Raw Sienna is a two-pigment earth: PY42, which Holbein lists as Hydrous Iron Oxide, with PY119, an Iron Zinc Oxide. Both are inorganic oxides, and the tube carries four stars, the top rating Holbein publishes. Munsell reads 7.0YR 5.5/6.5, which puts it a step warmer, a step deeper and a touch quieter than Yellow Ochre at 10.0YR 6.5/8.0. Think tan, honey and weathered pine: golden brown with the sweetness taken out.

Earths are the colours you use most and think about least. Raw Sienna is the natural mid-tone for sand, dry grass, timber, thatch, stonework and the warm underlayer of skin. It moderates too: a little takes the chemical edge off a bright green, and it turns a cold blue into something that looks like weather. Landscape and botanical work leans on it heavily, and illustrators use it as the warm neutral that stops a bright palette looking synthetic. With Titanium White it gives creams and buffs, and with Lamp Black it goes straight to a usable olive.

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

In Holbein's own words this is an opaque acrylic paint, which is the tidiest description of the category. Pigment sits in an acrylic emulsion, water is the only thinner, and the dry film behaves like acrylic rather than gouache. 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. Earth colours such as Raw Sienna suit it especially well, since matte reads as their natural finish. Soft rounds and mops from our watercolour brushes handle it nicely.

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 Raw Sienna