I classify this opaque buttery yellow an orange-yellow because it is too high-chroma to be an earth yellow, but it’s on the subdued side compared to in-your-face colors like Hansa Yellow Deep.
Archives: Color Spotlights
Color Spotlight: Phthalo Cyan (PB17)
A lesser-known cousin in the Phthalo family, Phthalo Cyan strongly resembles Phthalo Blue (Green Shade) but has lower tinting strength and may be less lightfast.
Color Spotlight: Mars Brown (PBr6)
“Mars” is a generic term referring to synthetic iron oxides, appropriate for PBr6, which is the synthetic equivalent to natural brown oxide PBr7 that is typically the basis of many popular earth tones, including Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, and Raw Umber. Like PBr7, PBr6 can have many personalities, typically a granulating brown of some kind.
Color Spotlight: Azo Condensation Yellow (PY128)
PY128 is a highly transparent lemon yellow, known as Transparent Yellow Medium by the Royal Talens brands Rembrandt (artist grade) and Van Gogh (student grade). I was able to try this color thanks to my Discord friends’ dot exchange.
Color Spotlight: Mahogany Brown (PBr33)
Thanks to my Discord friends’ dot exchange, I have a new Color Spotlight for you, after a long break!
A highly granulating, slightly reddish brown, offered only by Schmincke as far as I am aware. Schmincke previously offered PBr33 as ‘Walnut Brown;’ I’m not sure if this is just a rename or if Mahogany Brown is actually different.
Color Spotlight: Cobalt Violet (PV14 or PV47)
This classic granulating violet pigment, originally synthesized in 1859, was beloved of Monet for his Water Lilies paintings.
Color Spotlight: Manganese Brown (PY164)
PY164 is a rare brown pigment offered by few manufacturers. Although I have only tried MaimeriBlu’s version, I went with the Roman Szmal name, Manganese Brown, for this post, because I think is a more specific and accurate way to describe this pigment. Most brands use the word ‘Sepia’ to mean a mix of PBr7 and black.
Color Spotlight: New Gamboge
DS New Gamboge is one of the first colors I ever tried since it’s in the Daniel Smith Essentials starter set. I did previously make a Color Spotlight of it but I shifted the page to be about PY110, one of its components, when I got on a single pigment kick. But I’ve decided to separate it out again, since it serves a slightly different palette role than either of its components and I think it deserves separate consideration once more. I’m come full circle!
Color Spotlight: Mars Brown (PR101)
PR101 is a multipersonality pigment that is typically used to create earth reds (e.g. Indian Red) or earth orange burnt sienna alternatives (e.g. Transparent Red Oxide), sometimes even earth violets (e.g. Caput Mortuum Violet). This paint by MaimeriBlu is the only time I’ve seen it used to create a straightahead brown. Of the typical three PR101 offerings, it is most similar to the earth violets, but it is different enough in palette role (a neutral brown/burnt umber alternative) that I decided to make it its own Color Spotlight entry.
Color Spotlight: Hansa Yellow Medium (PY97)
Welcome to the comeback Color Spotlights! I posted new Color Spotlights every Saturday for two years (January 2022-March 2024), but I thought I’d finished about six months ago when I kind of ran out new paints to try. (It’s not like I’ve tried every brand of every pigment, but I had sampled enough that new colors were becoming increasingly a reach.) But this month, I’m cleaning up a few more unusual or forgotten colors, and I have new Color Spotlights going up every Saturday in October!
PY97 is an odd one for me to have missed, since it’s such a normal color: a straight-ahead middle yellow, and the most basic primary yellow Daniel Smith has to offer!