. It’s available as Winsor & Newton Lemon Yellow Deep (shown here), or as Schmincke’s Volcano Yellow (from the Supergranulating line). Experiment Results Gradient: Slighlty dull granulating mid-yellow in masstone, pale yellow otherwise. Very difficult to get a masstone and doesn’t grade easily. Does not rewet easily. Opacity: Semi-transparent… … Read more

Color Spotlight: Goethite Brown Ochre (PY43)

Daniel Smith – Goethite (Brown Ochre)

I like granulation now, so this is part of my effort to revisit colors I previously wrote off because of the granulation. Last week, I did Potter’s Pink for the same reason.

Goethite Brown Ochre is a highly granulating, low-tinting-strength yellow ochre, made with the traditional yellow ochre pigment PY 43. Jane Blundell includes it as one of the fourteen colors in her Ultimate Mixing Palette.

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Color Spotlight: Cerulean Blue Genuine (PB36)

Da Vinci - Cerulean Blue Genuine
Da Vinci – Cerulean Blue Genuine

Cerulean, meaning “sky”, is a light sky blue, traditionally made from the PB35 or PB36 pigments, which are both cobalt oxides. It’s an opaque, granulating, light-valued, green-toned blue.

Warning: Be careful to look at pigment numbers. Some brands, like Mission Gold, call their PB15 Phthalo Blue “Cerulean.” Don’t make the mistake I did when I first started painting, and get “Cerulean Hue” (from Da Vinci, Cotman, etc.), made from Phthalo Blue + white. PB15 is not the same color, and will not have the same granulation/magic/mixing properties.

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