Viridian is the blue side of green, and Holbein reaches it with two phthalocyanines: PG7, Polychloro Copper Phthalocyanine, and PB15:3, Copper Phthalocyanine. Munsell reads 5.0BG at value 3.5 with a chroma of 6.5, which is a deep, cool, slightly restrained blue-green rather than a bright turquoise. It carries three of Holbein's four lightfastness stars, one below the top figure, which the phthalocyanine chemistry accounts for: both pigments are inherently stable.

Viridian is one of those colours you keep reaching for, mostly for what it does to other things. It cools a warm green instantly, it makes convincing shadow on anything green without going black, and with Crimson it gives a deep neutral dark that has far more life in it than black from the tube. On its own it does deep water, eucalypt in shade, peacock feathers, old copper and glass. Landscape and botanical painters treat it as a cornerstone, while illustrators use it flat for a slightly antique bottle-green look.

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

Some background on the range. 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. Holbein describes the paint as opaque, intense, smooth and velvety, with excellent adhesion and full compatibility with acrylic mediums. It is easier to think of it as an acrylic engineered to lose its sheen than as a gouache with something added. If you want the conventional glossier version, our acrylic paint range sits alongside it.

This is not the jelly gouache sold in little pots, which is a re-wettable gum-based paint aimed at hobby and lettering work. This is tube acrylic gouache. You get the same flat matte colour, but it dries permanently and will not soften again when you paint across it, so a dark like this stays put under later layers.

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 Viridian