Perylene Maroon (PR179)

perylene_maroon

The pigment PR179 was created in 1957, it is a very intense, very durable, fairly staining and transparent red-brown dye. It is common as a watercolor paint, usually with the name Perylene Maroon.

As the color is similar to the now uncommon Brown Madder, this is, unfortunately, another common name for the color. There are also other names for PR179. For example, Perylene Red or deep red, which is strange, there is already another pigment with that name, Furthermore, PR179 is commonly found in various ready mixed colors with varying hue and name.

The hue of the paint from different manufacturers is quite different, ranging from brown, almost like a burnt sienna, to blackish red-violet or clearer pink with some manufacturers. Before you buy Perylene Maroon, it is a good idea to compare the different options so that you get a color that you like.

The color is very similar to Quinacridone maroon (which I already wrote about here on the blog). I think everyone who paints watercolors should own one of these. Both colors are very useful, for example in green landscapes.

Anyone who has painted a predominantly green landscape knows how difficult it can be to get the right mix of dark and murky shades of green. A small addition of any of these colors to your green color mixture will give nice, and natural, dark green colors. Or use Perylene Maroon for portraits or a Swedish red cabin.

A painting done with perylene maroon and Indantron blue, notice how nicely these two colors work wet on wet.

Perylene Maroon is thus a very useful color, especially for various green color mixtures in landscapes or botanical illustrations, and for portraits or people in general. It has nice mixing properties, but may not be very useful unmixed. For me, the color is a must. One of the cornerstones of my palette.

A deep, transparent maroon color
Likes to create blooms
No granulation and a clear hard edge
Quite staining
Floats well in water
Freshly painted wet paint
Dried paint

Properties

Color index name: PR179
Lightfastness: Excellent
Transparency: Semi-transparent
Staining: Yes
Granulates: No

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