RED Art Supply Pigment Database Watercolor Acrylic Ink Pencil Color Chart Swatch

         

Artist reference guide to Red pigments in art supplies. Color chart swatch cards of common colors in watercolor, gouache, acrylic paint and inks. Includes lightfast or fugitive information, index by pigment number code, brand, manufacturer color name, how the color appears in masstone (full strength) or diluted (with water). Each image displays paint properties such as opacity, lifting (erasing with a damp brush), layering (see if the 2nd coat produces a darker value) and the ability to smoothly gradient blend.

Natural, antiquity, mineral or unique red pigments:  NR9 , NR31 , VR1 , Garnet Genuine , Quinacridone Scarlet , Red Fuchsite Genuine , Red Jasper Genuine , Sedona Genuine

PR2 Mixtures:

 

Fugitive (LFIV). Found in student and "designer" gouache or watercolor, intended for bright illustrations to be scanned for print reproduction. Shinhan brand from Korea is particularly bad about including pigments prone to fading in their professional watercolor lines.

PR3 Mixtures:

   

PR4 Mixtures:

 

PR5 Mixtures:

 

PR9 Mixtures:

  

PR12 Mixtures:

Fugitive, used in cheap bargain sets. Fades within several weeks of UV exposure (LFV).

PR23 Mixtures:

PR48:4 Mixtures:

PR57:1 Mixtures:

 

PR63:1 Mixtures:

  

 Fugitive. Rated LFIV in watercolor, this rose-red has moderate fading in masstone and is highly fugitive when diluted. You can find Alizarin Crimson "Permanent" Hues in brands like Winsor and Newton, which combine a much more stable PV19 with PR206 mixture. Lightfast colors like PR122 Magenta, PR254 Winsor Red, PR209 Quin Red and deep red browns like Brown Madder PR206 or Perylene Maroon may be helpful with florals as well.

  

PR83:1 Mixtures:

  

                                     

                                   

       

Lead chromate is toxic - avoid dust and spray. Lightfastness is not rated. Historically lead pigments have generally proven to be lightfast, but suffer from discoloration when exposed to sulfides. Sealing / varishing may preserve the color when watercolor was used, but overall durability is improved when used as an acrylic or oil paint. The Chrome Red variant is heavily granulating, similar in both hue and texture to Cadmium Red Deep or Bordeaux versions of PR108. Chrome Orange is much smoother, stronger and similar to Cadmium Red Light or Vermilion shade of PR108. These are very strong pigments, a little goes a long way. Red Lead Chromate PR103 C.I. #77601 can be a dark brick red to a vibrant orange-red. It has had many fanciful names over the years such as Midnight Sun, American Vermilion, Australian or Austrian Cinnabar.

  

LFI-III* - Darkens. Toxic, handle with care and do not spray apply. Historically significant, used in many master oil paintings (Vermilion PR106 and Red Lead PR103 have been found in the works of Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Bosch, Matisse, Raphael, Degas etc.) and is still used in Chinese brush painting today. It is often formed into a wax for the red imprint from a carved-stone seal (artists name, poetry or mark as a signature on Chinese paintings). Chinese Vermilion or Natural Cinnabar is made from Mercuric Sulfide. It can be synthetically produced via sublimation (solid to gas) of mercury and sulfur or found naturally as a mineral near a volcano. *Lightfastness of this pigment varies, or rather the discoloration of it does, as it is prone to darkening when left exposed to atmospheric sulfides and possibly other chemical interactions. This means that it can be fugitive in watercolor and stable in oil/acrylic where it has been given a waterproof sealer. It is not always possible to preserve the color in watercolor (even when immediately sealing / varnishing the painting) because this color is quick to begin darkening while in the tube/pan in a gum arabic binder. It is believed that impurities in the sulfides used or the addition of lead in the manufacturing of PR106 may result in drastic instabilities, causing this pigment to darken quickly. Ranges from a brighter red similar to Cadmium PR108 to an earthy orange-brown like Red Iron Oxide PR101. Opaque, slightly granulating. Due to its toxicity and color instability, I generally prefer PR108 Cadmium Red as an alternative. PR106 is mainly used for restoration work, historical pigment studies or print reproduction. Still offered by a few paint makers including Paul Rubens, Super Vision, and Prodigal Son's in watercolor form, or from Michael Harding in oil paint.

  

Lightfast, opaque, slightly toxic.

                     

PR108 Mixtures:

         

PR112 Mixtures:

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PR122 Quinacridone Magenta: An ideal primary mixing color, highly useful in creating vibrant purples when combined with PB15 and dynamic color separating mixtures with PG18 and PB29. This color is typically lightfast with independent studies from myself and Handprint rating it as LFI / BW7-8 in many brands. You may see LFIII ratings due to a single older ASTM test from 1999 that appears to be an error or anomaly. I have never seen any of the following swatched brands fade in any of my window tests in masstone or diluted ranges. However, there is potential for extremely diluted washes, or tints (such as when a small % of PR122 is mixed with PW6 to create a pale pastel pink) to fade slightly when exposed to direct sunlight for longer than 6 months. Note that Sennelier has self-rated their Helios Purple as 3 of 3 stars (and it is indeed LFI) yet they mention the ASTM LFIII rating as well. This may appear as conflicting information for those unaware of the error in the established ASTM rating. Top pick in my personal palette, see my FAVORITE LIGHTFAST PIGMENTS LIST.

                          

                          

PR123 Mixtures:

PR144 Mixtures:

  

PR146 Mixtures:

PR170 Naphthol Red AS:

Fugitive. Fairly stable in masstone, but drastic fading when diluted. Particularly a problem in tints, such as when mixed with PW6 in White Night's pastel color  "Rose Quartz".

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

FUGITIVE - Warning, this color is often labeled LFI and recommended to artists as a replacement for Alizarin Crimson PR83. This color is more stable in masstone only, but actually fades when diluted more quickly than PR83.

Used in the popular mixture called "Moonglow" by Daniel Smith which fades badly due to such a small diluted amount of PR177 in it. If you're looking for alternative ways to recreate Moonglow, I've made a video about that:

  

 

PR177 Mixtures:

           

 

 

 

     

PR179 Mixtures:

 

 

PR184 Mixtures:

 

 

  

 

PR188 Mixtures:

 

  

PR202 Mixtures:

 

    

PR206 Mixtures:

 

 

PR207 Mixtures:

 

 

        

 

PR209 Mixtures:

 

 

PR233 Mixtures:

      

 

     

PR242 Mixtures:

 

             

 

PR254 Mixtures:

     

 

 

PR255 Mixtures:

  

 

PR259 Mixtures:

 

 

PR264 Mixtures: