Phthal green (PG7 – PG36)
August 24, 2020
På SvenskaThere is nothing in nature that is as green as phthalo green. What is the use of such a color? It is almost ridiculously pure and green.
When a new student comes to my courses who already have paint and have painted before, they usually have an unused pan of phthalo green in their box. They have tested the paint once, a long time ago, and found that it can’t be used.
Still, the color is important in a palette intended for mixing, if you want to be able to mix ALL color shades, phthalo green is a must.
There are two variants of the pigment, One cold, (blue shade – PG7) and one warm (Yellow Shade – PG36). Because the yellow shade is the complementary color to quinacridone rose, it is the best of them to use for mixing. It is very good from a mixing point of view to have a complementary color available.
The manufacturers’ range of green colors is impressive considering that there are only a few green pigments available. This is because most are mixed colors, they consist of several pigments. Virtually all green ready-mixed colors have phthalo green as the main ingredient. The explanation for this is simple: From a blending point of view, phthalo green is superior to all other greens. The color is very important for the paint manufacturers, maybe it can be important for you too.
The most common pigments to mix phthalo green with are yellow and red. The yellow is used to make the color less aggressive, more natural and a complementary red to make it a little softer.
In other words, it is not a color to be used unmixed, it is far too unnaturally pure for this. But the color is very good as a green base for different mixtures. If you do not want to mix color yourself, but rely on the manufacturers’ ready-mixed varieties, phthalo green is not for you, but if you like to mix yourself, it is the best starting point for green color mixes. A must in the color mixer’s arsenal.
Information
Color index: PG7 | PG36
Phthalogreen is is developed from phthalo blue, chlorinated copper phthalocyanine. The yellow tone is brominated copper phthalocyanine. Both colors are completely non-toxic.
Lightfastness: Very good
Transparency: Very high
Staining: Extremely much, dries with beautiful edges,
Granulates: Not at all
This is all great information!
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I use WordPress as a platform for akvarell.se. In WP you can comment but no more than that. I do not know why your information has to be filled in every time, it probably has to do with your cookie settings. There are Plugins for advanced comments, I’ll see if I can find something good.
I hadn’t seen your reply till now. Sorry for the delay response
As you have noticed, I have a new system for comments, what do you think, is it good?
It’s excellent to say the least! Very easy to reply and check what’s going on
Could you add a few suggested mixes. A lot of color theory doesn’t pan out and I would like to understand why, but more importantly, get some mixing formulas that do work. For example PGYS + QR DOES NOT make black. If you are very careful, you can create a SLIGHTLY GRANULAR grayish mess —- with muddy green overlaid with rose.
BTW, I am a retired engineer that lived in Sweden (Vastra Frolunda) in the 1990’s. I still speak and read a little Swedish.
It is easy to mix black with Phthalo Green and Quinacridone Rose, perhaps your problem with this color mixture is the manufacturer. Some manufacturers have problems hiding the Quinacridone Rose’s tendency to flock, and some colors are so pigment-poor and filled with fillers that they are unable to deliver sensible mixtures.
You are probably right. I have a mix of artist and cheap watercolors. The art department at the university bookstore carries Daniel Smith but is constantly outing colors. So I buy cheap Daler & Rowney when I can’t buy DS (and Amazon’s prices are outrageous). D&R’sbpsints range from excellent to “suspect”. My Quinacridone Rose is D&R
I bought Daler & Rowney Quinacridone Rose a while ago. It was on sale, and I needed a new tube. It was their best quality and still lacked the intensity and transparency that I am used to. I can imagine that their simpler colors are even worse. Many of my students use the Russian colors White Nights from St. Petersburg, they are cheap, and they always have problems when they have to mix Phthalo Green and Quinacridone Rose: hard to get the right hue, pale and bland and the red color separates from the green.