Change is good! - Transparent Yellow

In 2005, Artists' Water Colour Transparent Yellow underwent a formulation change - truly new and improved, but possibly confusing to artists accustomed to the old colour. There's good news, however, because if you prefer to continue using the colour as it was, the closest match is Winsor Yellow.

A little background...

New Transparent Yellow, Old Transparent Yellow, Winsor Yellow

Due to the similarities of the original Transparent Yellow and Winsor Yellow, and because Winsor & Newton wanted very much to include Nickel Azo (PY150), which is the pigment in the new Transparent Yellow, it made sense to move one of them to a new formulation. Nickel Azo pigment offers great subtlety and variety, depending upon its application. In mass-tone, the colour exhibits great depth and warmth. In undertone, it shows surprising clarity and brilliance.

The reason Transparent Yellow was chosen to be reformulated rather than Winsor Yellow had to do with the colour names.

Since their inception, the philosophy behind the "Winsor" named colours has been to offer colours that occupy the perfect spectral point (or as close as possible) of a major and definable hue. For example, Winsor Yellow, Winsor Blue, and Winsor Green have always been formulated to occupy each of those precise spectral positions without bias too far to the warm or cool - "neutral," as it were. As the range of available pigments has increased, so, too, has the range of Winsor-named colours, each intended to fit perfectly upon that named colour position (e.g. Winsor Lemon, Winsor Blue [Red Shade], Winsor Red, Winsor Orange, and so on). As the intent behind these colours has been to hit a specific spectral target, the colours have not been named by pigment (as is the case  with Cadmium Red or Cobalt Blue). Winsor Blue, for example, was formulated for decades with the pigment used in making Prussian Blue (PB27). When it became obvious that Phthalocyanine (PB15) was better suited to that spectral position, the change was made to the new pigment.

As Benzimadazolone was felt to be the best pigment available for the Winsor Yellow "spectral position," Winsor & Newton chose to make the conversion to Nickel Azo pigment for Transparent Yellow. There's no question that it's different to the previous formulation, but, because it brings so much depth and range to the palette, it is felt to be a strong improvement (particularly since Winsor Yellow still fills the spectral niche).

Having stated the reasons for the change and the colour most like the original Transparent Yellow,  let's focus on the the qualities of the new Transparent Yellow.

New Transparent Yellow

The new Transparent Yellow may seem slightly duller than the old formulation but don't be deceived; it produces truly transparent mixtures in the same way that coloured drawing inks, genuine Gamboge, or the old fugitive yellow lake pigments did, while being the most transparent bright yellow available with the absolute highest light fastness rating.

Artists' Water Colour New Transparent Yellow  Shows excellent transparency when layered over black & does not obscure		Artists' Water Colour Old Transparent Yellow Shows good transparency when layered over black although changes its appearance

When mixed with other transparent colours it produces the rich dark mass tones in thick washes characteristic of truly transparent colours, which is extremely useful for areas requiring depth of shade without opacity, e.g., shadow areas. In the same way, these mixtures can be painted, even in strong washes, over pen drawings without obscuring the underlying lines.

With its combination of unique properties, Transparent Yellow widens the scope of visual effects available to water colour painters, therefore, strengthening the Winsor & Newton product range.