Pale Peach blends PR9 and PY83, listed as a Monoazo Pigment and a Disazo Pigment, with PW6 Titanium Dioxide doing most of the visible work. Munsell notation of 3.0YR 9.0/3.0 is about as delicate as this range gets: a value of 9.0 is nearly at the top of the scale, and a chroma of 3.0 is barely there. The 3.0YR hue makes it warm. Think the palest apricot cream. Two stars for lightfastness.

This is a warm near-white, and that makes it quietly essential. It gives you a creamy ground that flatters everything laid over it, stands in for pale skin, linen, sandstone and old paper, and softens a high-key palette that has gone too clinical. Illustrators block whole figures in with it before modelling on top. Designers use it where plain white would look stark. Take it a shade deeper with Yellow Ochre for sand, move it towards Shell Pink to build a blush range, or add the smallest amount of Misty Green to neutralise it into a warm putty.

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 describes this simply as an opaque acrylic paint, and that is what you get: pigment in an acrylic emulsion that dries flat, even and matte. It suits illustration, flat-design work, colour blocking and model finishing. 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. Warm near-whites such as Pale Peach are perfect in it, because a matte pale ground takes line work well. Heavier stock from our pads and paper will stop larger areas cockling.

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 Peach