Blick Artists' Acrylic - Sap Green, 2 oz tube

Pigment Information

This color contains the following pigments:

PBk11-Mars Black

PY83-Diarylide Yellow 83

PG36-Phthalo Green

Pigment Name

PBk11-Mars Black

Pigment Type

earth

Chemical Name

iron oxides

Chemical Formula

FeO or Fe2O3

Properties

Mars Black is an opaque black with a strong and cool masstone, a slightly warm tint, and a warm brown undertone. It is not as black as Ivory Black, but it dries more quickly and has three times the tinting strength. Mars Black is normally the only black available in acrylic form and that is safe to over paint. It can be used in all media without reservation and is widely used as an alternative to Lamp Black and Ivory Black.

Permanence

Mars Black is very lightfast with excellent permanence.

Toxicity

Mars Black has no significant hazards and is the only major black pigment considered non-toxic.

History

The word Mars refers to the Roman god of iron and war. Mars Black was developed in the early 20th century from inorganic, synthetic iron oxide.

Pigment Name

PY83-Diarylide Yellow 83

Pigment Type

organic, disazo

Chemical Formula

C36H32Cl4N6O8

Properties

Diarylide Yellow is a semi-opaque, moderately staining, intense deep reddish yellow pigment with good tinting strength.

Permanence

Diarylide Yellow 83 has very good lightfastness and permanence. However, it can fade in tints, so some artists do not consider it suitable as an artists' color. Many other diarylide yellow pigments are reported to have fair to poor lightfastness, and some are completely fugitive. Diarylide Yellow 83 is reputed to be one of the most permanent of the entire group.

Toxicity

Diarylide Yellow has no significant acute hazards, but chronic hazards have not been well studied.

History

Diarylide Yellow comes from a family of azo pigments called Diarylide. These yellow hued pigments were developed around 1940 and are very important in printing inks.

Pigment Name

PG36-Phthalo Green

Pigment Type

organic

Chemical Name

polybromopolychlorinated copper(II) phthalocyanine

Chemical Formula

C32H3Cl13CuN8 to C32HCl15CuN8 or C32H16CuN8Cl15 (PG7) or C32Br6Cl10CuN8 (PG36)

Properties

Phthalo Green is a transparent, cool, bright, high intensity color used in oil and acrylics. It comes from a Phthalocyanine Blue pigment where most of the hydrogen atoms have been replaced with chlorine, forming highly stable molecules.  Pigment PG36 differs from PG7 in that a portion of the chlorine atoms are replaced with bromine atoms, which are reactively similar, but cause a yellow shift that is especially noticeable in mixtures. Phthalo Green has similar pigment properties and permanence to Phthalo Blue. It is slow drying and an excellent base color for mixing a range of bright greens. Phthalo Green is considered a very good alternative to Viridian because it is intense and mixes well and can be used to emphasize mineral colors in various tints. However, its tinting strength is very high, so it can overpower other colors.  This pigment most closely resembles the discontinued and toxic Verdigris.

Permanence

Phthalo Greens are completely lightfast and resistant to alkali, acids, solvents, heat, and ultraviolet radiation. They are currently used in inks, coatings, and many plastics due to their stability and are considered a standard pigment in printing ink and the packaging industry.

Toxicity

Phthalo Green has no significant hazards, but it contained PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) until 1982.

History

This bright blue-green was developed in 1935 and has been in use since 1938.