I previously rounded up multiple versions of muted mixed greens, so now let’s look at a few bright mixed greens!
Color Roundup: Light Yellow-Greens
greens
Color Spotlight: Hooker’s Green
Hooker’s Green is named for the English botanical illustrator William Hooker (1779-1832), who originally created the green as a leaf mix from Prussian Blue and Gamboge.
Every brand has their own formula for this green, but generally modern versions mix Phthalo Green with yellow-orange.
Color Spotlight: Chromium Oxide Green (PG17)
A strikingly opaque, dull green that granulates in midtone.
Color Spotlight: Viridian (PG18)
The traditional Viridian pigment, PG18, is one of those classic older chemical pigments invented in the 19th century, around the same time as the cadmiums and chromiums. The name is based on the Latin name veridis, meaning green. This is a granulating cool (blue-toned) green shade. It tends to be low-tinting strength and very liftable. … Read more
Color Spotlight: Green Apatite Genuine
This granulating Primatek color made from real Green Apatite is a similar hue to Sap Green, with interesting green and brown granulation. Like Jadeite, it has a tendency to separate with some strokes being a pale yellowy mint green and some strokes being a gray-brown olive. Experiment Results Gradient: Very wide ranges of values from … Read more
Color Spotlight: Jadeite Genuine
Jadeite Genuine is one of Daniel Smith’s Primatek colors, meaning it’s made from the actual mineral it’s named for: in this case, Jadeite. I tried this one out to see if I might like to use it as a granulating green for foliage and other situations where green texture might be appreciated.
Color Spotlight: Daniel Smith Serpentine Genuine
Serpentine is a Primatek color, meaning it is make from the actual rock Serpentine. A granulating, earthy yellow-green with sienna flecks. Experiment Results Gradient: A very smooth granulating gradient. The color doesn’t get very dark, but it does go from a vibrant avocado to a pale, muted lime wash. At each one of these steps, … Read more
Color Spotlight: Rich Green Gold (PY129)
A single pigment color made from copper, Rich Green Gold is a glowing, earthy greenish-yellow. Unmixed, it may read as green, but in mixes it functions more like a muted yellow.
Color Spotlight: Phthalo Green Blue Shade (PG7)
Phthalo Green (PG7) is a super vivid, deep, cool (blue-toned) green. To me, it feels like a glowing, hidden pond deep in the rainforest. It is incredibly bright; some folks find it “unnatural” so it may be most useful as a mixer than a natural landscape color.
(There’s another Phthalo Green – PG36 – which is more yellow-toned, that I’ll discuss in a future post.)
Like all the Phthalos, this green is extremely strong and staining. Some people don’t like that about it, and it does have a tendency to overwhelm mixes with weaker colors… but I love it! I’m lazy and I love a color that doesn’t make me work. I just have to make sure my palette is full of similarly vivid colors that can hold their own.