Unit I, Lesson 3--Cadmium Red Deep Color Chart

Cadmium Red Deep color chart (askew image--sorry about that!)

Cadmium Red Deep is a dark opaque red that leans yellow, which is particularly obvious when compared to Alizarin Permanent.  It is also lighter in value than Alizarin Permanent.

Approximate time to complete:  2 1/2 hours

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

This was pretty straight forward.  Because it is an opaque color, Cadmium Red Deep is easy to mix. It grays down fairly quickly, even with Cadmium Yellow Light, which was a bit surprising.  I expected the color to remain more on the vibrant side when mixed with other colors that lean yellow and red. The transparent reds (Alizarin Permanent and Transparent Oxide Red) created the most vibrant straight mixes.

Step One: Divide the canvas

Divide your canvas pad using the method outlined in Unit I, Lesson 1.

Oh, and figured out a trick to make masking go a bit more quickly.  I have a clear plastic T-square, so I stuck a piece of masking tape along just the bottom to mark the measurement between the columns, and I wrapped a piece all the way around to mark the measurement between the rows, like this:

T-square trick

This made my masking job easier, particularly for tired eyes.

Step Two:  Arrange the colors

Keep the colors in the same order as in Lessons 1 and 2.

Step Three:  Mix the colors and apply the paint

Here, I decided to keep my colors in the same order as they started throughout the charts.  So, my first column consisted of Cadmium Red Deep, tinted through the rows with Titanium White.  The next row was Cadmium Red Deep + Transparent Oxide Red (as opposed to Alizarin Permanent), tinted to lighten the values through the rows with Titanium White.  I continued in this fashion through the yellows, green, and blues, and my last column was Cadmium Red Deep + Alizarin Permanent.  See my value exercise that I figured out later here.  

Columns from left to right:  Cadmium Red Deep; Cadmium Red Deep + Transparent Oxide Red; Cadmium Red Deep + Cadmium Yellow Light; Cadmium Red Deep + Cadmium Lemon; Cadmium Red Deep + Viridian Green; Cadmium Red Deep + Phthalo Blue; Cadmium Red Deep + Ultramarine Blue; Cadmium Red Deep + Alizarin Permanent 

Step Four:  Remove the tape

Here is the finished product.

Completed Cadmium Red Deep color chart

Step Five:  Let it dry

Here is a comparison of the Alizarin Permanent color chart and the Cadmium Red Deep color chart.  You can really see the differences in the warm versus cool reds here.

Comparison of Alizarin Permanent and Cadmium Red Deep color charts

Alizarin Permanent (chart on left) columns from left to right:  Alizarin Permanent; Alizarin Permanent + Cadmium Red Deep; Alizarin Permanent + Transparent Oxide Red; Alizarin Permanent + Cadmium Yellow Light; Alizarin Permanent + Cadmium Lemon; Alizarin Permanent + Viridian Green; Alizarin Permanent + Phthalo Blue; Alizarin Permanent + Ultramarine Blue

Cadmium Red Deep (chart on right) columns from left to right:  Cadmium Red Deep; Cadmium Red Deep + Transparent Oxide Red; Cadmium Red Deep + Cadmium Yellow Light; Cadmium Red Deep + Cadmium Lemon; Cadmium Red Deep + Viridian Green; Cadmium Red Deep + Phthalo Blue; Cadmium Red Deep + Ultramarine Blue; Cadmium Red Deep + Alizarin Permanent 

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

Upcoming Lesson  

Unit I, Lesson 4--Transparent Oxide Red Color Chart

Materials needed:

• Oil Colors
• Alizarin Permanent
• Cadmium Red Deep 
• Transparent Oxide Red (lots of it)
• 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

Unit I, Lesson 4 took me about 2 hours to complete.  

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