Yellow favorites

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The first thing I need to point out about yellow paints is that I find them troublesome. Most yellow shades offered by various paint manufacturers tend to be flat, unremarkable, and dull. Many of them are opaque, which makes green mixtures with blue colors particularly challenging.

Nickel Azo Yellow

Nickel Azo Yellow is one of my favorites; I appreciate its transparency and golden hue. It produces stunning greens when combined with any blue shade. The color leans warm, which makes it ideal for green mixtures with a cool blue. With a warm blue like French Ultramarine, the mixtures can become somewhat grayish. Nickel Azo Yellow is slightly unclear, an attribute most noticeable when used with minimal water. When diluted, this slightly dirty tone fades away.

In my opinion, anyone painting with watercolors must own Nickel Azo Yellow. Among all yellows, this is my favorite—it’s unmatched for creating green mixtures, especially with Phthalo Blue, Prussian Blue, or Indanthrone, but it works beautifully with other blues as well.

Nickel Azo Yellow has a relative I occasionally use: PY129, often called Green Gold. It’s a muted yellow-green that can be useful, primarily with other subdued colors. While it’s not a favorite, it’s worth mentioning in this context.

Lemon Ocher

The second yellow paint I must highlight is a bit different. It comes from a specific manufacturer and cannot be found elsewhere, but it’s one of my favorite yellows and deserves recognition. This color is Lemon Ocher, from Rublev, the brand for Natural Pigments’ artist paints.

Lemon Ocher is a transparent natural ocher from northern Italy. It has fantastic blending properties with similar colors. It may not pair well with modern synthetic pigments but works beautifully with granulating and more temperamental colors. I particularly like combining it with Cobalt Blue, French Ultramarine, or Viridian.

If you’re tired of all the dull synthetic “earth tones” offered by other watercolor manufacturers, try Lemon Ocher. Additionally, Natural Pigments’ paints are free from fillers and additives meant to stretch expensive pigments or enhance their appearance artificially.

Almost Favorites

Isoindolinone Yellow

In the “almost favorites” category, the third yellow paint I appreciate for its transparency and excellent blending properties—especially towards the red spectrum—is Isoindolinone Yellow (PY110). Different manufacturers give it various names, such as:

• Royal Talens Rembrandt – Azo Yellow Deep
• Roman Szmal – Isoindolinone Yellow Deep
• Daniel Smith – Permanent Yellow Deep
• Schmincke – Yellow Orange
• Turner – Permanent Yellow Orange
• Holbein – Isoindolinone Yellow Deep
• M. Graham – Indian Yellow

When mixed with a blue color, the results can be slightly muddy due to its orange undertone. However, it creates a lovely “Sap green” with Phthalo Blue, without mixing in red or brown. Despite its orange hue, it’s well-suited for green landscapes when mixed with a cool blue or green.

PY175

A cool yellow (lemon yellow) is also necessary, but I’m not particularly fond of the options available. One color I do use is PY175, which goes by different names depending on the manufacturer. It’s the only lemon yellow I reluctantly use. Unfortunately, the amazing Cobalt Yellow (Aureolin) isn’t lightfast; otherwise, it would have been my favorite cool yellow.

Mayan Yellow

Mayan Yellow is another “almost favorite.” It’s somewhat whitish and opaque, with a slightly sticky consistency. When paired with appropriate colors, it’s a good yellow I use occasionally, though I’d avoid it with modern, transparent, and vibrant colors.

Two former favorites that are no longer available are Nickel Dioxine Yellow (PY153, often called New Gamboge) and Quinacridone Gold (PO49). Paint manufacturers rely on the pigment industry for raw materials, and the pigment industry depends on large buyers. When a pigment isn’t popular with major purchasers, production ceases.