Pale Aqua is a three-pigment tint: PB15:3 Copper Phthalocyanine for the blue-green core, PY42 Hydrous Iron Oxide to warm it, and PW6 Titanium Dioxide to lift it. Munsell notation of 1.0B 8.0/4.0 is the giveaway. A value of 8.0 is very light and a chroma of 4.0 is genuinely low, so this is a quiet, chalky sea-glass blue with a faint green lean, not a bright tropical aqua. Three stars for lightfastness.

Low-chroma pale colours do the unglamorous structural work in a picture, and this is one of the good ones. It reads as weathered paint, hospital tile, mist, shallow water, sun-bleached timber and the cool side of a white object. Illustrators use it as a mid-light ground that neither competes with line work nor leaves a hole the way pure white can. Because the ochre is already in there it sits happily beside earths, so it will settle into a landscape palette without looking synthetic. Push it deeper with Turquoise Blue when you need the saturated version.

What Makes This Colour Special

Pigment, lightfastness and series as published by Holbein. Holbein does not publish an opacity rating for individual colours; the range as a whole is described by Holbein as opaque.

Acrylic Gouache, Not Traditional Gouache

Holbein built this paint for artists who wanted gouache handling without gouache fragility. Pigment sits in an acrylic emulsion, water is the only thinner needed, and the surface dries without gloss. Holbein Acrylic Gouache dries to a matte opaque finish and is water resistant once dry, so it does not reactivate with water like traditional gouache. A pale tint such as Pale Aqua benefits particularly, because a flat surface is what lets a quiet colour read evenly. Choose a heavier sheet from our pads and paper for larger flats.

Designers' gouache gives you this sort of soft opaque pale beautifully, then lifts the moment a second wet layer touches it. Acrylic gouache holds the same flat chalky look but locks down as it cures, so you can lay Pale Aqua as a ground and draw, glaze or paint over it without disturbing what is underneath.

Why Holbein Acrylic Gouache Is in Serious Studios

• Genuinely opaque. Holbein describes the range simply as an opaque acrylic paint. It covers, including over darker colour, which is the whole point of reaching for gouache rather than watercolour.
• Velvety matte, no sheen. Holbein describes the colour as opaque, intense, smooth and velvety. It dries flat, which is why it photographs and scans without glare.
• Water resistant once dry, so you can layer. Holbein’s own wording, and the reason the range exists. A dry layer will take another one over the top without lifting.
• The colour you mix is the colour you get. Holbein states it does not shift in colour tone from wet to dried colour. Anyone who has watched a perfect grey dry into a different grey will appreciate that.
• Built to use straight from the tube. Holbein says it is specifically designed to be used directly from the tube and will dry to even, uniform paint layers.
• Works on more than paper. Holbein lists paper, canvas, cloth, stone, wood, leather, plexiglass and concrete, with excellent adhesion, and full compatibility with all acrylic mediums.

Getting the Most Out of This Tube

Straight from the tube is the default. This is what Holbein designed it for, and it is where you get those even, flat, uniform layers. Add a little water to loosen it, but go easy: very diluted washes can dry streaky across a large flat area, so build coverage in thin even coats rather than flooding it on.

Watch the palette, not the clock. Holbein gives an open time of roughly 10 to 30 minutes and notes the drying time is much like ordinary watercolour. The practical consequence is that paint left sitting on the palette will go off and will not come back, so squeeze out small amounts as you need them.

It plays well with acrylic mediums. Holbein states the range is compatible with all acrylic mediums, so you can change the body or extend the working time if you want to. Soft synthetic brushes suit it, since they hold enough paint to lay a flat area without dragging.

Questions About Holbein Pale Aqua