Old Holland Classic Artist Watercolor - Green Umber, 6 ml tube

Pigment Information

This color contains the following pigments:

PBk7-Lamp Black

PB15:2-Phthalo Blue

PG23-Green Earth

PG7-Phthalo Green

PBr7-Burnt Umber

Pigment Name

PBk7-Lamp Black

Pigment Type

inorganic

Chemical Name

carbon

Chemical Formula

C

Properties

Lamp black is a very opaque, heavily staining black pigment that does not have much covering or tinting power. It is typically the most opaque black in watercolor form. Though a very pure black, it tends to muddy slightly in mixtures. Natural sources may be brownish or bluish in tone because of impurities. When used in oil paints, it is one of the slowest drying pigments, and should not be used in underpainting or applied in layers underneath other colors.

Permanence

Lamp Black is very lightfast and absolutely permanent. It is used in all techniques in permanent painting.

Toxicity

Carbon itself is not considered hazardous, however other combustion products that are hazardous are often present as impurities when Lamp Black is produced from natural materials. For this reason, commercial preparations of the pigment should be considere

History

Lamp Black is a carbon based black traditionally produced by collecting soot (known as lampblack) from oil lamps. It has been used as a pigment since prehistoric times. It is the black found in Egyptian murals and tomb decorations and was the most popular black for fresco painting until the development of Mars Black.

Pigment Name

PB15:2-Phthalo Blue

Pigment Type

organic

Chemical Name

copper phthalocyanine

Chemical Formula

C32H16CuN8

Properties

Phthalo Blue PB15:2 is a structural variant of Phthalo Blue PB15 that produces more greenish tones.

Permanence

Phthalo Blues are completely lightfast and stable and are permanent for all paint uses. 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 Blues have no significant hazards, although those made before 1982 contained some PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls).

History

Developed by chemists using the trade name Monastral Blue, the organic blue dyestuff now known as Phthalo Blue was presented as a pigment in November 1935 in London. Its discovery was accidental. The dark color was observed in a kettle where a dye was being made from a British dyestuff plant. The demand for such a pigment came from commercial printers who wanted a cyan to replace Prussian Blue.

Pigment Name

PG23-Green Earth

Pigment Type

earth

Chemical Name

hydrated iron, magnesium, aluminum and potassium silicates

Chemical Formula

K[(Al,FeIII),(FeII,Mg)](AlSi3,Si4)O10(OH)2

Properties

Green earth is a natural pigment that varies from yellow and olive to blue-green in its composition and hues. It is semi-transparent, has low hiding power and tinting strength, muddies and darkens in oil, and is particularly good for tempera and fresco painting.

Permanence

Green Earth has excellent permanence and lightfastness, although some varieties can be developed by light calcining. It is one of the most permanent pigments because Earths are not affected by sunlight or atmospheric conditions.

Toxicity

Green Earth has no significant hazards.

History

Terre verte is French for green earth. It was discovered in antiquity, and its use has been traced to the Ajanta caves in India and a variety of Roman sites, including Pompeii. Green Earth was very popular for underpainting flesh tones in medieval paintings because this green was the compliment to pink on the medieval color wheel. Its use declined after the Renaissance. The natural supplies of the pigment are mostly depleted, and manufacturers currently duplicate the hue using mineral bases like Viridian, iron oxide, or chromium oxide, or artificial ceramic colorants. Pigments sold under this name can also be the result of mixing Sienna and Phthalo Green.

Pigment Name

PG7-Phthalo Green

Pigment Type

organic

Chemical Name

polychlorinated 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.  It 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.

Pigment Name

PBr7-Burnt Umber

Pigment Type

earth

Chemical Name

iron oxides with manganese silicates or dioxide

Chemical Formula

Fe2O3,MnO2 or Fe2O3+MnO2+nH2O+Si+Al2O3

Properties

Burnt Umber is a more intense reddish brown pigment that results from heating the clay pigment Raw Umber. It has medium to excellent tinting strength and high opacity, and it is quick drying in oil form. Burnt Umber is somewhat more transparent than Raw Umber. It has excellent color properties and can create a variety of subtle, clear tints when mixed with white. It can tend towards chalkiness in dark mixes in oil form, but overall it mixes well with other colors. To create a black color in oil form, mix Burnt Umber with Phthalo Blue or Ultramarine. To achieve a similar color in watercolor form, mix it with Ultramarine or Payne's Gray.

Permanence

Burnt Umber has good permanence.

Toxicity

Burnt Umber itself is considered non-toxic. If contaminated by manganese compounds, it may be highly toxic if inhaled and moderately toxic if ingested.

History

This pigment gets its name from the Latin word umbra, meaning shadow or shade. Its full name is listed as terra di ombra, meaning earth of shadow/shade, due to its original extraction from the area of Umbria, Italy. It has been used as a pigment since prehistoric times. Currently, the finest umber comes from Cyprus.