Art Spectrum Studio Blend Oil Alizarin Crimson 40ml

Art Spectrum Studio Blend Oil

Alizarin Crimson 40ml

Transparent cool crimson. Glazing, violet mixing, and deep shadow work.

A deep, transparent, cool-biased red that has been central to Western oil painting for centuries. Art Spectrum Studio Blend Oil Alizarin Crimson 40ml is formulated with a permanent, ASTM I lightfast crimson pigment that captures the characteristic blue-leaning depth of traditional alizarin while delivering the long-term colour stability expected of a studio-grade range. Transparent, slow-drying, and exceptionally well-suited to glazing: this is the colour painters reach for when they need to deepen a red without losing luminosity, or mix a clean, rich violet without mudding the blue.

Pigment

Permanent Crimson

ASTM I lightfast formulation

Opacity

Transparent

Excellent for glazing and layering

Lightfastness

ASTM I

Excellent: permanent and stable

Drying

Slow

Allows extended blending time

★ Art Shed Staff Tip

Alizarin Crimson is one of the most versatile mixing colours on the palette. Mixed with French Ultramarine, it produces rich, deep violets and mauves that neither pigment can make alone. Mixed with Yellow Ochre, it gives warm, naturalistic shadow tones for skin and earth. Its transparency makes it an ideal glazing colour over dried opaque reds to deepen, cool, and add luminosity to a passage. Use it sparingly at full strength: a small amount tints strongly. The 40ml tube is well suited to painters who use Alizarin Crimson as a mixing and glazing colour rather than a primary coverage colour, where 40ml provides plenty of working volume without the commitment of the larger 150ml format.

Perfect For

Glazing and transparent layering Mixing rich violets and mauves Portrait shadow and skin tone work Deepening and cooling warm reds Floral painting Sunset and dusk sky passages

What Makes This Colour Essential

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Colour Quality

Cool Transparent Crimson

Alizarin Crimson's blue-leaning bias sets it apart from the warmer cadmium reds and makes it uniquely suited to mixing cool shadow tones and chromatic violets. Its transparency allows light to pass through and reflect back off the underlying paint, producing the luminous, jewel-like quality of a traditional glaze that opaque reds cannot replicate.

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Permanence

ASTM I Lightfast

Traditional alizarin (PR83) has a history of lightfastness issues. Art Spectrum Studio Blend Oil Alizarin Crimson is formulated with a permanent, ASTM I rated pigment that delivers the same cool, transparent crimson character while ensuring the finished painting remains stable over time. This is a genuine improvement over historic formulations at the same price point.

✓

Versatility

One of the Most Used Mixing Colours

Alizarin Crimson is used across nearly every subject matter in oil painting. Portrait painters use it for cool shadow tones under warm skin. Landscape painters use it for atmospheric mist and evening sky. Floral painters use it for rose, dahlia, and peony passages. Its range of mixtures from warm neutrals (with earths) to vivid violets (with blues) makes it indispensable.

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Origin

Australian-Made Since 1966

Art Spectrum has manufactured artists' materials at their Epping, Victoria facility for over six decades. Studio Blend Oil is triple-milled in refined linseed oil with ASTM I rated pigments throughout the 26-colour range.

Mixing With Alizarin Crimson

Alizarin Crimson is one of the most productive mixing colours in oil painting precisely because of its transparency and cool bias. Mixed with French Ultramarine Blue, it produces a rich, deep violet-purple that is one of the most useful darks in the range. The ratio determines the result: more blue gives a violet leaning toward indigo; more crimson gives a plum-red; equal amounts produce a mid violet. These are genuinely chromatic purples, unlike the dull, grayed mixtures that result from combining less well-matched pigments.

Mixed with Yellow Ochre or Raw Umber, Alizarin Crimson produces a range of warm, deep neutrals that are the foundation of naturalistic earth shadow painting. These are the tones of shaded terracotta, aged wood, and warm shadow under Australian sandstone. Mixed with Titanium White, it produces dusty rose and warm mauve tones essential for portrait work and floral painting. Applied as a glaze over a dried, lighter passage, a thinned Alizarin Crimson deepens and cools the underlying colour without adding opacity, preserving the luminosity of the under-painting while shifting the colour temperature toward cool red.

About Art Spectrum Studio Blend Oil: Melbourne Made Since 1966

Art Spectrum Studio Blend Oil is the rebrand of the former Art Prism range, with fresh new packaging and artwork. The formula is unchanged: same pigments, same linseed oil base, same manufacturing standards. Made in Epping, Victoria since 1966. The 26-colour range is fully compatible with all Art Spectrum oil mediums and varnishes, and is also available in 150ml tubes for artists who use larger volumes of their most-used colours.

Is Art Spectrum Studio Blend Oil Alizarin Crimson truly lightfast?

Yes. Art Spectrum Studio Blend Oil Alizarin Crimson is rated ASTM I, the highest lightfastness rating available. Traditional alizarin (PR83) is known for lightfastness concerns (historically rated ASTM III), which is why Art Spectrum has formulated this colour with a modern permanent pigment that delivers the same cool, transparent crimson character without the permanence issues of the original plant-derived pigment. ASTM I means the colour has been tested and confirmed to be permanent under standard light exposure conditions.

What is Alizarin Crimson best used for in oil painting?

Alizarin Crimson is most widely used as a glazing colour, a violet-mixing partner with blues (especially French Ultramarine), and a cool shadow tone in portrait and figurative painting. Its transparency makes it ideal for layering over lighter passages to deepen and cool them without losing luminosity. It is also commonly used for floral painting (roses, dahlias, peonies), sunset and dusk sky passages, and as part of warm-neutral shadow mixes with earth colours.

How does Alizarin Crimson differ from Cadmium Red Hue?

Alizarin Crimson is a cool, blue-biased transparent red; Cadmium Red Hue is a warm, orange-biased opaque red. They are used very differently. Cadmium Red Hue is a primary-range red for direct painting, bold warm colour, and opaque coverage. Alizarin Crimson is used for glazing, cool shadow mixing, and violet production. Most oil painters keep both on their palette because they fill different roles: Cadmium Red Hue cannot produce the deep chromatic violets that Alizarin Crimson makes with blue, and Alizarin Crimson cannot replace the warm, opaque coverage of Cadmium Red Hue.

Is Art Spectrum Studio Blend Oil the same as Art Prism?

Yes. Art Spectrum Studio Blend Oil is the direct successor to the Art Prism range with new packaging and artwork only. The formula, pigments, and linseed oil base are unchanged. Art Prism Oil Paint 40ml Alizarin Crimson and Art Spectrum Studio Blend Oil Paint 40ml Alizarin Crimson are the same product.

Is the 40ml tube the right size, or should I buy the 150ml?

For most painters, the 40ml tube of Alizarin Crimson is the right choice. Alizarin Crimson is primarily a glazing and mixing colour used in small amounts rather than a bulk coverage colour like Titanium White or Yellow Ochre. A 40ml tube will last a typical oil painter through many paintings. The 150ml tube is better suited to painters who use Alizarin Crimson frequently in large-scale work or as a regular direct painting colour.

Art Shed Online is an authorised Australian stockist of Art Spectrum products. All Art Spectrum Studio Blend Oil products are sourced through official distribution channels. We ship Australia-wide.

Available at Art Shed Online, Australia's specialist art supply store. Questions? Contact us at customerservice@artshedonline.com.au.

(APAC4)

SKU	APAC4
Barcode #	93446129
Brand	Art Spectrum
Shipping Weight	0.0550kg
Shipping Width	0.030m
Shipping Height	0.040m
Shipping Length	0.120m
Shipping Cubic	0.000144000m3