Ash Yellow takes the same approach as the rest of the Ash group: an earth pigment, PY42 Hydrous Iron Oxide, softened with PBk7 carbon and PW6 titanium white. The titanium white in the list makes it a tint, and the carbon keeps the chroma down to 3.5. Munsell places the hue at 3.0Y with a value of 6.0, so it reads as a light, dusty, slightly olive sand rather than a yellow anyone would call bright. Three stars for lightfastness.

This is the colour of dry paddock grass, old canvas, faded linen and rendered walls in afternoon light, which makes it enormously useful for Australian landscape and for any palette that has to look sun-bleached. Designers use it as a warm neutral behind stronger type or imagery. In illustration it is a good middle tone for straw, wicker, sandstone and animal coats, and it tempers a bright green into something believable in a single stroke. It sits comfortably with Ash Green and Ash Blue in a muted three-colour scheme.

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

Acrylic gouache gives you gouache's flat matte surface with an acrylic film underneath, which is a genuinely useful combination rather than a compromise. 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. That makes it a natural fit for layered and mixed media work, where a dusty colour like Ash Yellow often goes down first and is then drawn, stamped or collaged over. Try it on a mixed media pad with your usual pens and pencils.

Jelly gouache comes in little pots, stays soft, and rewets with a damp brush indefinitely, which is lovely for sketching and awkward for finished work. This is a tube paint with an acrylic binder. Once a layer of Ash Yellow is dry it is done, and whatever you put on top stays where you put it.

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 Ash Yellow