Pigments

Pigments. Not paint. Pigments.

Pigments are building blocks for producing paint. It could be chemical or natural. They have a universal color code if they are chemical. If they're natural they're usually named for what they are and/or where they came from.

You get paint when you mix a pigment with a binder using some sort of proprietary formula and/or manufacturing process and sell it under your brand name.

Color is how your eye perceives that pigment.

If you want to get into the science of color, there are several websites but I would suggest exploring Handprint. It’s extensive.

Why is knowing the pigments so important? Because manufacturers use any names they like to describe the color of the paint they sell.

Daniel Smith's Quinacridone Rose is PV19. White Knight's Quinacridone Rose is PR122. Winsor and Newton's Quinacridone Rose is PV19 only they call it PERMANENT Rose.

This is why it is important to know the pigment numbers rather than rely on names. Names are arbitrary but pigment is pigment.

BTW, the color wheel isn’t so much a wheel as it is a ball. And the three primaries are not yellow, red and blue. And there aren’t three but four if you go back in history. More on that later.

There are many yellows. Depending on the manufacturer they may have fanciful names or they may have chemical names. But if you are going to compare one manufacturer to another, you need to look at the pigment number. Not always easy. One of the best sources on both color and pigments for manufacturers in Jane Blundell. Check out her tutorials and her blog. She has sampled all of the major manufacturers, so can tell you how the paints feel and react, plus she has their names and the pigment(s) used to create them. She prefers single pigment colors as do I because they are more predictable when mixed. But in the end, you get used to whatever you use most often.

I mentioned in passing PY153 as being discontinued when I talked about paints. This would be Pigment Yellow 153. Called either New Gamboge or Indian Yellow, depending on whether it’s Daniel Smith or Daler Rowney. Also discontinued is Quinacridone Gold or PO49 (Pigment Orange 49.) The pigment was discontinued in 2008 and Daniel Smith bought the remaining world’s supply. They must have run out because they discontinued their last use of it in October of 2017. They were the last manufacturer to have a single pigment Quin Gold, all others having a 2-3 pigment mix since they didn't have access to any P049. All Quin Gold paints are now a mix of two or more pigments. Usually PY150 and PO48 but which pigments and combinations will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.

Why do pigments go extinct? Blame the car manufacturers. Pigments exist because there is a demand by commercial manufacturers that need it for some reason or other. Huge amounts of it. Perhaps it’s painting taxi cabs or tractors or something. Companies that produce pigments do so according to demand by these big businesses. When car manufacturers don’t order any more PO49, then manufacturers stop producing it. Artists rely on big business for their pigments. The production of art supplies is so small that it isn’t viable for these companies to continue to produce pigments for such a small market. If you’re lucky, you can pick up some “new old stock” or slightly used tubes on eBay or Etsy.

Here is a list of pigments from Daniel Smith. The numbers are standardized. You can read up on that on Handprint. The names of the pigments are generally standard but then you'll get some manufacturers getting creative. Quin Magenta in Daniel Smith is PR202, but for other manufacturers it might be PR122. This is why it is important to pay attention to the pigments, especially if you are going to cross over and buy from multiple manufacturers.

P stands for Pigment

B=blue
Bk=black
Br=brown
G=green
O=orange
R=red
Y=yellow
V=violet
W=white

PB15 Phthalo Blue GS (green shade)/Manganese Blue Hue/ Phthalo blue RS (red shade)

PB27 Prussian Blue

PB28 Cobalt Blue

PB29 French Ultramarine Blue/Ultramarine Blue

PB35 Cerulean Blue

PB36 Cerulean Blue Chromium

PB60 Indanthrone Blue

PBk6 Lamp Black

PBk9 Ivory Black

PBk11 Lunar Black

PBr7 Burnt Umber/Burnt Sienna/Raw Umber/Raw Sienna (decide which one)

PG7   Phthalo Green BS (blue shade)

PG18 Viridian

PG36 Phthalo Green YS (yellow shade)

PG50 Cobalt Teal

PO48 Quinacridone Burnt Orange

PO49 Quinacridone Gold Now Discontinued

PO62 Permanent Orange

PO73 Pyrrol Orange

PR83 Alizarin Crimson (fugitive, don't buy this)

PR101 Red Oxide/Indian Red/Venetian Red/Red Ochre/English Red Earth

PR122 Quinacridone Lilac /Opera Pink

PR177 Permanent Alizarin Crimson

PR179 Perylene Maroon

PR202 Quinacridone Magenta

PR209 Quinacridone Coral

PR242 Cadmium Red/Permanent Red

PY3    Hansa Yellow Light 

PY35 Cadmium Yellow Light 

PY40 Aureolin Cobalt Yellow ( it's fugitive, use PY175 instead)

PY42 Yellow Iron Oxide/Gold Ochre/Indian Yellow/Yellow Ochre/Raw Sienna Light

PY53 Nickel Titanate Yellow

PY83 Azo Yellow Deep/Cadmium Yellow Deep/Gamboge Extra

PY97 Hansa Yellow Medium

PY110 Permanent Yellow Deep

PY150 Nickel Azo Yellow

PY151 Azo Yellow
PY153 Nickel Dioxine Yellow  (New Gamboge) Now Discontinued

PY175 Lemon Yellow

PV15 Ultramarine Violet 

PV19 Quinacridone Rose

PV49 Cobalt Violet

PW4 Chinese White

PW6 Titanium White