Lamp Black is carbon, plain and simple: a single pigment, PBk7, which Holbein lists as Carbon. It is one of the oldest pigments in use and one of the most stable, and Holbein gives it four stars for lightfastness, the highest rating it publishes. The Munsell notation is just V 1.5, a value with no hue or chroma alongside it, which is the notation for a neutral. Deep, matte and entirely non-committal about temperature.

If you keep one black, this is a sensible one to keep. Four-star lightfastness makes it the choice for work that will hang, and carbon black is a superb mixer: it takes yellows to olive, reds to oxblood and blues towards navy without introducing a competing hue. Illustrators use it for line, lettering, borders and silhouette, designers for flat graphic panels that need to read as properly black. It also builds the whole grey scale with nothing but Titanium White, which is a cheap way to learn value before buying more tubes.

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

Think of acrylic gouache as the flat-finish member of the acrylic family. The same class of binder, a much higher pigment load, and a surface that 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. With a carbon black, that combination gives you a dense, even, light-absorbing dark that keeps its character in reproduction. If you already work in acrylic paint, the handling will feel immediately familiar, just flatter.

Standard acrylics dry with a slight sheen, and on a large flat black that sheen picks out every brush direction and every overlap. Acrylic gouache dries matte, so a black field stays even and photographs without hot spots. The same acrylic durability underneath, a very different surface on top.

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 Lamp Black