Isoindolinone Yellow (PY110)
På SvenskaTo begin with, it’s easy to confuse Isoindolinone Yellow (PY110), which this text is about, with Isoindoline Yellow (PY139). However, these are two different pigments that share some properties but are not the same, despite the similarity in their names.
Isoindolinone Yellow is a warm yellow, transparent, very durable, and staining color. It is intensely yellow-orange and has excellent mixing properties. Above all, it is remarkably unique as a transparent yellow color. Its excellent blending capabilities and transparency make it a common ingredient in various pre-mixed colors, far more common than as an independent pigment in watercolor paints. It is quite a popular ingredient when manufacturers aim to replicate the long-lost colors Gamboge and Indian Yellow, both of which were very transparent.
Choosing Isoindolinone Yellow as your deep yellow color in the palette might be the optimal choice. It has all the properties you would want in a warm yellow. Personally, I still prefer Nickel Azo (PY150), but if you value transparency and color purity, Isoindolinone Yellow might be an even better option.
Together with Phthalo Blue or Prussian Blue, it mixes easily into a nice greens without the need for any tone-lowering additives like red or brown. The reason for this is its warm, almost orange undertone, which results in a somewhat muted color when combined with a clear and fairly cool blue. With Phthalo Green, it’s easy to mix something resembling Sap Green, again without requiring tone-lowering additives like red or brown.
Isoindolinone Yellow is therefore a color I mostly use for mixing with other colors. I don’t find it very useful on its own (perhaps if you’re painting oranges). But as an ingredient in various mixes, particularly with blue for different greens, the color is a valuable addition to my palette. It also creates lovely mixes with red tones.
Not all major watercolor manufacturers carry this color, but I’ve found the following:
- Holbein: Isoindolinone Yellow Deep
- Turner: Permanent Yellow Orange
- Schmincke: Yellow Orange
- Daniel Smith: Permanent Yellow Deep
- Roman Szmal: Isoindolinone Yellow Deep
- Royal Talens Rembrandt: Azo Yellow Deep
- M. Gaham: Indian Yellow
- Rosa Gallery: Golden
There are also some smaller manufacturers of this pigment.
Properties
Color Index Name: PY110
Lightfastness: Excellent
Transparency: Transparent
Staining: Quite a lot
Granulation: No
