If you only ever buy one earth colour, it is usually this one. Yellow Ochre is a single-pigment colour, PY42, which Holbein lists as Hydrous Iron Oxide, and it carries four stars for lightfastness, the highest rating Holbein publishes. Munsell notation of 10.0YR puts it in the yellow-red range: a soft, slightly dusty golden yellow with none of a lemon’s acidity.

Ochre is the great moderator. It warms a green without making it garish, takes the plastic edge off a bright blue, and with white gives an enormous range of skin and sandstone tones. Single-pigment earths mix more predictably than convenience blends, which makes this a sensible backbone for landscape and botanical work and a good first serious earth for experienced students. It behaves well in mixed media next to pencil and ink.

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

A note on what this paint is. Holbein Acrylic Gouache is a professional water-based acrylic gouache that dries to a matte, opaque finish and is water resistant once dry, so unlike traditional gum arabic gouache it cannot be reactivated with water. That is the whole appeal for anyone building clean layers. The rest of the range, all in 20ml tubes, is on our Holbein Acrylic Gouache page.

Artist-quality acrylic gouache, not poster paint. Both look flat and matte in a photo, but poster paint is a school and craft material with low pigment load and no permanence claim.

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 Yellow Ochre