Unit I, Lesson 2--Alizarin Permanent Color Chart

Alizarin Permanent is a transparent blueish red and is a lightfast substitute for Alizarin Crimson.  You can read about the differences between the pigments used in each here on the website for Gamblin Artist's Colors.

Materials needed:

• Oil Colors
• Alizarin Permanent
• Transparent Red Oxide
• Cadmium Red Deep
• Cadmium Yellow Light
• Cadmium Lemon
• Viridian Green
• Phthalo Blue
• Ultramarine Blue
• Titanium White
• Canvas pad--I used Centurion oil-primed linen, 9"x12"
• Masking tape--I used 3/4" tape

This second lesson took me approximately 3 hours.

The purpose of this chart is to see how Alizarin Permanent mixes with the other colors in my palette.  The first column consists of Alizarin Permanent by itself.  The next column is Alizarin Permanent mixed with Cadmium Red Deep, which is the next color in my palette that is closest on the color wheel.  The rows are steps of tints, just like with the first color chart.

Step One:  Divide the canvas

Divide the canvas using the method described in Unit I, Lesson 1.  (Update:  I figured out a short-cut to help the process go quicker.  See it in Unit I, Lesson 3 here.)

Step Two:  Arrange the colors

The colors remain in the same order (the proper order!) as in the first color chart.  As noted above, the first column will consist of Alizarin Permanent by itself, tinted to lighten the value down through the rows.  The second column will consist of Alizarin Permanent mixed with Cadmium Red Deep, the next color in my palette that is closest to Alizarin Permanent, then I lighten the color progressively down the rows.  The third column will consist of Alizarin Permanent mixed with Transparent Oxide Red, then I lighten the color progressively down the rows.  And so on and so forth.

Step Three:  Mix the colors and apply the paint

Halfway done!

Something interesting happened when I mixed Alizarin Permanent and Viridian Green.  Because red and green are opposites on the color wheel, I expected a rather neutral grey when mixed.  Instead, it creates a lovely muted purple!  See the fifth column here:

Surprise!  See the sixth column--Alizarin Permanent+Viridian Green=lovely grey purple

Alizarin Permanent and Viridian Green both lean toward blue, and the red pigment in Alizarin Permanent is strong, so it overpowers the yellow in the green.

You can also see that the blue pigment in Phthalo Blue is very strong.  Although blue+red=purple, it leans blue.  See my value exercise that I figured out later here.

Step Four: Remove the tape

Step Five:  Let it dry

Completed Alizarin Permanent color chart.  From left to right:  (1) Alizarin Permanent, (2) Alizarin Permanent+Cadmium Red Deep, (3) Alizarin Permanent+Transparent Oxide Red, (4) Alizarin Permanent+Cadmium Yellow Light, (5) Alizarin Permanent+Cadmium Lemon, (6) Alizarin Permanent+Viridian Green, (7) Alizarin Permanent+Phthalo Blue, (8) Alizarin Permanent+Ultramarine Blue

Things I learned:  

• Alizarin Permanent is a transparent, which greatly affects how much you must use when mixing.  When mixing with another transparent color, you can keep the ratio about 1:1 and get a good mix.  When mixing with an opaque, however, like Cadmium Red Deep, you need a lot more Alizarin Permanent in the ratio, at least 2:1, maybe even 3:1.  Opaques overpower transparents quickly.  This goes for mixing with Titanium Zinc White, as well.  
• Mixing transparent colors into opaques is like mixing oil and water.  The transparent likes to sit on top of the opaque.  It is a fun process.
• You can see the cooling power of Titanium Zinc White by comparing the lightest tint to the middle value.  Although when looking at the middle tint of Alizarin Permanent + Cadmium Red Deep, it is clear it is warmer than Alizarin Permanent alone, the lightest tints look nearly the same.  
• Alizarin Permanent + Viridian Green = Gray purple.  Who knew?  I didn't before today!

You can access all of the lessons in this unit from the Index of Lessons page here.

Upcoming Lesson  

Unit I, Lesson 3--Cadmium Red Deep color chart

Materials needed:

• Oil Colors
• Alizarin Permanent
• Cadmium Red Deep (lots of it)
• Transparent Red Oxide
• Cadmium Yellow Light
• Cadmium Lemon
• Viridian Green
• Phthalo Blue
• Ultramarine Blue
• Titanium Zinc White
• Canvas pad--I used Centurion oil-primed linen, 9"x12"
• Masking tape--I used 3/4" tape

Lesson 3 took me approximately 2.5 hours.  I'm getting quicker!

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